Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid was born in Tayside, Scotland, in 1944. He studied for an M.A. in Clinical Psychology at The University of St Andrews, but eventually found that his calling was in theatre. He went to the Royal Academy in Glasgow, where he received the prestigious gold medal for his work. He now has a highly successful career as a theatre director, and from 1990 until his retirement in 2001 was Joint Artistic Director of London's Almeida Theatre in Islington. He and his co-director Jonathan Kent revived the Almeida and persuaded many Hollywood stars including Kevin Spacey, Ralph Fiennes and Anna Friel to tread the boards in their humble theatre. They won the coveted London Evening Standard Award in 1998 for their efforts. McDiarmid is also well known for his film and television appearances, and is perhaps most famous for his chilling performance as The Emperor in George Lucas's Star Wars films.

Films

2005	Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith As Chancellor Palpatine
2005	Star Wars: A Musical Journey As Host
2002	Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones As Chancellor Palpatine
1999	Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace As Senator Palpatine
1999	Sleepy Hollow As Dr. Lancaster
1988	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels As Arthur
1983	Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi As The Emperor
1983	Gorky Park As Professor Andreev
1981	Dragonslayer As Brother Jacopus
1980	The Awakening As Dr. Richter
1979	Macbeth As The Porter / Ross