Bob Anderson played Darth Vader in light-saber battle.
Everyone recalls the first time Darth Vader emerges and unveils his red light saber to do battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, but few knew that it was Bob Anderson behind the mask. The former British Olympic swordsman who worked on many of history’s best-known movies has died at the age of 89. The role of Vader was played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones, but hardly anyone knew it was Anderson who fought the legendary duel until Luke Skywalker—Mark Hamill—revealed it in an interview in 1983. Anderson also choreographed many of the characters’ fights in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean.
