Most fans are familiar with Ian McDiarmid's captivating performance as Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious from the filmed Star Wars saga, but some may not be aware that a second Ian -- Ian Abercrombie -- has more than effectively carried the role of the galaxy's most sinister Sith Lord into The Clone Wars animated series.
Abercrombie, whose familiar role as "Mr. Pitt" on several episodes of Seinfeld has made him a recognizable figure to fans of the legendary sitcom, has for the last year been performing the role of the scheming Chancellor Palpatine and his Sith Lord alter ego Darth Sidious in The Clone Wars. Having a pronounced presence in tonight's episode, "Children of the Force", we asked him a few questions about his work on the series and what we might expect of the Palpatine/Sidious character in the seasons to come.
How much did Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine/Sidious in the movies inform your portrayal of the character?
There was a smoothness to Ian's delivery. There was a very deliberate punctuation to words, and I still keep that in the back of my head. I use my own tone but a little of him creeps in now and then because it is so measured. Also, the reason he played the role originally is because of what he brought to it, so you don't want to go too far to the left or to the right because the fans will let us know -- they like it staying pretty much the same. So I play pretty centered with Ian's performance.
How do you create a distinction between the voice of Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious?
For Palpatine, I wanted a stillness about him to keep him different from everybody else. If everyone is yelling and screaming around him, he was the center, he was the stillness. And with that stillness there is control. All eyes go to the stillness in a room. With Darth Sidious, it's the other side of him, the dark side, so he's more greedy in conversation. So the voice has to change somewhat, but still make an impact -- that he's in charge. Also, Palpatine's balancing the two though nobody would ever know. He's pulling all the strings.
What do you hope to see from the Palpatine/Sidious character as the series unfolds?
With Palpatine, I want him to go so far that there's no way of him getting back. I think he's going to make a couple of mistakes. He will destroy anybody who gets in his way, but like all evil people, he's going to slip up. There is already some suspicion about him in the Senate. And Sidious, I think, will go off the rails. Palpatine controls everything, but there's cracks in the wall, as we say. Of course, this is just my own thinking.
For more about tonight's episode of Clone Wars, and additional discussion with Ian Abercrombie, check out our earlier coverage here.
