Star Wars' Anthony Daniels Was 'Insulted' By The Offer To Audition For C-3PO

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It's hard to imagine a world without "Star Wars," especially for those who've grown up with it. Before 1977's "A New Hope" (then just "Star Wars"), science fiction wasn't taken very seriously. A space story featuring a kidnapped princess, a villain in a Samurai-style helmet, a farm boy hero, and two quirky robots would've sounded bizarre. Even Anthony Daniels, who has played C-3P0 since the beginning, didn't quite get it at first. According to the 1983 book "Star Wars — The Making of Return of the Jedi" by John Phillip Peecher, Daniels was actually "insulted" when his agent mentioned the audition. Just 18 months into his acting career, he was told George Lucas wanted to see him for a sci-fi film. Daniels had seen "American Graffiti" and was intrigued — until he heard what part he'd be auditioning for.

Daniels' agent emphasized that there wasn't much money involved, except for sets, effects, and costumes. More dismissively, she added, "He wants to see you for the part of a robot," which Daniels didn't take kindly to. Nowadays, actors would kill for the chance to play a Droid, but this is before "Star Wars" became the biggest franchise on the planet.

"I remember being a little insulted," he said. "I was doing quite well as a human being. And science fiction was just above cowboy movies in my ratings." Still, he decided to go, admitting that his skepticism was "pure ignorance." The first meeting with Lucas was awkward at first, but Daniels' agent had warned that Lucas was extremely shy. After an uncomfortable silence, Daniels realized he'd need to break the ice or waste his bus fare to Twentieth Century Fox. Fortunately, he had his chance thanks to catching a glimpse of Ralph McQuarrie's now-famous concept art.

Once Daniels saw McQuarrie's concept art for the film on the walls around him and Lucas, he used the striking images to kick off their meeting. "In a fit of abandon, as if we were taking tea on a sunny afternoon outside, I asked, 'What are these?' George casually began to explain how the film would look," Daniels recalled. He explained that he enjoyed Lucas's enthusiasm for the project. Then he saw the C-3PO concept art. He said:

"The eventual costume turned out to be similar to the one in the painting. Here was a tin figure, a sort of gaunt, metal man; the overwhelming quality of the picture was one of sadness. He was the sort of creature you could feel for. C-3PO was standing with this little box nearby and nothing but rocks and moons in the distance."

He may have been insulted by the initial request, but it grew on him. Daniels said he was "very confused" by an early draft because it was so different than the plays he'd done ("A New Hope" was Daniel's first feature film), so he ended up reading it five times. Threepio's character is what sold him. He said, " ... the reason I took the job was because Threepio, even in that early draft, was the most perfectly formed character." It's hard to imagine "Star Wars" without the worrying and complaining of our beloved droid, and as a Threepio apologist since I was little, I'm grateful to Daniels's agent for giving him that warning about Lucas being shy.

The role that Daniels nearly passed on auditioning for would go on to be the role that defined his life, so much so that he titled his memoir, "I Am C-3PO – The Inside Story." While he had spoken countless times over the years about how the script completely won him over, his memoir provides a deeper and even more beautiful insight into his relationship with the character that made him a household name. "Threepio reticent and self-protective; Artoo gung-ho and inquisitive — their affection for each other so clear in its understatement. It was a master-class in odd-couple scripting," he wrote. "Their banter was delightful. Their medial and meaningless place in society was classically tragic. I was hooked. Forget it was sci-fi. Forget Luke and Han and Vader. Threepio was the one for me."

Daniels was so smitten by the character following his audition that he outright asked Lucas if he could play the role. As he wrote in his memoir:

"George and I talked. An hour passed. Surely we both had things to do. There was a silence. Nervously. "Please, may I play the part?" George paused. Then quietly, 'Shurr.' Not even a word. Hardly a syllable. A sound. A small sound above the London traffic. It changed my life."

C-3PO is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable characters in the entirety of the galaxy far, far away, and the character wouldn't be nearly as iconic if it weren't for Daniels' portrayal. We should all be grateful that he swallowed his pride and took that audition.

All of the "Star Wars" films are currently streaming on Disney+.