Why Terence Stamp called his time in the ‘Star Wars’ universe “boring”
Actors who sign on for an effects-heavy blockbuster have at least some inkling of what they’re letting themselves in for, but Terence Stamp was still left disappointed by his brief trip to a galaxy far, far away.
Ahead of its release, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was arguably the single most-anticipated movie in history. George Lucas was returning after almost two decades to fulfil his promise that the first three stories in the epic saga would be told after the original trilogy was rebranded as parts four through six.
Whereas A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi had heavily favoured practical effects with the odd digital touch-up, it was clear from the 1997 special edition versions that wasn’t going to be the case for The Phantom Menace. Sets and models were out, with greenscreens and pixels being introduced in their place, which left Stamp resolutely unenthusiastic.
Not only was he left dismayed by having to act opposite very few other flesh-and-blood people in a cavernous soundstage as Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, but he was hardly pally with the director, either. “We didn’t get on at all,” Stamp admitted to Empire before criticising his filmmaking talents. “I didn’t rate him that much as a director, really.”
Stamp “didn’t feel like he was a director of actors” but one “more interested in stuff and effects.” It is hardly a revelation considering that it was pretty much Star Wars in a nutshell, begging the question as to why he thought his presence alone was enough to completely reinvent Lucas’ approach to his signature franchise and turn the sci-fi prequels into a showcase for classically-trained thespians.
Still, Stamp’s disappointment wasn’t done there after he discovered that instead of acting opposite Natalie Portman, his scene partner was a bit of A4. “I didn’t want to, but my agent leaned on me, and I wanted to meet Natalie Portman because I’d seen her in The Professional,” he continued. “And I did meet her and she was absolutely enchanting.”
Not that she was even present on set during his scene with her, though, with Stamp recalling how Lucas “points to a bit of paper on the wall” when asked where Portman would be during their exchange. His final assessment of Star Wars, then? “It was just boring”. He wasn’t alone in feeling that way about The Phantom Menace, but he was extra pissy about it because he’d flown from Australia against his better judgement, driven partially to work opposite Portman, who wasn’t even there.
He’s hardly the first or last actor to have issues with working under Lucas’ technologically-driven direction, but Star Wars has never been the place for its cast to stretch their dramatic wings.
