View source for Ian McDiarmid

{{Infobox person
| name = Ian McDiarmid
| image = IanMcDiarmid.jpg
| caption = McDiarmid in 2013.
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|8|11}}
| birth_place = [[Carnoustie]],&nbsp;[[Tayside]], Scotland
| occupation = actor, theatre director
| yearsactive = 1972–present
}}

'''Ian McDiarmid''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|k|ˈ|d|ɜːr|m|ᵻ|d}}; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director. He has also made some appearances on movie and television.

Worldwide, he is most famous for his role as [[Palpatine|Darth Sidious]] in the [[Star Wars]] live action movie series. He was in both the original and prequel trilogies. McDiarmid has been in 47 movies since 1976.

McDiarmid was born in [[Carnoustie]] in [[Tayside]]. McDiarmid went to the [[University of St Andrews]], to study [[psychology]]. Soon after, he decided he wanted a career in the theatre instead, and took acting training courses at the [[Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama]] in [[Glasgow]]. In 1968, McDiarmid got a gold medal for his acting work.

McDiarmid was cast by George Lucas in ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi|Return of the Jedi]]'' as Darth Sidious, the main villain. Sixteen years later, he came back to the role as a younger Senator and [[Chancellor]] in the ''Star Wars'' prequel movies. He said that it helped to be much younger than his character the first time he played the part. The prequels had him play two faces to his character: He created an pleasant and likeable character in Darth Sidious' public face as Palpatine.

==Other websites==
* {{IBDB name|412516}}
* {{IMDb name|001519}}
* [http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Star_File.aspx?ci=531308 Ian McDiarmid at Broadway.com]
* [http://www.nerf-herders-anonymous.net/IanMcDiarmid.html/ Star Wars Actors Database at Nerf-Herders-Anonymous.net]
* [http://www.starwars.com/bio/ianmcdiarmid.html Bio from the official Star Wars site]
* [https://archive.today/20121209095008/http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/195431 Bio from Hollywood.com]
* [http://www.michaelfassbender.org/mainhiddene.html B.Charles in Our Hidden Lives film-page]

{{TonyAward PlayFeaturedActor 1976-2000}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdiarmid, Ian}}
[[Category:Scottish movie actors]]
[[Category:Scottish stage actors]]
[[Category:Scottish television actors]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scottish theatre directors]]
[[Category:People from Angus]]