C-3PO's Oil Bath In Star Wars Was A 'Disgusting Experience' Behind The Scenes
C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) will not hesitate to tell you when he's unhappy. From the first time we meet him in the original "Star Wars," through that entire trilogy, his appearances in the prequels and the sequels, and every other place he shows up, he complains. I mean, we love him very much, and being crotchety is kind of his thing, but he really does grumble a lot. Still, the golden droid does have a few pleasures in life. No matter how much he grouses at his little droid buddy R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), it's clear that he loves the walking garbage can. He also loves a really good oil bath. Hey, everyone loves a spa day, right? Especially when you have a bad case of dust contamination.
In "A New Hope," after Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his Uncle Owen (Phil Brown) pick up the two lost droids from a group of Jawas, Luke brings them back to their moisture farm. Then he plops C-3PO right into an oil bath. He is ecstatic, thanking the Maker and everything. Of course, poor Anthony Daniels didn't feel the same way about that oil bath, according to the book "The Making of Star Wars: Enhanced Edition" by J.W. Rinzler. In fact, it was pretty "disgusting."
'I've got such a bad case of dust contamination, I can barely move'
Daniels explained that it was very unpleasant filming that scene. In addition to the uncomfortable costume irritating him so much that it gave him scars, the oil getting inside that costume was icky. He said:
"I stood on a special effects platform and, as the oil bath scene began, the platform was lowered by three men into a big tank containing a mixture of oil and colored water. I'd had the foresight to have them heat the mixture first for this was still winter in England — but it was a fairly disgusting experience, feeling this warm oil seeping up between the costume and me. By the end of the day, we'd done it so many times the sticky tape came off and my leg began to float away."
That sounds absolutely vile. I mean, I'm glad to hear it wasn't freezing oil, but doesn't it being warm make it all a little gross? I'm not even sure why, but it does. Having this be the one time Threepio isn't complaining just must have made the whole thing feel worse. Of course, Daniels did find a bright side to the entire experience. He revealed:
"I also had a little ear microphone to hear Mark speaking, and what is so wonderful about those instruments is that you can hear anyone near the microphone, so you listen in on some very outrageous gossip."
Ooh, Mr. Daniels, you must spill this tea, sir! In the meantime, all the "Star Wars" films and series are currently streaming on Disney+.