David "Dave" Prowse was born into a working class family on July 1, 1935 in Bristol, England, UK. He was raised by his mother and never knew his father. As a child, David was disadvantaged and a poor student, he found a passion for bodybuilding and weight training in his early teens, as a young adult, David often entered weightlifting competitions and contested in the famous Mr. Universe contest. Eventually, David won the British heavyweight weightlifting title and gained status as a highly regarded and respected member of the fitness community. Over this period of competitive weightlifting, David became lifelong friends with actors 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' , written fitness books "Fitness is Fun", supported charity and even became the head of fitness for superstore Harrods. David more recently spends his time attending unofficial Star Wars events, conventions and film events where he signs photos, speaks to the fans and is in high demand as a public speaker all over the world.
Is a former weightlifting champion.
Trained Christopher Reeve for the title role in the first Superman movie.
Was the Green Cross Code Man, a character used in a UK Government road safety campaign to teach children how to cross the road safely.
Owned a gym "The Dave Prowse Fitness Centre" in London, England. His brother Bob Prowse used to manage it for him before opening his own Health Club in Maidstone.
Because of his loftiness, George Lucas hired him to occupy the costume of Darth Vader in Star Wars . But because of his British accent, Lucas chose James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader
Appeared as a strongman in the famous "Wishing Well" sketch from the first season of "The Benny Hill Show" , which was used by the shows American syndicator to pitch the program to U.S. television stations.
He commented in an interview that he was unaware that his voice been dubbed with that of James Earl Jones until he saw the movie Star Wars on opening night.
Once complained in an interview that he felt he "wasnt getting any publicity" for his work as Darth Vader.
Attended the 1st Central American Star Wars Convention at Guatemala City, Guatemala on July 27-28, 2002, to talk about his character (Darth Vader) on the first Star Wars trilogy, along with Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett).
Attended Bristol Grammar School in Bristol, England. Actors Julian Glover and Timothy West were in the same year there.
When Sebastian Shaw was revealed in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi as the "man behind Darth Vaders mask", Darth Vader became the first recurring role in a movie series to be played by three actors at the same time: body by Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones and face by Sebastian Shaw.
He was awarded the MBE in the 2000 Queens Millennium Honours List for his services to charity and road safety.
He was the special guest at the first sci-fi convention in the northwest (England) at Lancaster and Morecambe College on 3rd October 2004.
Despite the fame of Darth Vader, Prowse says that the role he is most proud of is the Green Cross Code Man.
He was barred from doing the lightsaber duels in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi because he kept breaking the poles that stood in for the laser blades during the first film. The lightsaber duels in the sequels were instead done by Bob Anderson , the swordmaster who handled the lightsaber choreography; in order to make up for the height difference, Bob Anderson wore platform shoes and was often filmed from low angles.
Prowse and James Earl Jones have never met in person.
Three clips are available on the Star Wars making of documentary DVD of Prowse speaking Darth Vaders lines.
Said that of all the directors he worked with while making the original Star Wars trilogy, Irvin Kershner , who directed Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back , was his favorite. David praised Irvin Kershner in an interview for being very helpful and supportive of the actors.
Before he entered films, he was a hardworking apprentice engineer at BOAC in Bristol.
His performance as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy is ranked #84 on Premiere Magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Played part of the aide to Patrick Magee s character in the movie A Clockwork Orange . He was chosen due to the fact that he was able to lift and carry the wheelchair-bound Magee. He said that the director was not known as "one-take Kubrick" and he had to repeat the scene multiple times. At one point, the shooting was halted because the recording technician said that there was a strange noise in the last take. This was discovered to be due to a microphone that was on David and picking up his accelerated heartbeat and heavier breathing.
In Casino Royale , he plays a character known only as "Sir". He looks like Frankensteins Creature, but is never called or credited as such. "Sir" is only in the film a few seconds.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2009. Announced in February 2010 that he had made a full recovery following intensive radio therapy at a London hospital.
Has a passion for motorcycles and in his early career owned many.
(February 2004) Currently lives in Croydon, London, England.
(November 2009) Celebrity attraction at Toys4BigBoys in Dublin, Ireland.
(May 2005) Attended Collectormania 7 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.
He is the only actor to play Frankensteins Monster in more than one Hammer film: The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell .
A friend of David Jason since the beginning of Jasons TV career.
He has three roles in common with Spencer Wilding : (1) Prowse played Frankensteins Monster in Casino Royale , The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell while Wilding played him in Victor Frankenstein , Prowse played the Minotaur in "Doctor Who" {The Time Monster: Episode Five (#9.25)} and "Doctor Who" {The Time Monster: Episode Six (#9.26)} while Wilding played it in Wrath of the Titans and Prowse played Darth Vader in Star Wars , Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi while Wilding played him in Rogue One .
Stood 6 6" tall in his prime.
In 1983, shortly before the release of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi , the English newspaper The Daily Mail published an article hinting at Darth Vaders fate in the film. It was speculated that Prowse was behind the leak as a result of being replaced for the scene where Vader is unmasked, even though he maintained that was impossible since he was unaware of the films overall plot. A 2015 documentary revealed that an unnamed crew member had talked to the paper, but the incident led to a strained relationship between Prowse and Lucasfilm. Specifically, Prowse has not received any residuals from the film despite being contractually entitled to a percentage of the profits, was not interviewed for the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy and was banned from attending official Star Wars events in 2010.
Attends Star Wars, Sci-Fi and Autograph conventions, where he sits and signs items non-stop for eight hours. He claims to take no toilet breaks or meal breaks when doing this.
[on having to choose between playing Darth Vader and Chewbacca in "Star,Wars"]: I took the part of the villain because everyone remembers the,villain.
