Darth Vader, the Most Evil Villain in the Universe

Did you ever wonder who the actor behind Darth Vader was? I must admit that I always thought that the actor whose face was shown when Darth Vader died in "Return of the Jedi" was the same actor who played Darth Vader throughout the series. He wasn't. The real Darth Vader is David Prowse, an English actor who's also a body-builder and weightlifter. Darth Vader's voice was done by James Earl Jones (who guested on Big Bang Theory).

I learned this from watching the documentary "I am Your Father". It was a film made by a director who is a huge fan of David Prowse. He wanted to show the real man behind the mask. The documentary detailed the life of David Prowse who became known from being a weight lifter and an Olympiad. Eventually because of his physique he became an actor and portrayed characters like Frankenstein and other monsters. It was because of his physique that he was cast as Darth Vader.

The feature showed the other side of "Darth Vader". He's really kind and a family man in real life. It's quite sad to see though that he hasn't been given the recognition he deserves being the most evil villain in the whole wide universe (well in film). After all Star Wars won't be what it is without "Darth Vader". Apparently there has been a standing 35+ year old misunderstanding between Mr. Prowse and Lucas Film. Because of this he hasn't enjoyed the same recognition that other original Star Wars actors get. Mr. Prowse is the same age of my Mom so I wish that they could just bury the hatchet and revel with the success of the film as one big happy family because I'm a big Star Wars fan!

*Sorry I don't have an Darth Vader photos as I've always been scared of him since I was a child and that's one of the reasons I collect Yoda figurines hehe.