An established actor of stage and screen, Ian McDiarmid is best known to US moviegoers for his recurring part in the "Star Wars" saga, portraying the evil Palpatine in 1983's "Return of the Jedi" and reprising the role in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (2001). With versatile and arresting if not beautiful looks, and a palpable presence and grace, the gray-haired actor has proven a consummate character player, and his dozens of credits in supporting roles on stage and in both television and film attest to his proficiency. The makeup used to age him to play a 100-year-old Emperor in
