Peter Cushing

Peter Cushing, OBE, played Empire officer Grand Moff Tarkin in 'A New Hope'.

His association with the Hammer Horror movies made him the perfect fit to be an intergalactic villain.

His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. Cushing was among the best-known actors at the time to appear in ‘Star Wars’, as the rest of the cast were then relatively unknown.

As a result, Cushing was paid a larger daily salary than most of his fellow cast, earning $2,000 per day compared to weekly salaries of $1,000 for Mark Hamill, $850 for Carrie Fisher and $750 for Harrison Ford. Cushing continued acting into his later years and wrote two autobiographies. Cushing sadly passed away in 1994 of prostate cancer.

However, he was brought back to life as a CGI Tarkin in prequel spin-off 'Rogue One' in 2016 much to the delight of 'Star Wars' fans.