Ian McDiarmid

Acting

Ian McDiarmid

Born 1944-08-11 · Carnoustie, Tayside, Scotland, UK

Ian McDiarmid (born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director best known for portraying Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars film series. He has received an Olivier Award for Best Actor and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performances. Wikipedia

Acting credits

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster
6.3

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

2019

Return of the Jedi poster
7.9

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

Return of the Jedi

1983

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith poster
7.5

When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace poster
6.6

Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

1999

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones poster
6.6

Following an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi investigate a mysterious plot into the heart of the Separatist movement and the beginning of the Clone Wars.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

2002

Sleepy Hollow poster
7.2

Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.

Sleepy Hollow

1999

The Lost City of Z poster
6.4

A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett, who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.

The Lost City of Z

2017

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels poster
7.1

Con artist Lawrence Jamieson is a longtime resident of a luxurious coastal resort, where he enjoys the lavish fruits of his deceptions -- that is, until a competitor, Freddy Benson, shows up. When the new guy's lowbrow tactics impinge on his own sophisticated work and believing him to be the infamous conman 'The Jackal', Lawrence resolves to get rid of him. Confident of his own duplicitous talents, he challenges Freddy to a winner-takes-all competition: whoever swindles their latest mark, American heiress Janet Colgate, out of $50,000 first can stay, while the other must leave town.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

1988

Restoration poster
6.1

An aspiring young physician, Robert Merivel found himself in the service of King Charles II and saves the life of someone close to the King. Merivel joins the King's court and lives the high life provided to someone of his position. Merivel is ordered to marry his King's mistress in order to divert the queens suspicions. He is given one order by the king and that is not to fall in love. The situation worsens when Merivel finds himself in love with his new wife. Eventually, the King finds out and relieves Merivel of his position and wealth. His fall from grace leaves Merivel where he first started. And through his travels and reunions with an old friend, he rediscovers his love for true medicine and what it really means to be a physician.

Restoration

1995

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return poster
6.8

This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return

2022

The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I poster
7.3

The entire process of making Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) is shown here in this documentary. From pre-production through post-production, we get to see visual effects meetings, John Williams' music sessions, and even the storm that wiped out the pod-racers & props.

The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I

2001

Gorky Park poster
6.3

Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.

Gorky Park

1983

Dragonslayer poster
6.6

A sorcerer and his apprentice are on a mission to kill an evil dragon to save the King’s daughter from being sacrificed according to a pact that the King himself made with the dragon to protect his kingdom.

Dragonslayer

1981

Margaret poster
5.7

A detailed and compelling portrait of one of the most formidable characters in British politics as she faces her final days in power. The year is 1990 and Margaret Thatcher's support within the government is wavering - her hold on the premiership hangs in the balance. Then, long-serving politician Sir Geoffrey Howe resigns over Thatcher's attitude to Europe. His resignation speech sparks a chain of events that leads to the overthrow of Britain's first woman prime minister. This modern dramatic tragedy illustrates the strengths and fatal flaws of this iconic woman more clearly than ever before and reveals how the very aspects of her character that helped her secure power are the ones that ensured her downfall. Drama starring Lindsay Duncan.

Margaret

2009

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End poster
7.0

Sir Henry Rawlinson attempts to exorcise the ghost of his brother Humbert, who was accidentally killed in a drunken duck-shooting incident.

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End

1980

The Skywalker Legacy poster
7.8

The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Skywalker Legacy

2020

Crime and Punishment poster
6.7

Former student Raskolnikov is pushed to murder when struggling to pay the rent on his apartment. When the murder is being investigated by the police, Raskolnikov struggles between trying to hide his guilt and the pressure to confess.

Crime and Punishment

2002

The Awakening poster
5.4

When a British archaeologist violates an Egyptian queen's tomb, her evil spirit enters his daughter.

The Awakening

1980

Annie: A Royal Adventure poster
6.0

Annie is back! Along with her friends Molly, Hannah, her dog Sandy, and her wealthy father Oliver Warbucks. They take a trip to England where Warbucks is going to be Knighted by the King. Annie and the gang stumbles onto a wicked scheme led by an evil noblewoman who plans to blow up Buckingham Palace so she can become Queen and claim the throne for herself! And now it is up to Annie and her friends to stop her!

Annie: A Royal Adventure

1995

Star Wars: Evolution of the Lightsaber Duel poster
6.3

Though lightsabers have been a force in the Star Wars galaxy since George Lucas’ original film, the weapon’s on-screen presence evolved throughout both cinematic trilogies and into Star Wars: The Force Awakens. SportsCenter is tracing the lightsaber’s lineage through the films, and a new trailer for the special will definitely delight any fan’s inner Star Wars Kid.

Star Wars: Evolution of the Lightsaber Duel

2015

Heart of Darkness poster
5.8

A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.

Heart of Darkness

1994

Star Wars: Greatest Moments poster
7.1

Alex Zane counts down the top 20 Star Wars moments as voted by the public. Includes contributions from famous fans as well as the stars and crew of the intergalactic saga.

Star Wars: Greatest Moments

2015

Richard's Things poster
4.9

Following her husband's death, a wife discovers and confronts her husband's lover. Their mutual pain, love, envy and jealousy bring them together in an unexpected emotional and physical relationship.

Richard's Things

1980

Great Expectations poster
6.4

Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.

Great Expectations

1999