Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid is the man responsible for playing Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord responsible for destroying the Jedi and the Galactic Republic.

Ian's career has spanned six decades and includes acclaimed theatre work, but his appearances as the Emperor have made him famous across the globe.

Sixteen years after ‘Return of the Jedi’, he reprised the role as the character's younger incarnation Senator (and later Chancellor) Palpatine in George Lucas' prequels which showed how he rose to power, turned Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side and took control of the galaxy.

He made a surprise return from the dead as the Sith Lord in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, the concluding movie in the main series.