Star Wars Prequels

Ian McDiarmid was born on August 11, 1944 in Carnoustie, Tayside, Scotland. He studied for a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, but eventually found that his calling was in theatre. He went to the Royal Academy in Glasgow, where he received the prestigious gold medal for his work. He now has a highly successful career as a theatre director, and from 1990 until his retirement in 2001, was Joint Artistic Director of London's Almeida Theatre in Islington. He and his co-director Jonathan Kent revived the Almeida and persuaded many Hollywood stars including Kevin Spacey, Ralph Fiennes and Anna Friel to tread the boards in their humble theatre. They won the coveted London Evening Standard Award in 1998 for their efforts. McDiarmid is also well known for his film and television appearances, and is perhaps most famous for his chilling performance as Emperor Palpatine in George Lucas's Star Wars films.

Samuel L. Jackson is an American producer and highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 100 films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000), Formula 51 (2001), Black Snake Moan (2006), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005), as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Samuel Leroy Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., to Elizabeth (Montgomery) and Roy Henry Jackson. He was raised by his mother, a factory worker, and his grandparents. At Morehouse College, Jackson was active in the black student movement. In the seventies, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company (together with Morgan Freeman). In the eighties, he became well-known after three movies made by Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990) and Jungle Fever (1991). He achieved prominence and critical acclaim in the early 1990s with films such as Patriot Games (1992), Amos & Andrew (1993), True Romance (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), and his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), and later Django Unchained (2012). Going from supporting player to leading man, his performance in Pulp Fiction (1994) gave him an Oscar nomination for his character Jules Winnfield, and he received a Silver Berlin Bear for his part as Ordell Robbi in Jackie Brown (1997). Jackson usually played bad guys and drug addicts before becoming an action hero, co-starring with Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

With Jackson's permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character, Nick Fury. He later did a cameo as the character in a post-credits scene from Iron Man (2008), and went on to sign a nine-film commitment to reprise this role in future films, including major roles in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and minor roles in Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He has also portrayed the character in the second and final episodes of the first season of the TV show, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013). He has provided his voice to several animated films, television series and video games, including the roles of Lucius Best / Frozone in Pixar's film The Incredibles (2004), Mace Windu in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Afro Samurai in the anime television series Afro Samurai (2007), and Frank Tenpenny in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).

Ewan Gordon McGregor was born on March 31, 1971 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, to Carol Diane (Lawson) and James Charles McGregor, both teachers. His uncle is actor Denis Lawson. He was raised in Crieff. At age 16, he left Morrison Academy to join the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents encouraged him to leave school and pursue his acting goals rather than be unhappy. McGregor studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife, then enrolled at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama for a three-year course. He studied alongside Daniel Craig and Alistair McGowan, among others, and left right before graduating after snagging the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's six-part Channel 4 series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993). His first notable role was that of Alex Law in Shallow Grave (1994), directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge and produced by Andrew Macdonald. This was followed by The Pillow Book (1995) and Trainspotting (1996), the latter of which brought him to the public's attention.

He is now one of the most critically acclaimed actors of his generation, and portrays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first three Star Wars episodes. McGregor is married to French production designer Eve Mavrakis, whom he met while working on the television series Kavanagh QC (1995). They married in France in the summer of 1995, and have four daughters. McGregor formed a production company, with friends Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Damon Bryant, Bradley Adams and Geoff Deehan, called "Natural Nylon", and hoped it would make innovative films that do not conform to Hollywood standards. McGregor and Bryant left the company in 2002. He was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama and charity.

Ewan made his directorial debut with American Pastoral (2016), an adaptation of Philip Roth's book, in which Ewan also starred.

In 2018 McGregor won an Golden Globe for his work in the TV Series Fargo.

Hayden Christensen was born April 19, 1981 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His parents, Alie and David Christensen, are in the communications business. He is of Danish (father) and Swedish and Italian (mother) descent. Hayden grew up in Markham, Ontario, with siblings Kaylen, Hejsa, and Tove. Hayden set out to become an actor when a chance encounter at the age of eight placed him in his first commercial, for Pringles. When he was thirteen, he had starring roles in several dramatic television series.

His biggest break was a major part in the Fox Family Network's Higher Ground (2000). On the series, Hayden showed off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, and turns to drugs in despair. Later, he appeared in the television movie Trapped in a Purple Haze (2000), where he co-starred with his friend Jonathan Jackson. Hayden also had a role in the film The Virgin Suicides (1999).

On May 12, 2000, it was announced that Christensen would star as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). The star was chosen by director George Lucas because he felt that Hayden had raw talent and good chemistry with actress Natalie Portman. Lucas stunned the movie world by picking the then-unknown actor after he had turned down such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonathan Jackson, as well as 400 other candidates.

His role as the troubled, misunderstood teenager Sam Monroe in Irwin Winkler's Life as a House (2001) won him 'Breakthrough Performance of the Year' from the National Board of Review. The film also placed him as a nominee for 'Best Supporting Actor' at both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Hayden then starred in Shattered Glass (2003), quoted by some of the real Stephen Glass' colleagues as giving an eerie and uncanny portrayal.

Since his Star Wars days, Hayden has headlined several action films, including Jumper (2008) and Takers (2010).

When not working, he enjoys spending quality time with his family (such as big brother Tove), hanging out with his friends, and exploring other hobbies such as the blues, jazz and piano.

Hayden was in a relationship with actress Rachel Bilson from 2007 to 2017. The two have a child, born in 2014.

Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).

Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an American-born artist (from Cincinnati, Ohio), who also acts as Natalie's agent. Her parents are both of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Natalie's family left Israel for Washington, D.C., when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family finally settled in New York, where she still lives to this day. She graduated with honors, and her academic achievements allowed her to attend Harvard University. She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but she decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Léon: The Professional (1994) (aka "Léon"). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).

It was not until 1999 that Natalie received worldwide fame as Queen Amidala in the highly anticipated US$431 million-grossing prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She then she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas, Anywhere But Here (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000), followed by Closer (2004), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She reprised her role as Padme Amidala in the last two episodes of the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). She received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Black Swan (2010).

She received a second nomination for Best Actress, for playing Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie (2016).

Silas Carson (b: 1964) is an English actor who has spent most of his life living in London. He trained at The Drama Centre, London, and works extensively on stage and screen. He has played many classical roles in the theatre, including at The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe. On screen he is best known for his role as Bullimore (aka Khan) alongside Donald Sutherland in Danny Boyle's FX series 'Trust'. Other notable productions include 'Phantom Thread' (Focus Features), 'The Casual Vacancy' (HBO/BBC), 'The Grid' (Carnival), 'Tut' (Spike TV), 'Hidalgo' (Disney) and 'Locke' (Shoebox Films). In certain circles he is known for playing Ki-Adi Mundi, Nute Gunray and Lieutenant Williams in 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace', 'Attack Of The Clones' and 'Revenge Of The Sith', testament to his versatility as a voice and character actor. He has also voiced The Ood in various 'Dr. Who' series and regularly provides voices for video games such as 'Warhammer 2 - Total War' and 'Wrath Of The White Witch'.

Alan Ruscoe is known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) and The Fifth Element (1997).

Jesse Jensen is known for Survivor (2000), Survivor: Blood vs Water Preview (2013) and Survivor: Philippines Preview (2012).

Orli Shoshan was born on 7 December 1976 in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is an actress, known for Order of the Sith: Downfall (2006), Hell Night (2001) and FedCon XVI: Drone Heart (2007).

Zachariah Jensen is known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).

Hassani Shapi was born on 15 July 1973 in Mombasa, Kenya. He was an actor and director, known for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Il maresciallo Rocca (1996). He died on 7 July 2024 in Kenya.

Tux Akindoyeni is known for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Farscape (1999) and Good Luck with That (2007).

Christopher Truswell was born on 31 January 1966 in Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Farscape (1999), Ned (2003) and The Late Show (1992).

Gin Clarke was first spotted by French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier whilst on a trip in London. Soon her tall athletic figure and beautifully shaped bald head were gracing catwalks all over Europe. Her look was copied by a number of young, black models, especially in the UK where many bald black women modeled for UK shows in the mid-90s.

She no longer does catwalk modelling, but has appeared in the movies The Fifth Element (1997), the latest Star War films and several music videos. Her clean-shaven head has been a permanent feature and become the most important part of her look.

At the age of 18, Amy Allen moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco. After graduating, she went to work for ILM. As a Production Assistant, she worked on several films, including Gangs of New York (2002), before going to work on Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).

Jerome Blake debuted as an actor with a part as one of the knights guarding Sean Connery in First Knight (1995). After playing a succession of roles, Nick Dudman Creature effects supremo called him to say: "I'm doing Star Wars now". After Jerome congratulated him, Nick simply said "Do you want to be in it?" Blake - a Star Wars fan since he saw the first movie on its opening day back in 1977- immediately said yes. A year later he had Seven different characters in "Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace". And reprised several of those roles in "Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones" and "Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith"

Nina Fallon is known for The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Inception (2010) and John Carter (2012).

Mary Oyaya has always been pursuing her goal to become an international and worldly person since childhood. She was born in the coastal town of Mombasa in Kenya, Africa and has lived in several diverse areas of the globe-Africa, Canada, Sweden and Australia. Mary has received her Masters Degree in International Relations, as well accomplished a second Masters Degree in International Social Development. She has always aspired to work for the United Nations like her parents, who themselves were UN diplomats for many years. Mary also has worked with refugees in Australia for several NGOs. While Mary was pursing her studies in International Relations, she also enrolled in a modeling course. Her modeling career began in 1996 after she successfully completed a course in screen acting. Mary has been featured in fashion magazines such as 'CAT' and 'S' where she has advertised Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci sunglasses, Chanel and Jan Logan jewelry and footwear with Sergio Rossi. Mary has also appeared onscreen with commercials for Telstra Communications, Hewlett Packard Bell, and various sports advertisements. She has been an extra for film productions, such as Lost Souls (with 'Wynona Ryder'), Down and Under, and the SciFi network TV series, Farscape (1999). Mary's most popular role to date is Jedi Master Luminara Unduli in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002). Mary currently lives in Australia, where she still continues to model and purse her acting career.

Marton was born in Invercargill, Aotearoa (New Zealand), to Margaret Christine (Rayner), a nurse, and Márton Csókás, a mechanical engineer. His father is Hungarian and his mother is Australian (of English, Irish, and Danish origin). He inherited some of his talents from his father, who was also a trained opera singer and at one time, a trapeze artist in the Hungarian Circus.

His academic training began at Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, where he commenced a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art History, and then transferred to, Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa/ The New Zealand Drama School, graduating in December, 1989. His first acting role was in Te Whanau a Tuanui Jones by Apairana Taylor at the Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington New Zealand, (1990). He has since had an eclectic career of theatre, television and film.

He appeared in the 1994 movie Jack Brown Genius (1996) in which he played the role of Dennis. After starring for two years in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street (1992), he starred in the 1996 movie Broken English (1996) as Darko. After performing in a great number of theatrical plays, writing his own and co-founding his own theatre company, the Stronghold Theatre, Marton got the role of Tarlus in an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995). After that, he continued working with Renaissance Pictures, playing the roles of Khrafstar and Borias in the 1997-1998 seasons of Xena: Warrior Princess (1995). He continued appearing in many other shows in both NZ and Australia, such as Farscape (1999), BeastMaster (1999), Water Rats (1996), Cleopatra 2525 (2000), and more, returning for the role of Borias in three episodes of the 2000-2001 season of Xena: Warrior Princess (1995). He was also in many movies produced in NZ and Australia, such as Hurrah (1998), The Monkey's Mask (2000) and the mini-series The Farm (2001). He is a citizen of the European Union and Hungary, and is a permanent resident of the United States.

Most recently, Csokas starred opposite Denzel Washington in Sony's hit film The Equalizer. He played a brutal fixer for the Russian mafia and a formidable villain to Washington's reluctant hero.

Csokas appeared in Darren Aronofsky's Noah as well as Robert Rodriguez's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, a sequel to the 2005 hit film Sin City. Csokas also played the psychiatrist, "Dr. Kafka," in the hit movie sequel, The Amazing Spiderman 2, alongside Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx.

Csokas most famously starred as "Lord Celeborn" in one of the highest-grossing film series of all time, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some of his other film credits include 2010's The Debt opposite Jessica Chastain and Paul Greengrass' The Bourne Supremacy with Matt Damon. His depth of experience is illustrated in Asylum in which he starred opposite Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen, as well as the Ridley Scott epic, Kingdom of Heaven, with Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and Liam Neeson.

On the small screen, Csokas recently starred on the History Channel's miniseries Sons of Liberty as well as Discovery Channel's miniseries Klondike with Tim Roth and Sam Shepard.

On stage, Csokas continues to work internationally, most recently starring in a production of Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" at The New York Theatre Workshop by acclaimed director, Ivo van Hove. The play was noted by Time Magazine as one of the "Top 10 of Everything of 2010." The actor has numerous classical credits, including 'Orsino' in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" at the National Theatre of Great Britain, 'Anthony' in "Anthony and Cleopatra" at the Theatre of a New Audience, 'Brutus' in "Julius Caesar" and as 'Septimus' in Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" in his birthplace of New Zealand. On the Australian stage, Csokas has appeared as 'George' in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," directed by Benedict Andrews of the Schaubuhne Theatre in Berlin and in "Riflemind," directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman at the Sydney Theatre Company.

A Los Angeles native, Phil is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake School, Yale University and The Groundlings Theater and is perhaps best known as one of the original cast members of Mad TV (1995) and as Marvin in Pulp Fiction (1994).

In addition to numerous appearances on stages across the country, in films and on TV, he also starred in and produced the comedy web series Inside the Legend (2012). He has also been profiled for his extensive voice-over work, which includes regular roles on animated series as well as parts in video games like Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) for which he won the NAVGTR Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Hilton Howson was born on 19 April 1974 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) and The Hunter (2011).

Howard Swindell is known for Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).

Michaela Cottrell is known for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She is married to Mike Cottrell.

Amanda Lucas was born on 15 July 1981. She is an actress and writer, known for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) and Chick Magnets (2012). She is married to Jason Hallikainen. They have one child.

Paul James Nicholson is known for The Last Stand (2013) and Mirrors (2008).