Over the course of six movies, the role of Darth Vader was played by several people. In the original trilogy that launched in 1977, actor James Earl Jones was the voice for Vader while David Prowse played the regular scenes and Bob Anderson played Vader in fight scenes. Sebastian Shaw plays the role of the unmasked Vader and the deceased but redeemed Darth Vader in his original form, Anakin Skywalker. In the prequel series that launched in 1999, the role of Anakin Skywalker was played by Jake Lloyd and Frankie Ryan Manriquez to show the young Anakin growing up. Later in the same series, Vader is played by Hayden Christensen for episodes two and three. George Lucas created a villain so large it took seven actors to encompass Vader in all of his Dark Sided evilness. Lucas also wrote original characters for Luke and Han Solo that the audience never got to see. The part of Luke was originally written for a girl and Han Solo was originally written as an alien. Then Lucas changed the part of Solo to that of an African American human. Solo finally ended up being a plain ole’ white guy.
Star Wars Characters, Cast, History & Trivia [Infographic]
