Every Actor Who Has Played Emperor Palpatine In Star Wars

Which actors have been honored with portraying the overarching villain of the Star Wars universe, the one and only Emperor Palpatine? Darth Vader is, and likely always will be, the most instantly recognizable and merchandise-friendly villain in the galaxy far, far away, but everyone knows Sheev Palpatine was the brains behind the operation. Born on Naboo and falling under the sway of Darth Plagueis the Wise, Palpatine would take the will of the Sith upon him and mastermind the defeat of the Jedi, establishing a brutal and far-reaching dictatorship.

Palpatine is the villainous heart of Star Wars‘ Skywalker saga. As an unassuming senator, Palpatine instigated the Clone Wars to weaken the Republic then seized control from the ashes. On his way to dominance, the Emperor took on various apprentices, undoubtedly the most famous of which being the aforementioned Vader, a corrupted Anakin Skywalker. Eventually, Skywalker would betray his master, but the vile machinations of the Sith ensured Palpatine survived, from a certain point of view, and he set in motion a plan to restore the Empire, restore himself, and restore the Sith.

Palpatine’s all-encompassing role in the tapestry of Star Wars means he’s never far from the action, and this means the villain plays a part in a wide array of Star Wars stories. Every movie trilogy, animations old and new, video games from across the years – few eras have escaped that unmistakable, dastardly cackle. The role of Palpatine will always be associated with one actor in particular, but he’s far from the only recognizable name to slip into the guise of Sidious. Here are all the actors that have played Sheev Palpatine across the movies and TV shows of Star Wars.

Clive Revill/Marjorie Eaton/Uncredited Chimp

After a fleeting mention in the original 1977 Star Wars movie, George Lucas decided to debut the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back. The script called for a shaky hologram of the character, giving the audience a taste of Palpatine without fully revealing the trilogy’s true villain. As such, Lucas didn’t cast a proper actor for the role of Palpatine at this point, and instead left the Emperor down to his visual effects and make up teams. The Palpatine glimpsed conversing with Vader in The Empire Strikes Back is physically played by a painter and little-known actress called Marjorie Eaton, who was layered in heavy make up. To make Palpatine look more like a monster and less like a woman in her 70s, Eaton’s eyes were replaced with those of a chimpanzee.

Neither Marjorie Eaton, nor the chimp were asked to provide the voice for Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, with Clive Revill fulfilling that side of the bargain. Revill had a few film and TV acting credits to his name before Star Wars came calling, but his stint as Palpatine prompted a successful voice acting career with roles in Transformers: The Movie, Batman: The Animated Series and many more. This incarnation of Palpatine only featured briefly, but the disturbing image effectively set up his future and further piqued fan interest in the character. As George Lucas is wont to do, the Revill/Eaton mashup was removed in the 2004 release of The Empire Strikes Back and replaced with the next entry…

Ian McDiarmid

To all intents and purposes, Ian McDiarmid is the Emperor Palpatine. The Scottish stage actor was cast by Lucas for Return of the Jedi after original choice Alan Webb became very ill shortly before filming. Despite being a replacement, McDiarmid made an iconic impact as the scheming mastermind behind everyone’s misery in his Star Wars debut. Scarred and creepy, but intimidating and mysterious, the reveal and fall of Palpatine was vital to the final installment of the original trilogy, and McDiarmid was instrumental in the character living up the hype, holding his own against Darth Vader in terms of fear and stature. McDiarmid enjoyed a meatier role in the Star Wars prequels, simultaneously playing a Sith lord and a politician, exercising his Shakespearean acting talents to great effect. Once again, McDiarmid is a scene-stealer, and while some of his prequel utterings have been indoctrinated into meme-dom, Palpatine was a highlight in an inconsistent trilogy.

To the surprise of almost everyone, McDiarmid’s time as Palpatine on the big screen still wasn’t over. In Disney’s Star Wars sequels, Snoke had been killed off and Kylo Ren needed to be redeemed, so J.J. Abrams decided to return to the Palpatine well once again for The Rise of Skywalker, revealing that the pale baddie had been puppeteering from his Sith base on Exegol since the very beginning. Finally, Palpatine was defeated by his own granddaughter, Rey, although one would be foolish to rule out yet another return for the wily foe.

McDiarmid’s Palpatine credits don’t stop at the movies, with the Scot taking over the voice performance of his most famous character in season 4 of Star Wars Rebels. McDiarmid’s familiar tones can also be heard in Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal, although this was another post-release redo. The animated Emperor in this story was originally voiced by another…

Sam Witwer

Sam Witwer has been a reliable source of voices across the entire Star Wars franchise and, just like Palpatine himself, can be found in movies, TV and video games. A successful TV actor in front of the camera, Witwer has appeared in Supergirl, Smallville and Being Human, among many other roles. However, the actor’s introduction to Star Wars came via the 2008 Force Unleashed video game, in which Witwer gave life to both Starkiller and Emperor Palpatine. Continuing to lend his vocal talents to McDiarmid’s character for game releases, Witwer was later cast as Darth Maul for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, receiving much fan acclaim, and he would go on to voice both Maul and Palpatine in Star Wars Rebels. It was Sam Witwer whose voice McDiarmid replaced in The Siege of Lothal.

Witwer’s performance as Palpatine is a close approximation of McDiarmid’s recognizable voice, albeit with a slightly more European-esque accent throw in, however, it’s interesting that between his 2008 debut and his more recent turn in Star Wars Rebels, Witwer’s Sidious sounds increasingly like McDiarmid.

Ian Abercrombie

An English actor boasting notable credits in Seinfeld and Star Trek: Voyager, Abercrombie also played Alfred Pennyworth in the early 2000s Birds of Prey DC series among his litany of TV and movie credits. Abercrombie sadly passed away in 2012, but one of his final roles was providing the voice of Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The storied actor made his villainous Star Wars debut in the poorly-received Clone Wars 2008 movie, but reprised the role in both video games and the far more popular The Clone Wars TV series. Abercrombie’s death came before Palpatine’s role in The Clone Wars was complete, although the actor’s voice can be posthumously heard in places during the fifth and sixth seasons.

Abercrombie’s Palpatine has a more distinctive tone, very different to any other incarnation of the character. Furthermore, there’s a very clear, pronounced difference between Abercrombie’s more charming, kindly Palpatine and the distorted, evil Sidious.

Tim Curry

Tim Curry as Emperor Palpatine sounds exactly as one would expect Tim Curry as Emperor Palpatine to sound, with the much-loved actor’s famous inflection seeping through the Emperor’s usual gravelly menace. Most famous for his bombastic starring turn in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Curry took over as Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars following the passing of Ian Abercrombie. Curry’s iteration of Palpatine can be heard in seasons 5 and 6 of the animated series, with the Clue and Home Alone 2 actor giving a very unique performance that’s unlike any previous version of the character, but certainly no less effective.

Nick Jameson

Before Star Wars: The Clone Wars stole hearts, Star Wars: Clone Wars explored that eventful interim between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Naturally, Palpatine was highly influential in this period of the timeline , and the Sith lord was voiced by Nick Jameson for the entire series between 2003 and 2005. An experienced American voice actor, Jameson has also enjoyed minor on-screen parts in Lost and Seinfeld, and also portrayed the Russian president in 24. Jameson’s Palpatine feels quite far removed from any other before or since; while acting as the Chancellor, the phrasing takes on a plummy upper-class British quality, but when voicing the character as Sidious, Jameson gives a fair impression of McDiarmid.

Robert Martin Klein

Robert Martin Klein’s sole appearance as Palpatine came in the 2011 special Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace. As might be expected from a Lego interpretation of the character, Klein’s Palpatine is a little more overblown and a lot more classic stereotypical villain, with a serpent-like hissing and much less of the overbearing menace that non-brick Palpatines come with. Klein has racked up an extensive catalog of voice performances in the realms of anime and video games, and has been especially prominent in the Digimon franchise. He also has a brief appearance in Meet the Fockers.

Trevor Devall

Most entries in the series of Lego Star Wars productions see Trevor Devall take on the famed role of Sheev Palpatine, and his performance lands in the same family-friendly ballpark as Klein’s. While voicing Palpatine the civilian, Devall brings an almost comedic posh-ness to the politician, and the same exaggerated cartoonish villainy that fans of the Lego Star Wars franchise have come to expect. Once again, the more outwardly evil overtones from official Star Wars canon are wisely reigned in. As with Klein, Devall has a long list of anime credits that includes Death Note and Mobile Suit Gundam, and the respected voice artist can be heard as Rocket in the animated Guardians of the Galaxy series.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3623 Articles Published)

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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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