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Ian McDiarmid (born August 11, 1944) is a Scottish actor born in Carnoustie. He has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others. From 1990 until 2001, he served with Jonathan Kent as artistic director of the now prestigious Almeida Theatre, thanks largely to both their efforts. Although McDiarmid's passion lies chiefly in theatrical productions, he has also accepted roles in theatrical films and TV movies. He is most famous for his role as Palpatine, a cunning politician who eventually becomes Emperor of the Galactic Empire; in both the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies.
Early life and education McDiarmid's love of the theatre began when he was only five years old, on the day his father took him to see an act by the name of Tommy Morgan in a theatre located in Dundee. According to McDiarmid: "It sort of fascinated me, and it also scared me. All those lights, all that make-up. I said to myself, 'I don't know what this is, but I want it.'"• Soon after, he decided to pursue a career in the theatre instead, and took acting training courses at the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow. In 1968, McDiarmid received a gold medal for his work. This would later prove to be the first of many recognitions given to him for outstanding work in the theatre. McDiarmid claimed he became its recipient "by doing all the boring jobs you have to do when you are young, to eke out an existence." Theatrical work McDiarmid is renowned for his work in British theatre, having won plaudits as an actor and director from a wide variety of sources. In 2001, McDiarmid won Almedia Theatre's Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his role as Teddy in a revival of Brian Friel's The Faith Healer. Five years later in 2006, he reprised this role in his debut on Broadway.• Directed by Kent, he performed alongside Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones, and won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. One theatrical performance of note is his portrayal of the lead character Harry Hackamore in Sam Shepard's play Seduced. By McDiarmid's own description, Hackamore was a Howard Hughes-type character. To play the part, he was made-up in prosthetics, including a false beard and long fingernails, to resemble Hackamore. McDiarmid was only 37 at the time, and this convinced George Lucas and Richard Marquand that he could convincingly play a much older character in extreme cinematic close-up, which helped him land the role of Palpatine. Almeida Theatre From 1990 until 2001, McDiarmid and Jonathan Kent served as the artistic directors of the Almeida Theatre, located in the Islington district of London. Their tenure was marked by a string of highly successful performances involving 'big name' actors usually seen in films such as Kevin Spacey and Ralph Fiennes.• Work in Star Wars Theatrical films Albeit McDiarmid is first and foremost a stage actor, he's happy to work in a movie production if the part is good.• Here's a list of films McDiarmid has accepted roles in thus far: TV films Stage credits This is the chronological list of McDiarmid's stage credits. It includes both plays that he has been in as well as plays he has directed. This list may be incomplete. Awards and nominations Footnotes Interviews Fan and tribute sites Biographical sites | |||||||||||||||||||
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