David Prowse Explains How Sebastian Shaw Landed the Role of Dying Darth Vader in STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI

The unmasking of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi it was ultimately quite disappointing for many fans. The mystery of what Darth Vader looked like under that sinister helmet captured fans’ imaginations, but then when Anakin Skywalker’s true face was revealed, it looked nothing like what fans had constructed in their imaginations. He was just a normal old man and his appearance didn’t live up to expectations.

As you can imagine, David Prowse, the man behind Darth Vader’s mask throughout the trilogy thought it should have been him. Instead, Dying Vader was played by Sebastian Shaw. In a previous interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Prowse was asked about the big twist regarding Luke being Darth Vader’s son and he said:

“Yes, I didn’t know I was Luke’s father until I was in Hollywood at the premiere and saw the movie. I remember thinking ‘Wow, this is quite the change!’ As I said, I wasn’t aware of everything that happened in the film and was disappointed when I learned that the dying Darth Vader would be played by actor Sebastian Shaw. I think fans were also disappointed, as they were hoping to see Dave Prowse when Darth Vader was finally unmasked.

But it actually ruined the big plot twist two years before Return of the Jedi premiered. He got pissed off too George Lucas with the things he was leaking about the film and Prowse said that everyone on the film set isolated him following the leak. He also said that Lucas refused to speak to him during the final six weeks of production. It is speculated that for this reason Lucas replaced Prowse with actor Sebastian Shaw.

But, in this other interview, Prowse offered another explanation as to why Shaw ended up in the role of the dying Vader, saying that Sir Alec Guinness he asked his friend for a favor. Prowse said:

“What happened was that Sebastian Shaw was a great friend of Sir Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Shaw just happened to be going through bad times financially. So Shaw said to Sir Alec Guinness, “Do you think you could get in touch with George Lucas and see if he can get me a part in the picture you’re making?” And so Alec Guinness asked George, and George said the only thing available was the role of the dying Darth Vader. That’s why Sebastian Shaw came to do it. And that’s all we saw of him in the movie, that little bit.

“Unfortunately, everyone was expecting to see me and, unfortunately for me, they got to see Sebastian Shaw. I would have loved to play that part. And he had nothing to do with the problems they were having with me, or anything like that. He was simply doing his friend a favor and George was doing him a favor, so to speak.

I have no idea if that’s true, but that’s what Prowse said. Ultimately, the reveal of Darth Vader’s face was a disappointment. I remember my father referring to the reveal of Vader’s face as “Potato Head” and it’s something that has stuck with me since I was a child. Now, whenever I see Vader’s face, I always associate him with Mr. Potato Head!