An exclusive interview with Dave Prowse: Darth Becomes Him

Even 30 years after it catapulted the former body-builder turned actor, David Prowse AKA Darth Vader, to international fame, he is still feeling 'the force' of the Star Wars effect, which takes him all over the world.

This year alone sees him go from the Disney Star Wars Weekend in Orlando to Knoxville, Mexico, France, Glasgow and even on a Norwegian cruise ship! But for one night only Lord Vader will be swapping his lightsaber for an ice-cream on Tuesday 30th June as he touches down in Southend-on-Sea and visits South, or should that be 'Sith' East Essex College to give a talk on his life and career.

Prowse, a Patron of the College's Southend Festival, of which this is the closing event, said of his fans, no matter where his travels take him, that they are absolute Star Wars mad.

Dave said: "It's Incredible that a role I played 30 years ago has left such a lasting impression on people. In Japan the reaction was amazing, it's almost as if they thought we were Gods. The first time I went there the committee sent to meet me were all on the floor bowing on their hands and knees."

It's doubtful that the sprightly 73 year old, it's his 74th birthday the day after the event, will have people bowing but he can expect several stormtroopers and people dressed up as characters from the films.

So why does he think that Star Wars continues to grip the imagination and captivate both generations old and new alike? He says: "They have very likable characters, really good villains and all done in a fantastic space setting that we'd never seen done quite so well or like this before. First and foremost though it was a good story that was helped by some really good actors like Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness and of course the then up-and-coming Harrison Ford. I guess you could say it was like capturing lightning in a bottle as everything just seemed to gel in that first movie."

That first movie was of course Star Wars back in 1977, but for many the stand-out of the original trilogy has always been the darker second-act of The Empire Strikes Back, a film which is a favourite of David's as well.

"We of course did the follow-up and I think that the Director, Irvin Kershner, did a wonderful job and was a much better director than George Lucas. I've always said it's been the adult version, theme-wise, of Star Wars and is much better for it."

Of course Prowse is so much more than just Darth Vader, his CV reads like a list of some of the best and most influential British TV from the 70s including:
Morecambe and Wise, Benny Hill, Dr Who, Callan, Space 1999, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, all of which is featured in his talk and show. And although we all know the man can shake a mean lightsaber he also got to have a go at Shakespeare with 'As You Like It'. David said: "I've had a fantastically varied career with everything from A Clockwork Orange for Stanley Kubrick and Jabberwocky with Terry Gilliam and even three horror films for Hammer."

David may have batted for the Dark Side from the late 70s onwards but he was also just as well known as another iconic-figure that people of a certain age still have a fondness for, The Green Cross Code Man.

David said: "I loved every minute of the 14 years of that job, meeting young people and just making a real difference. It's one thing to entertain people but quite another to help save their lives."

Dave did 15 television commercials and visited over 2,000 schools, speaking to half a million children. The Green Cross Code Man campaign was so successful that it is estimated that it saved thousands of lives and reduced the accident rate by half. It's still a message passed down to children of those who originally saw it which David thinks is great but is sorry that there has never really been anything to take its place.

So, for arguments sake if Dave Prowse had both a Green Cross code Man outfit and Darth Vader costume and there was a fire, which one would he save first? Dave laughed and said: "From a money point of view it would have to be the Vader one as it would be worth thousands."

The Krypton Factor
But David nearly completed the 70s icon hat trick as he was close to securing the cape of none-other than Superman himself. David explained how he nearly landed the then most sought-after film role in the world that the cream of Hollywood was after, from Robert Redford to Warren Beatty. David said: "I went for the role of Superman and they said everything was just right, the build, the height, the only thing that went against me was that they said they couldn't have someone not American playing the Man of Steel, so ultimately I lost out to Chris Reeve."

It's almost an irony then that some 30 years later we have, the also very American, Batman played by Welsh boyo, Christian Bale. Obviously David and his physique must have made quite an impression as some six weeks away from filming the first Superman in 1978 he was asked to help bulk up Christopher Reeve by 40lbs in that short time. Rumour has it Reeve worked out so much during the making of the film that the travelling matte shots of him flying, taken at the beginning of the shoot, did not match the later shots so had to be redone.

Prowse talks more about his Star Wars experiences on page 2