One C-3PO Scene In The Empire Strikes Back Really Tested Anthony Daniels' Balance
After the exuberantly happy ending of "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," George Lucas wisely resolved to put our heroes through the wringer in the sequel. Though the follow-up to what was then the highest-grossing movie in United States box office history was anything but a risky endeavor, its dark twists and downbeat cliffhanger ending ticked off quite a few moviegoers. Were they going to line up in three years' time when Lucas delivered the conclusion to his intergalactic trilogy? Of course! But couldn't he have given the good guys some semblance of a win?
Nope. Han Solo had to be frozen in carbonite, while Luke Skywalker was destined to discover he's the son of the second-most-evil being in the galaxy (immediately after said rotter lopped his hand off with a lightsaber). No one gets a break in "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back," not even the poor, put-upon droid C-3PO. Indeed, the gold-plated translator, who probably would've wound up as scrap in the first film had he not been fluent in the language of Bocce, is blown to seemingly irreparable bits while knocking about in Cloud City.
While we know it all works out for C-3PO, getting him literally back in one piece required a good deal of ingenuity in both the universe of the film and in real life. And actor Anthony Daniels does not remember the effort fondly.
Don't mess with a one-legged translator droid
While taking his umpteenth stroll down memory lane during a live appearance at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 in London, Anthony Daniels recalled the scene where a partially reconstructed C-3PO has to upbraid his troublemaking droid companion R2-D2. According to Daniels:
"[O]ne of my least favorite moments was in the Millennium Falcon, where I've been exploded in Cloud City and gradually got put back together. They said 'You've got to stand there on one leg in the suit holding the other leg.'"
The 77-year-old Daniels then got up from his seat to reenact the moment, which challenged his shaky sense of balance (he used the moderator to simulate the wall against which he leaned). He did the best he could at his age, and, to the delight of the audience, delivered one of his character's most quotable lines from "The Empire Strikes Back": "I'm standing here in pieces, and you're having delusions of grandeur!"
The unfailingly good-humored Daniels received a warm round of applause from the fans in attendance and then continued his well-rehearsed raconteur act. As for C-3PO's journey in the original trilogy, he was rewarded in "Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi" by being treated as a god by the furry Ewok race on Endor. For once, Threepio's companions realized just how crucial the fussy droid was to ensuring their survival.