Peter Wilton Cushing, who was an OBE (born May 26, 1913; died August 11, 1994), was a British actor widely known for his roles in the Hammer Studios horror movies from the 1950s through the 1970s, often appearing with Christopher Lee. For the 1977 movie Star Wars, George Lucas chose Cushing to play Grand Moff Tarkin, intending him to be a human foil to the main villain, Darth Vader; however, Cushing said he was initially considered for the part of the honorable Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Cushing accepted the role because he believed his fans would be pleased to see him in a science fiction film. His scenes for the movie were filmed over two weeks in May 1976.
The boots made for Cushing's character did not fit him well, so he asked Lucas if he could wear slippers and only be filmed from the waist up. Cushing was known for his courteous and humorous nature and became popular with the other actors on set; Carrie Fisher mentioned that she had difficulty pretending to hate his character. He confessed to struggling with the complex technical language and special effects in the film, but he worked diligently to make sure his character's dialogue sounded confident.
Because Cushing was already a famous actor, he received a larger salary than the film's leading actors—Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford—and promotional materials highlighted Tarkin as the primary antagonist. Cushing enjoyed Star Wars immensely and was proud of its success, expressing disappointment only that his character's death prevented him from returning in the sequels. Cushing's participation in Star Wars later influenced Lee's decision to appear in the prequel trilogy films because of their friendship. In the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Cushing's image was recreated using motion capture over the performance of Guy Henry as Tarkin, with the permission of Cushing's estate. His portrayal of Tarkin has influenced the performances of several other actors in Star Wars projects, such as Stephen Stanton, Richard E. Grant, and Giancarlo Esposito.
On May 26, 1913, Peter Wilton Cushing came into the world in Kenley, which is a district within the English county of Surrey. He was widely recognized for his roles in many horror films produced by the British Hammer Studios from the 1950s to the 1970s. His most notable role was as the evil Baron Victor Frankenstein in The Curse of Frankenstein and its sequels. Cushing acted alongside Christopher Lee in almost twenty-five films, and the two became very good friends. Although he wasn't particularly fond of science fiction, Cushing starred in several films of the genre during his career, including two films in the 1960s based on the popular British television show Doctor Who. He also played Sherlock Holmes in a television series from 1965. After the death of Cushing's wife, Helen Beck, in 1971, he worked in at least twenty films over the next five years as a way to cope with his grief. He made a daily bicycle trip to her gravesite.
In the early part of 1976, George Lucas, a film director and writer, reached out to Cushing, hoping to cast him in his upcoming space fantasy film, Star Wars. Because the film's main villain, Darth Vader, played by David Prowse, wore a mask throughout the entire film, never showing his face, Lucas believed that a strong human villain was needed. This led Lucas to expand the role of Grand Moff Tarkin, a high-ranking Imperial governor and commander of the Death Star, a planet-destroying battlestation. Lucas felt that a talented actor was required for the role and was inspired to choose Cushing after seeing a photo of him and Lee at the Hammer Film studios headquarters, which shared a building with Lucas's office. It was later suggested that Lucas cast Cushing because he resembled actor Charles Middleton, who played the villainous Emperor Ming in the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s, which had inspired Lucas to create Star Wars.
Lucas said that Peter Cushing was his top choice for the role of Tarkin. However, Cushing later claimed that Lucas had initially approached him to play Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and only decided to cast him as Tarkin after they met. Cushing mentioned that he would have preferred to play Kenobi over Tarkin, but he was unable to do so because he was already committed to another film during the Star Wars shooting schedule. Tarkin's scenes required less filming time than the larger Kenobi role, which Alec Guinness took on. Cushing compared the film to Doctor Who and accepted the part because he chose roles based on what he believed his audience, especially children, would enjoy. Cushing was in his sixties during filming and was pleased to know that he was still wanted as an actor.
Along with Guinness, Cushing was among the most well-known actors in Star Wars at the time, as the rest of the cast was relatively unknown. As a result, Cushing received a higher daily salary than most of his co-stars, earning £2,000 British pound sterling—approximately $3,656 in American dollars at the time—compared to weekly salaries of $1,000 for Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), $850 for Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), and $750 for Harrison Ford (Han Solo).
During rehearsals, Lucas had originally planned for Tarkin and Vader to use a large screen displaying computerized architectural renderings of hallways to track the whereabouts of the film's protagonists, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa. Although this idea was scrapped before filming, Cushing and Prowse rehearsed these scenes on a set designed by computer animation artist Larry Cuba. Similar to Guinness, Cushing struggled with some of the technical terms in his dialogue, admitting that he didn't fully understand all the words he was saying. Nevertheless, he worked diligently to master the lines to ensure they sounded natural and that his character appeared intelligent and confident. In his portrayal of the villainous role, Cushing relied on Lucas's guidance and his own instincts as an actor.
Cushing felt uncomfortable in his character's uniform, telling Lucas that he thought he looked like a chauffeur. He was given a pair of boots that were far too small for his size twelve feet. This caused him considerable pain during filming, but the costume designers didn't have enough time to find him another pair. As a result, he asked Lucas to film more close-up shots of him from the waist up, which the director agreed to. During scenes where his feet weren't visible, Cushing wore the only available footwear: a pair of women's slippers. When Cushing smoked between shots, he wore a white glove to prevent nicotine stains on his fingers, sparing the make-up artists extra work.
Cushing joined the rest of the cast in May 1976, and his scenes were filmed over two weeks at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, England. On April 29, May 3, and May 4, Cushing and Fisher filmed the scene of the destruction of Alderaan, which was set in the Death Star control room and was Fisher's first major dialogue in the film. Cushing deliberately tried to define their characters as opposite representations of good and evil, and he purposely stood in the shadows to highlight Fisher's face. He mentored Fisher, who was in her first major film role, offering advice and explaining what to avoid in filmmaking. According to Richard LeParmentier, who played General Motti, Fisher often tried to provoke Cushing with humor, which contributed to the positive atmosphere on set.
To portray the hatred Organa's character had for Tarkin, Fisher tried to imagine Cushing as someone else, as she liked him so much that she found it difficult to perform that emotion. Although one of Fisher's lines referred to Tarkin's "foul stench," she said that the actor actually smelled like "linen and lavender," which Cushing attributed to his habit of thoroughly washing and brushing his teeth before filming because he was self-conscious about bad breath. Upon hearing about that line, Cushing asked Lucas, "Do you want me to look as if I have body odor?"
During the filming of a boardroom meeting scene between Imperial officers on May 3, the other actors, including Don Henderson as Cassio Tagge, found it hard to focus on Cushing's villainous performance because of the slippers he was wearing. The actors had to suppress their laughter while looking Cushing in the eyes, which caused him some concern as he wasn't sure what he was doing wrong. After the scene was completed, the other actors told Cushing about their difficulty, which made him laugh loudly. Cushing found it challenging to work with the significant amount of special effects in the film, feeling that it somewhat diminished the effort actors put into learning their lines.
Cushing enjoyed working with Prowse again, as they had previously collaborated in the 1974 film Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, where Prowse played Frankenstein's monster. Cushing remarked that Prowse's costume was much more intimidating than his monster costume, which he described as merely a "bald cap and a diaper." In contrast to his character's cruel nature, Cushing was highly regarded by his colleagues, remembered as a "sweetheart" by Fisher and as an old-fashioned, charming, yet humorous gentleman by Henderson. He, in turn, liked the environment on set, admiring the professionalism of his younger co-stars and appreciating Lucas's respectful demeanor, which he had not expected from a young filmmaker.
Mark Hamill, a fan of Cushing's work, was disappointed that he had no scenes with him, so he visited the set on a day off to meet him and ask for an autograph. Hamill inquired about Cushing's past acting career, specifically his experience working with the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy in the 1940 film A Chump at Oxford. Cushing was surprised that Hamill had even heard of the film. Lucas found Cushing very pleasant to work with, which led the director to continue casting British actors who could play larger-than-life villains in his films.
According to Rick McCallum, the producer of the special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy, every scene that Cushing filmed was included in the final film. In addition, the close-up shots of Cushing aboard the Death Star, shown just before the battlestation is destroyed, were actually extra footage taken from previously shot scenes with Cushing that had been shortened. During production, Lucas decided to add those shots, along with second unit footage of the Death Star gunners preparing to fire, to increase the suspense in the film's space battle scenes. Cushing's role as Tarkin was first revealed publicly in a promotional piece published in the Daily Variety magazine on June 15, 1976. Due to Cushing's fame in the Hammer horror films, the piece and other promotional materials presented him as the main villain, rather than Vader.
Star Wars premiered on May 25, 1977, and became a global phenomenon, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time. Cushing was very pleased with the final film and proud of its success, stating that his only disappointment was that Tarkin was killed and couldn't appear in the subsequent sequels. He felt that his own performance was only passable at best, as he found it difficult to watch and evaluate his own work. Christopher Lee wrote Cushing a letter asking about the film, including what a Grand Moff was, to which Cushing admitted that he still had no idea. For his performance, Cushing was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 5th Saturn Awards, which were conducted by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Cushing did not win the award; it went to his co-star Guinness instead.
Around July 1985, Cushing gave a long interview to Starlog magazine, reflecting on his career, including Star Wars. In the interview, Cushing rejected complaints made by Prowse that the supporting actors in Star Wars were not fairly compensated, given that Hamill, Fisher, Ford, and Guinness received significant bonuses after the film's huge success. Cushing felt that his original payment was fair and was still surprised to receive a "token bonus." In January 1989, Queen Elizabeth II made Cushing an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the film industry.
Cushing passed away in Canterbury, Kent, England, on August 11, 1994, at the age of eighty-one. The twenty-fourth issue of Star Wars Insider magazine, released in late 1995, included a tribute to him by writer Jamie Painter that mentioned his broader career.
While developing the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and creating the character of Count Dooku, Lucas realized he wanted another actor with a gentlemanly and aristocratic presence similar to Cushing. He offered the role to Christopher Lee, who happily accepted because of his friendship with Cushing. His casting was announced on StarWars.com on July 11, 2000, and Attack of the Clones was released in 2002.
Lee also appeared in the third film of the trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which featured a brief appearance by Tarkin at the end. Lucas and producer Rick McCallum initially wanted to recreate Cushing's likeness using computer-generated imagery or by using his younger appearance from a Frankenstein film. They also considered using unused footage from Star Wars and digitally animating Cushing's lips to match new dialogue. Special effects artist Rob Coleman was concerned about the idea of digitally recreating Cushing and discussed it at length with Lee due to his friendship with Cushing. Instead, makeup artist Dave Elsey suggested that Tarkin be played by an actor wearing makeup, recommending Wayne Pygram for the part because of his natural resemblance and ability to imitate Cushing's mannerisms. Pygram's initial makeup tests included prosthetics for his chin, cheeks, and nose. After their demonstration, Lucas and McCallum agreed with their solution and contacted Cushing's estate to make the necessary arrangements. At one point during production, Elsey applied makeup for actor Ian McDiarmid while they watched Cushing's Sherlock Holmes television series. Lee happened to visit while they were watching the series, which excited Elsey, who was a fan of Cushing's work.
Beginning in 2011, Tarkin also appeared in the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The character was designed by sculptor Darren Marshall, who based him on Cushing's image. Marshall mentioned that he grew up watching the Hammer films and admired the talents and expressive faces of both Cushing and Lee. After having the opportunity to audition, voice actor Stephen Stanton realized that the creators were looking for someone who could sound like a younger Cushing. As a result, he rewatched several of Cushing's projects, including the 1966 film Island of Terror and the Sherlock Holmes television series. He also watched Cushing's Doctor Who films on the recommendation of The Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni, initially unaware that Cushing was already playing an older character. Stanton aimed to match Cushing's cadence in rolling his Rs and hoped to combine Cushing's ruthless portrayal of Tarkin with the energy of a younger man.
For further research, Stanton read Cushing's autobiographies and listened to Cushing's audiobook versions of them. Because Cushing was already middle-aged when his film career took off, Stanton had to imagine what he would have sounded like in his mid-30s. Stanton felt anxious about taking on the role, given the iconic status of both Cushing and Tarkin. Stanton reprised the role in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and was able to match his voice more closely to Cushing's performance in the original Star Wars film, due to the show's timeline being closer to the events of that film.
Following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, a novel titled Tarkin by James Luceno was announced, to be published by Del Rey on November 4, 2014. Luceno grew up watching Cushing's Hammer horror films and watched several films starring the actor, including Frankenstein, Doctor Who, and Sherlock Holmes, to capture Cushing's style of delivering lines. One line of dialogue from the novel included Tarkin expressing his desire for a uniform and boots that fit properly. Luceno enjoyed writing a scene where Tarkin and Dooku met, finding it enjoyable to imagine Cushing and Lee acting alongside each other within the Star Wars universe, as they had done in the Hammer horror films.
During the production of the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which tells the story of the theft of the Death Star plans that occurred shortly before the events of the original Star Wars film, the film's writers realized that Tarkin was a crucial character for their film's narrative. Director Gareth Edwards approached Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) lead John Knoll to ask if digitally recreating Cushing's likeness was a reasonable idea. Knoll responded that the company's mission was to push the boundaries of visual effects. The filmmakers obtained permission from Cushing's estate to use his likeness.
Casting director Jina Jay provided Edwards with a video of actor Guy Henry for consideration, highlighting the similarities in his mannerisms to Cushing. Early in his career, Henry portrayed Sherlock Holmes, a role for which he intensely studied Cushing's interpretation of the character, crediting Cushing as a major influence on his acting journey. Edwards then approached Henry for the role, aware of the unusual nature of asking an actor to have their performance visually replaced by another actor's likeness. Henry accepted due to Cushing's significant impact on him, expressing that he would have declined if asked to emulate any other actor.
To faithfully replicate Cushing's performance, Henry meticulously studied Cushing's scenes and worked on perfecting his voice, focusing on the distinct rolled Rs. Before each scene, Henry would recite Tarkin's line, "You would prefer another target, a military target?" from the original Star Wars to immerse himself in the character. Henry felt a sense of pressure and wanted to honor Cushing's legacy. Edwards, in his direction, suggested that Henry could incorporate more of his own personality rather than strictly mimicking Cushing. Henry even suggested that impressionist Rory Bremner might have been a more appropriate choice, but Edwards and Lucasfilm were adamant about keeping Henry.
In preparation for the digital recreation, the visual effects team at ILM repeatedly reviewed Tarkin's scenes from the original movie, using them as a constant reference throughout the production process. Knoll also managed to locate a life cast of Cushing made for his part in the 1984 movie Top Secret!, which was digitally scanned to provide a detailed reference for Cushing's facial features around the time of the original 1977 Star Wars. Henry was outfitted with motion capture technology during shooting, enabling ILM to make precise, frame-by-frame adjustments to more accurately match the Cushing simulations as needed. Adjustments were also required to account for the lighting differences between Rogue One and Star Wars. The visual effects were refined over an eighteen-month period, although Edwards and the team were uncertain if they would achieve the desired result. Alternative solutions were considered in case the effects proved unsatisfactory, such as portraying Tarkin as a hologram or reassigning his dialogue to other characters. The team only gained confidence in their success in the week leading up to the film's 2016 release.
Tarkin's presence in the film was not explicitly advertised in promotional materials, although reports about Cushing's recreation surfaced in the media. Brief glimpses of the character were also included in several TV spots. Upon the film's debut, Edwards was surprised that audiences had not anticipated the character's appearance. The film's end credits included a special acknowledgment to Cushing for the use of his likeness.
Joyce Brighton, Cushing's former secretary and the executor of his estate, expressed astonishment at the digital effects, though she was unable to disclose the specifics of the confidential agreement between the estate and Lucasfilm. The appearance of the deceased actor in the film sparked discussions and debates in media outlets regarding the ethical implications of using an actor's likeness without their physical presence. Knoll responded by emphasizing that the recreation of Cushing was carried out with deep respect and care, which he believed Cushing would have appreciated; Knoll was confident that the team had not done anything that Cushing would have disapproved of. Henry himself expressed satisfaction with the final appearance of the character and stated his willingness to reprise the role if asked.
In 2017, Michael Siglain, creative director at Lucasfilm Publishing, and author Cavan Scott discussed the connections between Star Wars and their favorite horror movies, especially the Hammer productions featuring Cushing and Lee. They brainstormed ways to creatively incorporate those stories into the Star Wars universe, such as reimagining Tarkin as a Dr. Frankenstein figure, or exploring a narrative link between Tarkin and Dooku. This led to the idea of Tarkin creating a clone of Dooku. The concept evolved into the miniseries Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle, which was structured with multiple stories of different tones and monsters linked by a central character, inspired by the Cushing/Lee film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.
Scott's story centered on Tarkin was the second issue of the series, published by IDW Publishing on October 9, 2019. The plot, titled "The Curse of Tarkin," depicts the Grand Moff battling an experimental creature of his own creation seeking revenge, mirroring the plot of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. The comic also featured a Lambda-class T4-a shuttle used by Tarkin called PC-265, which used Cushing's initials and referenced his May 26th birthdate. Scott again drew inspiration from Cushing's horror films in writing the comic story "The Haunting of Grand Moff Tarkin," which appeared in the anthology Tales from the Death Star published by Dark Horse Comics on October 17, 2023.
Giancarlo Esposito, in preparing for his role as Moff Gideon in the television series The Mandalorian, drew inspiration from Cushing's performance as a fellow Moff. Gideon was first seen in the seventh episode of the series' first season, which premiered on Disney+ on December 18, 2019. Similarly, while filming Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, which debuted on December 20 of that year, actor Richard E. Grant looked to Cushing's portrayal of Tarkin to inform his performance as Allegiant General Enric Pryde.