Ian McDiarmid was born in Carnoustie in 1947 but grew up in Dundee, Scotland before attending St Andrews, where he majored in psychology. After deciding his calling was in the acting world, he attended Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, receiving the most prestigious award. He then began performing in London in 1973 before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974. In 1983, he landed the part of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and continued acting in plays and TV shows until 1999, when he returned to the big screen in Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, this time as Senator Palpatine. He continued in 2002 and 2005 as Senator Palpatine in Episode II and III, and in 2006 acted on Broadway in the play “Faith Healer.”
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St. Andrews chapter.