Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian Shaw (May 29, 1905 – December 23, 1994) appeared in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as the unmasked Darth Vader and as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker. In the DVD release of the original trilogy, his eyebrows were removed and Hayden Christensen replaced him as Anakin's ghost (though Shaw still plays the unmasked Vader in both versions).

Early life
Sebastian Lewis Shaw was born at Holt, Norfolk in England on May 29, 1905. His father, Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, was the music master at Gresham's School, a North Norfolk independent coeducational boarding school, where Sebastian Shaw began his education. Shaw made his acting debut at age eight on the London stage as one of the juvenile band in The Cockyolly Bird at the Royal Court Theatre in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. During his time at Gresham's, he also played Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, the first of many performances from the works of William Shakespeare. W.H. Auden, who would go on to become a highly regarded poet, performed in the play alongside Shaw. After Gresham's, Shaw spent two years at the Slade School of Fine Art in London before earning a scholarship to the Royal Academic of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London.

Early stage career
Shaw appeared in regional theaters in Brisol, Liverpool and Hull. In 1925, he performed in London as the Archangel in The Sign of the Sun, and played first Lewis Dodd and then the Major in separate productions of The Constant Nymph. Shaw played some of his early Shakespeare roles in 1926 at a regional theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he plyed Romeo Montague in Romeo and Juliet, Ferdinand in The Tempest and Prince Hal in Henry IV. Shaw was criticized for the audacity he displayed in the latter role. When Prince Hal takes on his kingship and rejects the self-indulgent character Falstaff, convention of the day called for Prince Hal to change from a jovial drinking partner to an arrogant snob, but Shaw saw the view as simple-minded and contradictory toward Shakespeare's script. Instead, Shaw displayed inward regrets toward leaving Falstaff and accepting the new responsibilities. The interpretation was criticized at the time but, years later, critics would say it became the accepted approach to the character.

Shaw made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he created the role of Wyndham Brandon, one half of a duo of homosexual murderers in Patrick Hamilton's stage thriller, Rope's End; although he played the role in New York, he was passed over when the show moved to London. In 1929, Shaw married Margaret Delamere and lived with her in The Albany, an apartment complex off of Piccadilly in London. Shaw would return to the works of William Shakespeare in 1931, playing Claudio in Measure for Measure at London's Fortune Playhouse. The next year he once again played Romeo at the Embassy Theatre.

Early film career
The first film Sebastian Shaw appeared in was Caste in 1930. The actor soon began to make a name for himself in motion pictures with such performances as Brewster's Millions in 1935, Men Are Not Gods in 1936 and Farewell Again in 1937. Shaw was making about 300 pounds a week during this stage of his career. He brought what The Daily Telegraph described as a "smooth villainy" to the title role of Frank Sutton in The Squeaker in 1937, and played a hero alongside movie stars Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson in Michael Powell's The Spy in Black. Shaw described himself as a movie buff and called Academy Award-winning actor Spencer Tracy his "great god of all screen actors"; he was so impressed by Tracy's technique that he claimed to become depressed while watching his movies because Tracy made acting look simple, while Shaw claimed to find it so difficult to master himself.

World War II
When World War II broke out, Shaw took a brief break from his acting career and immediately joined the Royal Air Force, where he served as an Aircraftman 2nd Class. He saw little action in the service and was told the only chance he would have to fly would be as a rear gunner. Some of his fellow airmen hounded Shaw for autographs while others would mock his posh accent, to which Shaw would retaliate with an excellent and unflattering imitation of their unposh accents. Immediately upon returning to London after the war, Shaw lost his his Albany flat and his acting contract, and essentially had to restart his acting career.

Although Shaw made 20 films before WWII and had already began to develop a reputation as a strong leading man before the war began, in later years Shaw would describe himself as "a rotten actor" in the 1930s who landed roles based mainly on his good looks. He used the phrase "a piece of cinema beefcake" to describe himself as an actor during that period, and felt it was after his return home from military service that he learned to act properly and began to matured as a performer. Shaw's Royal Air Force experience would be put to good use when he played a pilot in Journey Together, the 1946 RAF training film in which actor Edward G. Robinson would coach actor Richard Attenborough in the rudiments of flying.

Post WWII career
In 1945, Shaw returned to the Embassy Theatre to direct Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Gambler. Significant theatre roles that decade would include Hercules in The Thracian Horses at the Lyric Hammersmith theatre in 1946; Hern Lawrance in I Said to Myself at the Old Mercury Theatre in 1947; Sir James Kirkham in His Excellency at Prince's Theatre in 1950 and Filmer Jesson, MP in Arthur Wing Pinero's His House In Order at New Theatre in 1951. In 1956, he would play the title role in the first English production of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Everyman. As Shaw grew older, his reputation as a dramatic actor grew stronger, and he became known for a sharp intelligence and dignified style. Although his good looks began to diminsh, reviewers felt his florid and weatherbeaten face was well utilized by Shaw in evoking grandeur and self-assuredness in such roles as generals, priests and his familiar Shakespearian parts.

In 1956, his wife Margaret Delamere passed away; she was survived by her daughter with Shaw, Drusilla. Shaw began a romantic relationship in the mid-1950s with Joan Ingpen, the well-known classical music and opera talent agent who previously represented Shaw. The two were romantically involved for about four decades until Shaw's death, although Shaw also engaged in a brief relationship with the mother of disc jockey John Peel during the 1980s.

Writing career
Shaw wrote Take a Life, his first play, in 1961. He directed a production of the show at London's Mermaid Theatre, where he also played the lead role of the Detective. That same year he played two lead roles in George Bernard Shaw plays at the Dublin Theatre Festival: Mrs. Warren's Profession and Candida. Around this time, Shaw also wrote an outline for a television comedy series about four girls sharing a flat, inspired by his real-life daughter, who was in her early twenties and living in a flat with other girls her age. The series was submitted to the Granada Television company, which expressed interest in the show and said it was one of two under consideration for television. The company ultimately chose the other show, the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.

Shaw agreed to take certain roles only under the condition that he have complete freedom to rewrite his dialogue. When Shaw appeared in It Happened Here, a 1965 World War II film, he wrote much of his own dalogue, which the filmmakers would later admit "gave his dialogue an individual slant which enhanced his performance." Shaw also helped in other aspects of the filmmaking, including casting; he introduced the filmmakers to Fiona Leland, who would be cast as Shaw's wife in It Happened Here. Shaw wrote other plays, including The Ship's Bell, The Cliff Walk, The Glass Maze and Cul de Sac. He also wrote Poems, a collection of his personal poetry, which saw a limited print of 300 editions by publisher Exeter University. It included poems called Nightmare, Sing Cuckoo, Necrophilia, Apple Harvest, Noctambulation, Thought From Ireland, Moor Mouse, White Blues, The Naked Hill, The Cover of Darkness, Two Pcitures at Edinburgh, Waking at Dawn, The Comedian's Tale and The Building Site.

Royal Shakespeare Company
In 1965, British theatre director William Gaskill was named artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre, where he hoped to reestablish a repertoire. He approached Shaw, who made his acting debut at the Royal Court Theatre as a youth, and Shaw agreed to return. There he would deliver several performances, including General Conrad von Hotzendorf in Joan Osborne's A Patriot for Me in 1965; various roles in Ann Jellicoe's Shelley; Sir Francis Harker in N.F. Simpson's The Cresta Run and Pte Atterclife in John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance.

In 1966, Shaw joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he demonstrated what The Daily Telegraph called a "crusty charm" as Sir Oblong Fitz Oblong in Robert Bolt's children's play, ''The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. He spent the next decade at the company, mostly appearing in Shakespeare plays, including the title role in Cymbeline and Edward of Langley in ''Richard II. The Independent described his performance as Polonuis in Hamlet as "unrivalled in his complacency and sense of circumstance." The Telegraph described his performance of Gloucester in King Lear as "doleful" and his performance of Duncan in Macbeth as "decent."

Many of the company's Shakespearian productions at the time were considered interpretive and modern, which drew criticism from some traditionalists, but Shaw defended the experimental nature of the shows and shunned the notion of preconceived ideas to which a play should be presented.

Shaw was noted as possessing a gift for dry comedy, particularly during this period of his acting career. He demonstrated this comedic form Maxim Gorky's plays Enemies and Summerfolk, and demonstrated a particular knack for Russian comedy in Jonathan Miller's productions of Anton Chekhov plays Three Sisters and Ivanov.

The Christening
Shaw wrote, The Christening, his only novel in 1975. Shaw originally planned to call the novel The Godfather, but later said he was glad he did not due to the popularity of Mario Puzo's book of that name. The Christening focuses around Miles Madgwick, who believes himself to be bisexual but is too timid to find out by through physical intercourse, so he instead describes his most intimate thoughts into his diary. He then meets, and becomes attracted to, a married woman named Alice and her son, Rodney; he comes to identify with Rodney's childhood innocence, and in Alice sees a symbol both of his mother and a heterosexual lover. Alice starts to tire of her husband and grow fonder of Madgwick, who experiences mixed emotions in his continued interactions with her and Rodney.

One night, Rodney stays overnight at Madgwick's house and, when he takes the boy home in a taxicab, the driver observes their strange behavior and accuses Madgwick of being a pederast. When Alice asks Madgwick to become the godfather to her new child, the driver threatens to expose Madgwick, creating a conflict between losing his first feelings of intimacy with others or face humiliation and ridicule at the driver's exposure. A description in the book cover flap reads, "In this tender, sensitive and blackly comic novel, Sebastian Shaw, the distinguished Shakespearean actor, explores areas of sexual and emotional encounter that are rarely seen and, unfortunately, too rarely understood."

Shaw was said to have been working on another novel shortly after The Christening was completed, but no others were ever published. Three years after the publication of The Christening, Shaw was painted in the nude at age 73 by his nephew, Brian Ocean.

Later acting career
In 1978, Sebastian Shaw earned acclaim for his performance as a judge in the stage debut of Whose Life Is It Anyway? at the Mermaid Theatre, the same theatre he debuted his first play 17 years earlier. The production won Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Play and Best Actor (Tom Canti). During the run of this production a mugger tried to steal his money, but the 73-year-old chased him down, tackled him and recovered his property.

During his later years, Shaw suffered a physical disability that made him tremble, which had a negative impact on his television roles, particularly when handling cups or trays of drinks. One of Shaw's final television appearances was in The Old Curiosity Shop, a 1979 mini-series based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Around this time, he also voiced the part of Squire Beltham in a radio production of The Adventurers of Harry Richmond, which The Daily Telegraph said was "remembered with affection."

Casting
In 1982, Sebastian Shaw was chosen for the brief but crucial role as Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, the third and final movie in the original Star Wars trilogy. Although David Prowse played the costumed scenes and James Earl Jones portrayed the voice of Darth Vader, just as they had in the first two films, Shaw was to play a single scene with Mark Hamill, during the moment aboard Death Star II when Luke Skywalker unmasks his dying father. Since the scene was arguably the emotional climax of the film, the casting crew wanted an experienced actor for the role.

At the time he was approached for the film, Shaw was playing such Shakespearian roles as Charles VI in Henry V and First Gravedigger in Hamlet at London's Barbican Centre. Shaw enjoyed the first two Star Wars films, particularly for the visual effects, which he described in an interview with science-fiction film magazine ''Starlog as "brilliant techniques which, in many ways, were revolutionary, something quite new."

Secrecy
Shaw participated in an audition for the Return of the Jedi part but, due to the secrecy regarding the production, was not allowed to see his portion of the actual script until he had guaranteed to take the role and promised not to reveal any film secrets to anyone. His contract included a stipulation that he could not even tell family or friends the part he would be playing; Shaw told Starlog when asked by his loved ones about the role, he would answer, "I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to tell you." Shaw received many press inquiries about his part in the movie once word of his casting was leaked, but he did not discuss his participation in the movie until George Lucas gave him permission after the film's 1983 theatrical release.

Filming
Shaw's scene in Return of the Jedi was filmed in only one day at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. His presence during the filming was kept secret from all but the absolute minimum cast and crew. Director Richard Marquand directed the scene, but George Lucas was present for the entire length of filming. Shaw found the mask costume to be physically challenging during his scene; he had difficulty breathing through the two small holes in the quarter-inch thick Darth Vader mask that covered his entire face and head. His head was shaven, white make-up was applied to his face and fake burn scars were applied to his head and cheeks.

Regarding the screenplay by Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, Shaw told Starlog his unmasking scene "was so beautifully written that we never altered the dialogue at all." The scene was filmed in only a few takes, although some of Mark Hamill's close-ups took multiple takes because Shaw said "he was so terribly anxious to get it right." Shaw said the young actor was enjoyable to work with and appreciative of Shaw's experience. The unmasking scene lasts two minutes and seven seconds and includes 24 words of dialogue spoken by Shaw.

George Lucas personally directed Shaw for the final scene of the movie, in which he is a Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker dressed in brown and white robes, his prior burns and injuries completely healed. The footage was shot against a green screen and the characters of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, with whom Anakin exchanges glances and smiles, were added later. Shaw did not know the purpose of the footage and believed it to be publicity, not for the film. Lucas advised the actor to "Look happy, smile," for the scene.

Response
Shaw received more fan mail and autograph requests from Return of the Jedi than he had for any role in his career; he said most of the letters he received were from boys between the ages of 12 and 14, but he also heard from older people who were unexpectedly touched by the film. Shaw later reflected that he very much enjoyed his experience filming for Return of the Jedi and expressed particular surprise that an action figure was made of him from the film.

Death
Sebastian Shaw died on December 23, 1994 at age 89. A funeral service was held February 15, Wikipedia:1995:1995 at St Paul's, Covent Garden, commonly known as The Actors' Church due to its long association with the theatre community, in Covent Garden, London.

Actors Ian Richardson and Ben Kingsley read works by William Shakespeare; stage actress Estelle Kohler read The Ways of Love by Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning; actress Sheila Allen read Life by Welsh poet George Herbert; and actor Kenneth Branagh read from the works of Canon Henry Scott Holland. One of Shaw's own poems, Gemini, was also read. Baritone Stephen Varcoe sang Wie bist du meine Konigin by Johannes Brahms', accompanied by Graham Johnson on the piano, and guitarist Martin Best performed and sang his compositon of Ariel's Songs from The Tempest.

Shaw was survived by his daughter Drusilla MacLeod; his sisters Joan Shaw, Susan Bonner-Morgan and Penelope Harness; and his sister-in-law Olga Young.

ROTJ re-release changes
In the 2004 DVD re-release of Return of the Jedi, several changes and modifications were made to the scenes involving Sebastian Shaw. The unmasking scene with Mark Hamill remained mostly intact, but Shaw's eyebrows were digitally removed from his face, due to the fact that they would be burned off of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel, Revenge of the Sith. Shaw's eyes were also digitally colored to look more like those of Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin in the prequel films. A far more drastic change, however, was the replacement of Shaw's image with that of Christensen during his appearance as a Force ghost in the last scene of Return of the Jedi. This attempt to tie the prequel and original trilogies together proved to be one of the least popular changes in the Star Wars re-releases.