Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid
McDiarmid at the 2020 Brussels Comic Con
Born (1944-08-11) 11 August 1944 (age 80)
Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
Years active1972–present
Known forPalpatine in Star Wars

Ian McDiarmid (/məkˈdɜːrmɪd/; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen. Making his stage debut in Hamlet in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since starred in a number of Shakespeare's plays. He has received an Olivier Award for Best Actor for Insignificance (1982) and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Faith Healer (2006).

He gained prominence for portraying Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the Star Wars franchise starting from Return of the Jedi (1983).[1] He also acted in Gorky Park (1983), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Restoration (1995), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and The Lost City of Z (2016).

  1. ^ Irvine, Lindesay (7 November 2005). "In the Shadow of Evil". The Guardian.