The first “Star Wars” film is known as a labor of love from all involved. The film is the result of long hours, plenty of ingenuity, and even the invention of new filmmaking technology. That being said, it was the 1970s, and some solutions to the problems presented were less than glamorous. One area in which this was absolutely the case was for the droids.
Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker are best known for playing C-3PO and R2-D2, respectively. Both actors ended up in pretty uncomfortable suits. Daniels’ suit required him, as you can see in the photo, to be sealed with screws before shooting. Additionally, the suit’s leg shattered at one point, stabbing Daniels with fiberglass.
Baker’s R2-D2 came with its own set of problems. It was essentially a big metal can that Baker had to squeeze into, which caused a lot of issues on its own. However, a large portion of the film was shot in Tunisia, which is incredibly hot. This lead to safety issues shooting exterior scenes with Baker in the robot. Additionally, while Baker provided the shakes and bumps for the droid, it was actually moved around during scenes by remote control, which rarely worked, leading to increased delays.
These problems and many more plagued the set of “Star Wars.” For example, Baker and Daniels really disliked each other, and each found the other very hard to work with. Even with all of the time, health, and budget problems that came along with the droids however, they still became an iconic piece of pop culture history, just like, well, pretty much everything in “Star Wars.”
