Unidentified head-bumping stormtrooper

"You stand guard."

- The head-bumping stormtrooper's squad leader

This person served as a stormtrooper with the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps during the early part of the Galactic Civil War. He was stationed aboard the original Death Star as part of the battle station's guard contingent in 0 BBY, just prior to the Battle of Yavin. He was part of a squad of troopers dispatched to the gantry office above Docking Bay 327, where he and the others encountered the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Biography
When an incursion was discovered on the Death Star, it was learned that a security control center overlooking Docking Bay 327 had been locked. The head-bumping stormtrooper was among a squad of troops that had been dispatched to investigate. The squad's leader was eventually able to open the door, but as the group barged in, the head-bumping stormtrooper did not account for his height and the low clearance that the entrance presented. As a result of the helmet's poor field of vision, the stormtrooper knocked his head on the door, slowing his advance. Two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, were discovered in the room, but they were thought to be Imperial property. As the stormtroopers left the room, the squad leader told the stormtrooper to wait and stand guard. C-3PO requested that he be allowed to take R2-D2 to the maintenance department, and the stormtrooper obliged.

Behind the scenes
One of the most visible gaffes from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the "head-bumping stormtrooper" mistake has been highlighted by George Lucas years after the initial release of the film, and is now made to look as though it is an intentional element of the film. In 2002's Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, George Lucas paid homage to the scene by having Jango Fett bump his head on the low clearance door of the Slave I with a sound effect added to make the gag more evident. In the 2004 re-release of the original Star Wars Trilogy, the "head-bumping stormtrooper" bump is enhanced with an obvious and loud sound effect.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope