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Kenny Baker

Kenny Baker’s most famous role hid his face but made full use of his instincts as a physical performer. As R2-D2, he helped give movement and personality to a metal droid, operating the unit from inside and controlling its turns, bows, wobbles and rotating dome. It was demanding work in a costume weighing about 80 pounds, often with very limited visibility. Born in Birmingham on 24 August 1934, Baker found his way into show business in 1951, when he was invited to join John Lester’s theatrical troupe of little people. A brief period in the circus followed, along with ice skating and appearances in ice shows. He later formed the comedy act The Mini Tones with Jack Purvis, performing in nightclubs before the opportunity to join George Lucas’s space fantasy arrived. Baker initially worried that accepting Star Wars would disrupt his successful partnership with Purvis. Instead, R2-D2 became the defining screen role of his career. In Star Wars: A New Hope, the droid’s reactions are a performance in themselves: alert, stubborn and expressive despite the absence of a human face. Baker’s work inside the practical unit complemented the mechanical versions used for shots requiring R2-D2 to travel on three legs. He continued as R2-D2 across six episodic Star Wars films and also played the Ewok Paploo in Return of the Jedi. When Star Wars returned to an earlier generation of the story, Baker reprised R2-D2 in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, operating the character in scenes that did not use radio-controlled units. He later served as a consultant for R2-D2 on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Baker’s film work extended beyond the galaxy far, far away, with appearances in The Elephant Man, Time Bandits, Flash Gordon, Amadeus, Labyrinth and Willow. Yet R2-D2 remains the clearest example of what Baker brought to the screen: precise physical comedy and characterful movement, delivered from inside one of cinema’s most recognisable costumes.