The Empire Strikes Back cast is led by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, with Billy Dee Williams joining them as Lando Calrissian. Anthony Daniels plays C-3PO, David Prowse plays Darth Vader (James Earl Jones supplies the uncredited voice), Peter Mayhew plays Chewbacca, Kenny Baker plays R2-D2 and Frank Oz voices and performs Yoda. The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, opened in US theaters on May 21, 1980, and its credits run from those leads down to uncredited snowtroopers and Echo Base extras. What makes this ensemble notable is the balance of returns and arrivals: Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew come back from the 1977 film, Alec Guinness reappears as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jeremy Bulloch makes his first appearance as Boba Fett, with Jason Wingreen as the original voice.
| # | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Hamill | Luke Skywalker |
| 2 | Harrison Ford | Han Solo |
| 3 | Carrie Fisher | Princess Leia |
| 4 | Billy Dee Williams | Lando Calrissian |
| 5 | Anthony Daniels | C-3PO |
| 6 | David Prowse | Darth Vader |
| 7 | Peter Mayhew | Chewbacca |
| 8 | Kenny Baker | R2-D2 |
| 9 | Frank Oz | Yoda (Voice) |
| 10 | Alec Guinness | Obi-Wan Kenobi |
| 11 | Jeremy Bulloch | Boba Fett |
| 12 | Jason Wingreen | Boba Fett (voice - uncredited) |
| 13 | John Hollis | Lando's Aide |
| 14 | Jack Purvis | Chief Ugnaught |
| 15 | Des Webb | Snow Creature |
| 16 | Kathryn Mullen | Performing Assistant for Yoda |
| 17 | Marjorie Eaton | Emperor (uncredited) |
| 18 | Clive Revill | Emperor (voice) |
| 19 | Kenneth Colley | Admiral Piett |
| 20 | Julian Glover | General Veers |
| 21 | Michael Sheard | Admiral Ozzel |
| 22 | Michael Culver | Captain Needa |
| 23 | John Dicks | Captain Lennox |
| 24 | Milton Johns | Bewil |
Billing order from the film's credits (TMDB). Actors with a Cinvibe page and characters with a character page are linked.
Also in the cast: Mark Jones (Commander Nemet), Oliver Maguire (Cabbel), Robin Scobey (Lieutenant Venka), Bruce Boa (General Carlist Rieekan), Christopher Malcolm (Zev Senesca), Denis Lawson (Wedge Antilles), Richard Oldfield (Derek "Hobbie" Klivian), John Morton (Dak Ralter), Ian Liston (Wes Janson), John Ratzenberger (Major Derlin), Jack McKenzie (Cal Alder), Jerry Harte (Rebel Force Head Controller), Norman Chancer (Tamizander Rey), Norwich Duff (Jeroen Webb), Ray Hassett (Tigran Jamiro), Brigitte Kahn (Toryn Farr), Burnell Tucker (Wyron Serper), Bob Anderson (Imperial Officer (uncredited)), Lightning Bear (Stormtrooper (uncredited)), Richard Bonehill (Stormtrooper / Snowtrooper / Rebel Soldier / ... (uncredited)), John Cannon (Holographic Imperial Officer (uncredited)), Mark Capri (Officer M'kae (Captain Needa's Communications Officer) (uncredited)), Martin Dew (Cloud City Guard (uncredited)), Peter Diamond (Snowtrooper Gunner (uncredited)), Stuart Fell (Snowtrooper (uncredited)), Doug Robinson (Snowtrooper (uncredited)), Tony Smart (Snowtrooper (uncredited)), Alan Harris (Bossk / Bespin Security Guard (uncredited)), James Earl Jones (Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)), Mac McDonald (Rebel Pilot (uncredited)), Ralph McQuarrie (General McQuarrie (uncredited)), Ralph G. Morse (Stormtrooper / Imperial Comms Officer / Rebel Soldier (uncredited)), Terry Richards (Wampa (uncredited)), Treat Williams (Echo Base Trooper (uncredited)), Shaun Curry (Hoth Rebel Commander (uncredited)), Alan Austen (Stormtrooper/Snowtrooper), Jim Dowdall (Stormtrooper/Snowtrooper), Tom Egeland (Hoth Trooper (uncredited)), Alan Flyng (Stormtrooper (uncredited)), Trevor Butterfield (Blount / Stormtrooper (uncredited)), Mercedes Burleigh (Female Hoth Control Room Tech (uncredited)), Jane Busby (Ugnaught (uncredited)), Maurice Bush (Dengar (uncredited)), Tony Clarkin (Stormtrooper (uncredited)), Mike Edmonds (Ugnaught (uncredited)), Walter Henry (Rebel Technician on Hoth (uncredited)), Paul Jerricho (AT-AT Driver (uncredited)), Joe Johnston (Hoth Rebel (uncredited)), Steven Meek (Stormtrooper / Chewbacca / Treva Horme / Solomahal (uncredited)), Peter Roy (Snowtrooper (uncredited)), Stephanie English (Hoth Rebel Technician (uncredited)), Michael Leader (Imperial Crewman (uncredited)), Egbert Sen (Willrow Hood (uncredited)), Elaine Alexander (Emperor (uncredited)), Colin Hunt (Snowtrooper (uncredited)).
Mark Hamill plays Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke leaves the Rebel base on Hoth to train with Yoda on Dagobah. Hamill has said Irvin Kershner showed him the film's biggest twist on a slip of paper in his dressing room, and that only Kershner, George Lucas and he knew the reveal that would be dubbed in later. Kershner later said Hamill was in character all the time during the shoot.
Harrison Ford plays Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back, the smuggler who rescues Luke on Hoth and flies Leia to Cloud City. Lucasfilm records that the scripted reply to Leia's declaration was a longer line, and that Ford worked with Irvin Kershner on June 21, 1979, at Elstree Studios to cut it down to two words: "I know."
Carrie Fisher plays Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back, a leader of the Rebel base on Hoth. Fisher reprised the role she first played in Star Wars (1977), after George Lucas cast her as a teenager. Born on October 21, 1956, she was 22 when principal photography began in Norway on March 5, 1979.
Billy Dee Williams plays Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, the operator who runs Cloud City and an old friend of Han Solo. The part is his first Star Wars role, and StarWars.com describes him as only too eager to join the cast as the morally ambiguous Lando Calrissian. Williams has said he came to George Lucas through his earlier contract with Motown founder Berry Gordy, and Lucas's second draft gave the character the surname Calrissian.
Anthony Daniels plays C-3PO in The Empire Strikes Back, the protocol droid who ends up in pieces on Cloud City and is carried by Chewbacca. StarWars.com says Daniels was among the first people signed on, in 1975, to help George Lucas bring his vision to the screen. He told the site that once he had made this second film, it became a given that he would play the droid in the films that followed.
David Prowse plays Darth Vader in the suit in The Empire Strikes Back, while James Earl Jones provides the uncredited voice. Prowse stood 6 feet 6 inches, and George Lucas said he brought a physicality to the character that was essential. Fox News reported that the key confrontation was filmed with a decoy line and that the final dialogue was dubbed in later.
Peter Mayhew plays Chewbacca, Han Solo's Wookiee copilot, in The Empire Strikes Back. George Lucas cast Mayhew in Star Wars (1977) while the actor was working as an orderly in a London hospital, and NBC News lists him in the role across the original trilogy. Irvin Kershner described a prop crew member running beside the shot, out of frame, with a very long fishing rod and a nylon wire down to C-3PO's arm, at a cost of zero.
Kenny Baker plays R2-D2 in The Empire Strikes Back, the astromech droid who travels with Luke to Dagobah. Baker stood 3 feet 8 inches tall, and NPR counted six Star Wars films in which he played the droid. His other film credits named by NPR include The Elephant Man, Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.
Frank Oz is credited as the voice of Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, the Jedi Master who trains Luke on Dagobah, and StarWars.com notes that he performed the puppet as well. Kathryn Mullen is credited as Performing Assistant for Yoda. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Jason Wingreen auditioned for Yoda before the part went to Oz.
Alec Guinness returns as Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Empire Strikes Back, billed tenth, after playing the Jedi knight in Star Wars (1977), the role ABC News singled out beside his Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Fox News reported that Darth Vader was given a decoy line naming Obi-Wan as the killer of Luke's father, and that the final dialogue was dubbed in later.
Jeremy Bulloch plays Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back, the masked bounty hunter who follows Han Solo to Cloud City. The Associated Press noted that Bulloch first played the part in this film, when Boba Fett was a fairly minor character. StarWars.com notes that Boba Fett was first conceived as a public appearance character, to ease the demand for Darth Vader at events.
Jason Wingreen supplied the original voice of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back without screen credit, with four lines of dialogue. The Hollywood Reporter reported that he first auditioned for Yoda, that his part was not publicly known until about 2000, and that Temuera Morrison later rerecorded the lines on DVD releases to match the prequels.
The Empire Strikes Back cast was built on the 1977 ensemble, with new roles filled for Cloud City and the Imperial fleet. The full production record sits on the main page for the empire strikes back.
Billy Dee Williams has said that he reached George Lucas through his earlier contract with Motown founder Berry Gordy. Frank Oz took on Yoda as both puppeteer and voice after Jason Wingreen had auditioned for the part, and Wingreen ended up as the uncredited voice of Boba Fett, with Jeremy Bulloch in the armor.
Some casting changed once the cameras rolled. Des Webb was cast to play the snow creature in a full suit, but StarWars.com reports that the suit was too heavy and hot, especially on stilts, so ILM built a torso and face puppet instead. In Finse, Norway, several women and some hotel staff were cast as Rebel troopers for the Battle of Hoth.
Most of the principal players return from Star Wars (1977), and the wider saga is covered in the guide to star wars movies. Carrie Fisher reprises Princess Leia, Anthony Daniels comes back as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew returns as Chewbacca, Kenny Baker again plays R2-D2, David Prowse wears the Darth Vader suit once more and Alec Guinness reappears as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The sequel also adds new principal players, with Billy Dee Williams making his Star Wars debut as Lando Calrissian and Jeremy Bulloch first playing Boba Fett. Among the Imperial officers, Kenneth Colley plays Admiral Piett, Julian Glover plays General Veers and Michael Sheard plays Admiral Ozzel, while Clive Revill is credited as the voice of the Emperor, with Marjorie Eaton uncredited in the role.
| Director | Irvin Kershner |
|---|---|
| Writers | Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett, George Lucas |
| Producers | Gary Kurtz, Howard G. Kazanjian |
| Music | John Williams |
| Cinematography | Peter Suschitzky |
David Prowse played Darth Vader in the suit in The Empire Strikes Back, and James Earl Jones provided the voice without screen credit. Prowse stood 6 feet 6 inches, and George Lucas said he brought a physicality to the character that was essential. The key confrontation was shot with a decoy line, and the final dialogue was dubbed in later.
Billy Dee Williams played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, his first Star Wars role. He is billed fourth, after Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Williams has said he reached George Lucas through his earlier contract with Motown founder Berry Gordy, and the character was named Lando Kadar until Lucas's second draft.
Jason Wingreen voiced Boba Fett in the original release of The Empire Strikes Back, while Jeremy Bulloch wore the armor on screen. Wingreen was uncredited, and his part was not publicly known until about 2000. Temuera Morrison later rerecorded the lines for DVD releases so the voice would match the prequels.
Yes, Alec Guinness is in The Empire Strikes Back as Obi-Wan Kenobi, billed tenth in the credits. He first played the Jedi knight in Star Wars (1977), the part ABC News highlighted beside his Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai when he died in 2000 at the age of 86.
Carrie Fisher was 22 when filming on The Empire Strikes Back began. She was born on October 21, 1956, and principal photography started in Finse, Norway, on March 5, 1979. By the time the film opened in US theaters on May 21, 1980, she was 23.
Most of the main cast returned for The Empire Strikes Back, including Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, David Prowse and Alec Guinness. Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford lead the billing. The sequel also added new principal players, led by Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian and Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett.
Darth Vader is the main villain in The Empire Strikes Back, played by David Prowse with the voice of James Earl Jones. The Emperor also appears, with Clive Revill credited as the voice and Marjorie Eaton uncredited in the role. Kenneth Colley, Julian Glover, Michael Sheard and Michael Culver play the Imperial officers Admiral Piett, General Veers, Admiral Ozzel and Captain Needa.
Vader's TIE fighter is the TIE Advanced X1, an experimental fighter listed at 5.8 meters long.
The Star Wars Millennium Falcon is a modified Corellian light freighter measuring 34.75 meters long.
Star Wars Lost Stars is Claudia Gray's 2015 young adult novel about childhood friends Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, whose relationship is tested when they take opposing sides in the war between the Empire and Rebellion.
Start reading Star Wars comics with Star Wars (2015) #1, or choose a Darth Vader series for a particular film era.
The mouse droid is a Star Wars repair unit that performs small repairs, delivers messages and guides visitors.
The Han Solo blaster is a modified DL-44 pistol in Star Wars.