Biography
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish actor and director. Born on 11 August 1944 in Carnoustie, Scotland, he made his stage debut in 1972 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974. He has performed in numerous Shakespeare plays and received an Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in Insignificance (1982).
McDiarmid is best known for portraying Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared as the Emperor in Return of the Jedi (1983) and reprised the role, including as Senator Palpatine, in the prequel trilogy beginning with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), as well as in later films and series such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). He has also appeared in films including Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The Lost City of Z (2017). In 2006 he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Faith Healer.
