Happy B-day Ian McDiarmid

Today is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine birthday, well not really Palpatine, but Ian McDiarmid. He’s 61 years old. Ian was one of the best things to watch in episodes 1,2,3. He played Palpatine just off center enough that it raised eyebrows of people who didn’t trust him. He’s just a creepy guy.

The actor also took Lucas’s dull script and gave it more layers. Such as the scene in Episode 3 where he and Anakin Skywalker talk about the force and the power of the dark side. Watch as Ian gives Anakin a glance as he talks about creating life using the force. There is subtext there that implies that Palpatine is Anakin’s father.

Here is a portion of that script…

PALPATINE: (continuing) Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis "the wise"?

ANAKIN: No.

PALPATINE: I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life ... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.

ANAKIN: He could actually save people from death?

PALPATINE: The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

ANAKIN: What happened to him?

PALPATINE: He became so powerful . . . the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. (smiles) Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.

ANAKIN: Is it possible to learn this power?

PALPATINE: Not from a Jedi.