Ian McDiarmid is an actor & theater director, widely recognized for playing Emperor Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious) in the Star Wars saga. He first appeared in Return of the Jedi (1983) & returned in the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith) then in 2019 appeared in The Rise of Skywalker. McDiarmid is also highly respected in British theater. He was artistic director of the Almeida Theatre in London for many years & performed extensively in Shakespearean plays, winning a Tony Award for his performance in Faith Healer.
