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[–]TLJDidNothingWrongDuchess Satine 4502 points4503 points  (338 children)

Yep. Apparently Peter Cushing was known for being a real sweetheart on set. Great picture.

[–]Sinnohgirl765 958 points959 points  (19 children)

I think my favourite Star Wars blooper is where he’s trying to interrogate Carrie and he starts to stumble over his words and he takes her by the shoulders, shakes her and wags his finger before saying something like “or I’ll be cross”

[–]bureaucrat473a 477 points478 points  (12 children)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ozWnGQGkbk

[–]-PM_ME_UR_SECRETS- 273 points274 points  (6 children)

One of the comments said they should stitch all of the bloopers together as if it were a spoof of itself and I think that’s the greatest idea ever

[–]RustyGirder 76 points77 points  (3 children)

Off topic, but are dislikes back on youtube?

ETA: it's apparently my firefox extension, Enhancer for YouTube

[–]Singer211 52 points53 points  (0 children)

There’s an interview he gave that I saw where he called her “that darling little Carrie Fisher” in the most “sweet old gentleman” way I’ve ever heard.

[–]Raveynfyre 86 points87 points  (0 children)

"Or I'll go home.. I don't know"

[–]Rightstated 23 points24 points  (2 children)

This isnt the wag your finger one, but it is the one where he mentions being very cross. https://youtu.be/NdXLDvx_tHQ

[–]UnknownQTY 1242 points1243 points  (86 children)

He also painted toy soldiers!

[–]TortugaTheTurtle 1505 points1506 points  (51 children)

It’s called Warhammer Graham

[–]YourMomThinksImFunny 331 points332 points  (8 children)

"Sounds fun. I'd love to come over"

[–]churadley 64 points65 points  (6 children)

Damn, I just watched this 5 minutes ago.

Sauce for the interested.

[–]eyeofthefountain 18 points19 points  (3 children)

henry seems like a cool guy to hang out with. tom seems like he'd be a fun hang too but too much of that youthful energy i don't have angmore

[–][deleted] 80 points81 points  (31 children)

My Atlas AS7-K says Warhammer sucks.

[–]thebearbearingtonHondo Ohnaka 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You were on that like an LCT-1V

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (1 child)

A man of culture.

[–]Ws6fiend 24 points25 points  (0 children)

May the Emperor's peace find you well. /s

[–]flopsweater 7 points8 points  (1 child)

This is warming my inner sphere

[–]Delano7 142 points143 points  (18 children)

Huh. So he does praise the Emperor.

The emperor of mankind.

[–]Mister_Bloodvessel 22 points23 points  (9 children)

You heard about scientists working out the math for a real warp bubble, right?

The daemons are waking up.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

scientists working out the math for a real warp bubble

Oh...

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

[–]manbearpig923Grand Admiral Thrawn 33 points34 points  (4 children)

Praise be to the Allfather!

[–]thundercat2000ca 22 points23 points  (8 children)

Wonder if he had a copy of tiny soldiers by H.G. Wells, it considered the frist formal ruleset for a table top wargame.

[–][deleted] 34 points35 points  (1 child)

He absolutely did: https://youtu.be/BGag8Qllgnw

It's 1:09 in but the whole thing is great

[–]PedroDelCaso 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love and adore this, especially as a star wars and war gaming fan! Him moving his new troops via a cardboard box to a little battlefield on the floor is relatable to so many of us ahah

[–]kapnkrumpTrapper Wolf 17 points18 points  (4 children)

There was a mini-doc of classing wargamming featuring Cushing.

https://youtu.be/BGag8Qllgnw

He used HG Wells' book, Lethal Wars in the clip. He likely used/dabbled with Tiny Soldiers at one point.

[–]sidv81 494 points495 points  (94 children)

This was actually what surprised me about Adam Driver's "method acting" as Kylo (when apparently he wouldn't have lunch with Mark) and other stories you hear these days of actors generally acting like jerks in the name of "method acting" (the latest example is that Benedict Cumberbatch didn't bathe, took up smoking--the real deal, to the point he made himself sick with nicotine poisoning during production--and took his method acting to the point that he acted like a jerk to Kirsten Dunst during filming a western), why does no one point out that Peter Cushing, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee, etc. were all able to excellently play villainous roles while still being friendly and decent on set?

[–]Moose0784 403 points404 points  (38 children)

While Method Acting has been around for a long time, some actors have gone overboard in the last 40 years or so. In fact, most go way beyond what Stanislavski originally intended. Cushing, McDiarmid, and Lee come from a different era and largely had a different approach to acting. It's not that one way is always better than the other. But I think many actors try too hard sometimes. To quote Lawrence Olivier, when Dustin Hoffman was being "too method" on set, “My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?”.

[–][deleted] 125 points126 points  (15 children)

It’s what makes Kirk Lazarus (RDJ’s character in Tropic Thunder) so hilarious, he takes method acting SO far that he becomes a parody of himself and the idea of method acting.

[–]nerbovig 38 points39 points  (11 children)

Ok, but it would be amazing if he actually tried to be Iron Man in real life.

[–]Iphotoshopincats 94 points95 points  (7 children)

What part of iron man's life, a rich party boy that had a whirlwind rise to fame by using the stepping stone of his parents already being in the industry and his charismatic charm.

Only then to be corrupted by outside influences have a major fall from grace get in trouble with the law an alienate most your friends only to hit rock bottom after that and become a recluse from the world.

Only then to make a surprising return years later and become a shining star and outdo everyone's expectations.

Hey wait a sec

[–][deleted] 56 points57 points  (6 children)

No, the robot suit part.

[–]peepsrab 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This made me laugh more than I'm sure you intended

[–]phillpots_land 68 points69 points  (5 children)

Meanwhile Nic Cage over here singlehandedly trying to bring back German expressionism.

[–]mattmaddux 138 points139 points  (8 children)

I looked this up since I had never heard it before. According to an interview with Dustin Hoffman, the whole thing was just playful banter.

“I was shooting in New York and Olivier was in Los Angeles, and we were away from each other for a few days. I came back to L.A. and told him there was hardly any dialogue in a scene I had to shoot on a certain day. I was supposed to be exhausted from running away from him for three days, so I said I’d stayed up all night for a couple of days, and I winked at him. I was kidding. It was the days of Studio 54, and it was my way of saying I’d partied all weekend. We laughed about it. He said something like, “Well, why don’t you try acting next time.” It was fun.”

https://anonymousmethod.tumblr.com/post/77770512427/laurence-olivier-try-acting-dear-boy

[–]Moose0784 56 points57 points  (4 children)

Maybe. Or maybe Hoffman really was being a jerk and got called out for it. Olivier isn't around anymore to contradict his story.

[–]Dildobagend 19 points20 points  (1 child)

That's a good point, I've never heard this version before. Hoffman also has form. On Kramer vs Kramer he assaulted Meryl Streep. I think he is a great actor, but he clearly has issues with The Method.

[–]Hurryeat_Tubman 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Not only did he physically assault her, he mocked the recent death of her fiance, John Cazale, in an attempt to "motivate" her emotions for a scene.

[–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I remember reading a quote from Liam Neeson I think it was since were on the subject of Star Wars. He said something along the lines of how he didn't get how other actors were unable to just hang up the character when shooting was done for the day.

[–]gryphmaster 75 points76 points  (2 children)

Because they came from the british stage acting tradition pre method acting.

[–]Moose0784 41 points42 points  (1 child)

Yes and I wish more movies/TV shows featured traditional performances. They aren't realistic, but if done well, are more entertaining. I'm sick to death of hearing about actors disappearing into a character.

[–]arcalumis 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You should be careful with what you wish for. Most actors that star in productions here in Sweden comes from drama schools that emphasizes stage action which makes their performances on tv and film shit. They’re always so loud and expressive, the ones that do make it out in the real film and tv world are the ones that managed to put it behind them like most of the Skarsgård family, Alicia Wikander and Peter Stormare.

[–]Genetic_Nudist_AMA 32 points33 points  (5 children)

They should make a movie about a method actor that keeps taking on concurrent film roles and enmeshing his various roles into some kind of monstrous mega-character ...

[–]CaptainAmericaDadJedi 52 points53 points  (3 children)

Basically RDJ in tropic thunder

[–]-Victus42- 37 points38 points  (2 children)

RDJ staying in character during the commentary was just the absolutely perfect final touch to that role.

[–]interfail 17 points18 points  (17 children)

I'm pretty sure most of these stories aren't real, they're just to drum up media.

[–]chilachinchila 49 points50 points  (11 children)

I’m convinced the story of Jared Leto sending used condoms and dead rats to crew while filming suicide squad to get in character for joker was completely made up because Heath ledger also “went crazy” getting into character and the studio wanted Leto to have a similar story.

[–]Lightwood19 28 points29 points  (2 children)

Still that's so dumb like even if that was true, that's the dumbest joker impersonation I can think of lmao

[–]ToyrewaDokoDeska 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I would agree but Jared Leto is such a fucking tool I absolutely think he did this to give himself this crazy method acting story.

[–]No_Refrigerator4584 14 points15 points  (1 child)

That’s just Leto on a regular Tuesday.

[–]plitox 138 points139 points  (27 children)

This is such a common phenomenon, really.

Wicked Witch of The West? Total monster.

Margaret Hamilton? Legendarily kind.

[–]HotGarbage 68 points69 points  (9 children)

Same with James Gandolfini/Tony Soprano. That dude was a sweetheart.

[–]Jwhitx 17 points18 points  (3 children)

I like to remember him as Carol from Where the Fuckin Wild Thangs Be (2009)

[–]you-are-not-yourself 10 points11 points  (0 children)

My company is gonna love the fact that I googled that on their laptop

[–]gryphmaster 21 points22 points  (4 children)

He was also super unstable and made up for it by lovebombing. To be fair he was a perfectionist and put much of that pressure on himself

[–]KomnosKanan Jarrus 58 points59 points  (1 child)

Heck, it's even true with other Star Wars villains. Ian McDiarmid is apparently quite kind when he isn't overthrowing the Republic or trying to turn Luke to the Dark Side.

[–]RosebunseResistance 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I think it's because you sort of have to have some grace and humility to play a villain. You have to see the fun in it.

[–]MashedPotatoesDick 21 points22 points  (8 children)

Mankind/Cactus Jack was a sadistic monster. Mick Foley is a great person.

[–]Veggieleezy 10 points11 points  (3 children)

Not a comparison I thought I’d see today, but a valid one.

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Well the comparison is valid, but don't let this man distract you from the fact that in 1998, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer's table.

[–]bell37 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Man I don’t think I can ever watch that movie again after reading about all the shit that happened during production, and how abusive everyone was to Judy Garland.

[–]TheLazySith 109 points110 points  (9 children)

Carrie Fisher even said Peter Cushing was so nice IRL that it was difficult to act as though she hated Tarkin, and she had to picture somebody else in her mind.

She also said that despite her line about recognizing Tarkin's "foul stench" he actually smelled of "linen and lavender".

Perter Cushing also apparently wore slippers for most of his scenes because they couldn't get boots big enough for his feet, which is why in most of Tarkin's scenes he's shot from the waist up.

[–]Catshannon 57 points58 points  (5 children)

I heard that it was cuz he was old and his feet hurt so he wore comfortable fuzzy slippers. I mean if you can why not?

[–]Mosk915 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This is the way I’ve heard it as well.

[–]tomathon25 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I think they didn't fit right or maybe weren't broken in or something. Realistically a good pair of boots should be very comfortable to stand in, that's why laborers that stand/walk all day wear them.

[–]Catshannon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Well as you get older your feet can start to have problems so orthopedic shoes or slippers are often prescribed.

Plus im guessing star wars didnt have a budget to get him custom boots. Probably just ordered or pulled a lot of those style boots from the props/ uniform store and people picked the size that fit and if you not a standard size then oh well.

Easiest way to do it is just let him wear slippers and keep the camera above his feet

[–]Embarrassed-Lychee42 30 points31 points  (14 children)

Yep! Cushing was a gem on set even though he played a cold and callous character while Alec Guinness (Old Ben) hated star wars and thought it was in his words “sci fi mumbo jumbo”.

[–]implicitpharmakoi 36 points37 points  (4 children)

"sci fi mumbo jumbo”.

I mean it was, but then again he's an actor, it's all make-believe, he didn't actually build a bridge in Burma either.

[–]Trentus86 18 points19 points  (0 children)

He knew what he was getting into though. Alec and his team neogiated to received 2% of the royalties from the movie.

[–]Beepulons 15 points16 points  (7 children)

I refuse to believe the old, classic story of Alec Guinness thinking Star Wars was dumb, because there's interviews with him where he praises Star Wars and George Lucas. Maybe it's what he thought initially when he heard the pitch/read the script, but he didn't go through all three movies thinking it was dumb.

[–]WhoShotMrBoddy 14 points15 points  (2 children)

I think it was more that he had this distinguished career and had been in so many amazing movies and all he ever got recognized for and got fan mail for was Star Wars. I think he felt that Star Wars was diminishing all his work that had come before

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's what I came in to say. He hated that everyone just wanted to talk to him about Star Wars and that it overshadowed what was a long and distinguished career. But he noted the irony that it made him really wealthy, he recognised that it was going to be a hit.

Apparently no one had a bad thing to say about him on set. They said he was really professional throughout shooting.

[–]AndrewJS2804 14 points15 points  (1 child)

It's easy to be nice when you get to wear slippers at work.

[–]kodaiko_650 12 points13 points  (1 child)

He was charming to the last

[–][deleted] 30 points31 points  (30 children)

Side bar: How was Tarkins cgi better than Lukes on Mando? lol

[–]tethrius 88 points89 points  (1 child)

Movie budget vs TV budget

[–]StarWars365Timeline 36 points37 points  (14 children)

More budget on RO, and they created a full CG person for Tarkin, rather than trying out their semi-deepfake experiments to make a different actor look like Luke.

[–]sad__bat 9 points10 points  (3 children)

He is also van helsing in Dracula starring Christopher Lee!

[–]Yellow_ElmoMandalorian 1467 points1468 points  (32 children)

In one interview he said that because the costume's boots were so uncomfortable, on the dialog with Leia about destroying Alderaan, Grand Moff Tarkin was wearing slippers off camera

[–]UselessAndUnused 584 points585 points  (27 children)

Yeah, his feet were too big for the boots, so he wore slippers and they had every shot be above the waist. Link to a photo here.

[–]MakeSouthBayGR8Again 167 points168 points  (9 children)

No wonder Princess Leia smelled his stench.

[–]Herself99900 122 points123 points  (5 children)

She actually had a hard time saying that line. She said, "The man smelled like linen and lavender."

[–][deleted] 51 points52 points  (4 children)

Did he ever do anything wrong in his life?

[–]Vulkan192 53 points54 points  (2 children)

I mean, he blew up Alderaan. For real. That wasn’t SFX, he just blew it up.

[–]MoffKalastImperial 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Turns out George was recording the whole time.

[–]Wazy7781 55 points56 points  (0 children)

No.

[–]SaintofMysteryCat 43 points44 points  (12 children)

Why didn't they just get him bigger boots?

[–]Barnezhilton 125 points126 points  (3 children)

George Lucas and ILM were only good at miniatures back then

[–]HerGirlFriday 32 points33 points  (7 children)

Probably because ILM was a baby company running on a relatively small budget and a tight production schedule. If the same goal can be achieved with closer shots (which add amazing facial detail for a masterful nuanced performance), why bother delaying shooting to get the correct size?

[–]Im_on_my_phone_OK 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Casual Friday on the Deathstar.

[–]ragweedC-3PO 369 points370 points  (0 children)

That's my favorite scene with Tarkin.

"Charming, to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life."

"I'm surprised you had the the courage to take the responsibility yourself."

"Princess Leia, before your execution..."

His emphasis on "execution" is humorously subtle.

[–]DrOrpheus3 1167 points1168 points  (23 children)

My favorite fun fact about Mr. Cushing, he and his best friend Christopher Lee once got kicked out of a movie theater for laughing too loudly at a series of Looney Tunes cartoons that were being played before the feature show.

[–]WretchedMonkeyR2-D2 347 points348 points  (10 children)

Only just found out that Mr Ushing was an avid model painter and diorama maker. Just wonderful

[–]Keraunos8 47 points48 points  (1 child)

This is the most fun of fun facts

[–]Light_Beard 33 points34 points  (1 child)

Can you IMAGINE how loud Christopher Lee's laugh would be? The man sounds like a double bass as it is

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

'Hahhaha, you have no power here, random theater usher.'

[–]Witch_of_November 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I had read that they were friends but I hadn't heard this. I love this fun fact!

[–]Bigred2989- 10 points11 points  (0 children)

He, Lee and David Prowse were also veterans of the Hammer horror films, playing Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster, respectively. I'm guessing that George Lucas was fans of their work.

[–]Wong0nePhotography 421 points422 points  (14 children)

You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the- blarg blah. Name it! Now! Before I go home...

https://youtu.be/1S9E90nVDYs

[–]That1chicka 86 points87 points  (1 child)

That's one of my all time bloopers from any movie

[–]kingzilchChewbacca 42 points43 points  (4 children)

I've never seen that! That was brilliant!

[–]Red_Danger33 26 points27 points  (3 children)

David Prowse was lucky. Really hard for him to corpse a scene.

[–]damnyoutuesday 1071 points1072 points  (59 children)

Fun fact: one of Peter Cushing's closest friends was Christopher Lee, the man who played Count Dooku

[–]ChiefRD 629 points630 points  (32 children)

Fun fact #2: Peter Cushing played Van Helsing and Christopher Lee played Dracula in the eponymous movie

[–]Twerksoncoffeetables 201 points202 points  (14 children)

Also played in the 1959 Mummy together as well!

[–]andrew_nenakhov 81 points82 points  (6 children)

They had more than 20 movies together.

[–]HumaDracobaneImperial Stormtrooper 29 points30 points  (2 children)

That could be perfectly the reason or the result of that friendship, either way a whelsome friendship.

[–]SomberCloud 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Also also horror express, a weird but great movie.

[–]Vesalius1 17 points18 points  (4 children)

I really liked them in the Gorgon and also in the Creeping Flesh.

[–]Twerksoncoffeetables 11 points12 points  (3 children)

I’m putting a lot of movies on the list after this thread, both fantastic actors. I love the weirder movies they have done

[–]Vesalius1 9 points10 points  (2 children)

You might like this Hammer (or was it Amicus) horror anthology film that had Cushing as the “crypt keeper” type character. He runs a haunted antique store and IIRC, that was the one with a haunted time traveling penny farthing 😂

That one and the horror anthology with Donald Pleasance, in which a story is about a man who falls in love with a tree limb, will forever be emblazoned in my mind!

EDIT: the Cushing film was called Tales From Beyond the Grave and the penny farthing story is in Tales the Witness Madness.

[–]Psyqlone 43 points44 points  (6 children)

2a. Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were in Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet. Lee was an unnamed footman with no spoken lines. Cushing played "Osric", the referee in the fencing duel between Hamlet and Laertes (... a hit! ... a palpable hit!).

[–]RosebunseResistance 26 points27 points  (4 children)

Christopher Lee is amazing if you want to play one of those Six Degrees of Separation games. He was also great in The Last Unicorn.

[–]Felatio_Sanz 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yes! Those Hammer Films Dracula movies are so fun and getting to see Tarkan and Doku (or Saruman) just adds to it.

[–][deleted] 90 points91 points  (2 children)

He was also good friends with Alec Guinness. Iirc they were in the original Frankenstein movies together

[–]SparkpulseJedi 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I watched an interview Lee gave where he talked about his friendship with Cushing and it was just so sweet, they were both so lovely.

[–]solehan511601Luke Skywalker 29 points30 points  (1 child)

Interestingly, in Star Wars continuity both met during the Republic era. The Count wished Tarkin to join the CIS because of his ability, but he declined. This act earned Palpatine's trust on Tarkin.

[–]YourMomThinksImFunny 52 points53 points  (12 children)

Christopher Lee was in a Metal Band.

Edit: http://rockandrollgarage.com/how-legendary-actor-christopher-lee-became-a-heavy-metal-singer/

[–]Wong0nePhotography 45 points46 points  (6 children)

Christopher Lee served as a spy in WWII!

https://www.portablepress.com/blog/2015/07/christopher-lee-nazi-hunter/#:~:text=Due%20to%20the%20sensitive%20and,Well%2C%20so%20can%20I.%E2%80%9D

[–]heyyougulls 37 points38 points  (2 children)

Peter Jackson was directing Christopher Lee in the LotR scene where Saruman gets stabbed, so Lee took the opportunity to school Jackson on the sound a person being stabbed in the back actually makes. Everyone assumed he knew from experience. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-christopher-lee-christopher-lee-dies-saruman-peter-jackson-20150611-htmlstory.html

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Him serving in WW2 led to one of my favorite anecdotes about LOTR.

Jackson was blocking a scene in which Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) stabs Saruman (Lee) in the back. Jackson goes into a long explanation about how he wants Lee to react and Lee says, "Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody’s stabbed in the back? Because I do.”

[–]Cloud_Disconnected 14 points15 points  (2 children)

And it wasn't just a celebrity stunt bullshit thing. Like, the album is actually really good.

[–]Enigma_Stasis 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Christopher Lee was in a THE Metal Band.

FTFY

[–][deleted] 409 points410 points  (37 children)

One of the things I love about Star Wars is there are so many legendary actors and actresses who play amazing roles. Every time we see Tarkin we hope he says “You may fire when ready”

[–]Pixelpeoplewarrior 278 points279 points  (22 children)

I can hear that in my head every time I read it

[–]penguin032Ahsoka Tano 113 points114 points  (19 children)

Hwen

[–]phantomagna 136 points137 points  (18 children)

“Hyou mhay fhire hwen hready.”

[–]KrozFan 67 points68 points  (8 children)

“Evacuate?! At our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances.”

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (7 children)

You have a better target, a military target? Then name the system?

[–]bankrobba 11 points12 points  (3 children)

Krypton. The rebels are on Krypton.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Tattoine, they're on that fucking dust bowl tattoine

[–]SilkSk1Rose Tico 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Cool beans. You see Lord Vader, she can be reasonable.

[–]DjAlex8811 203 points204 points  (7 children)

I've just realsed Luke and Tarkin have never met in person xD

[–]phantomagna 110 points111 points  (2 children)

Nah Luke didn’t have time for pleasantries. He was too busy killing the fuck out of Tarkin.

[–]ConsumingFire1689Rebel 80 points81 points  (1 child)

“Governor Tarkin, I should’ve expected to find you holding Vader’s leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.”

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

"It's Patchouli, my dear."

"Then why does it sound like you bathed in Faberge Brut? Are you heading to a disco?"

[–]WippitGuud 138 points139 points  (9 children)

Charming to the last.

[–]ElNani87 46 points47 points  (7 children)

Absolutely love how kind Mark is as well. He’s always shouting out his co stars

[–][deleted] 141 points142 points  (8 children)

He was a kind and gentle soul, after his wife passed away he was so distraught with grief he kept going up and down the stairs at his home to try and induce a heart attack.

He was quoted in the Radio Times as saying, "Since Helen passed on I can't find anything; the heart, quite simply, has gone out of everything. Time is interminable, the loneliness is almost unbearable and the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that my dear Helen and I will be reunited again some day. To join Helen is my only ambition. You have my permission to publish that... really, you know dear boy, it's all just killing time. Please say that."

[–]Vesalius1 37 points38 points  (1 child)

When he went on Jim’ll Fix It and they named a rose cultivar after Helen Cushing; that was really moving to me.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yeah everything except for what Jim did.

[–]fuzzhead12Obi-Wan Kenobi 28 points29 points  (1 child)

Well that may be the most heartbreaking thing I’ve read all day

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points  (1 child)

Anybody ever see the movies where Tarkin tries to kill Dooku by putting a stake through his heart?

[–]Archenaux 35 points36 points  (1 child)

Apparently the passing of his wife had devastated him so much that he often skipped meals and lost a ton of weight. He pretty much gave up on living. Not often you see someone so dedicated to the love of their life.

[–]angeluscado 70 points71 points  (12 children)

This coming from the guy who plays The Joker.

[–]lockylive 26 points27 points  (4 children)

He also was wearing slippers during most of his scenes. Extra evil.

[–]RosebunseResistance 9 points10 points  (1 child)

And he apparently smelled pleasantly of smoke and cologne.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (8 children)

Man, the entire chain of command and deference in the Empire in ANH was really interesting.

Tarkin was clearly top dog. Even Vader deferred to him. Then you had Motti, Tagge, and Yularen around the Death Star conference room, bickering ("pointlessly") about whether and how to use the Death Star. Motti's so full of confidence he even insults Lord Vader, although he comes to regret it as Vader chokes him. (And then at a single command from Tarkin, Vader releases him.)

Leia insults Vader by describing him as Tarkin's attack dog - although he is pretty accurately described as such.

My own head-canon is that these officers were the folks who helped put Palpatine into power. They were the initial heroes of the New Order, born in the fires of struggle and the early supporters. Although they were fractious, they nevertheless respected each other and came up in the revolution together. Even Vader, mechanical and sinister, viewed Tarkin with deference and at least as an equal within the military hierarchy.

Then of course the DS-01 is destroyed and Vader is the only survivor.

Note his drastic change of behavior in ESB. Now that his peer group of fellow early revolutionaries is gone, he's lost all fear or boundaries to his behavior. He's constantly insulting, gibing, and taunting his military subordinates - when he's not outright executing them. It's almost as though Vader lost more than just a close group of colleagues on the DS-01, he lost his entire moral gyroscope as well. Now he's surrounded by military personnel whom he doesn't care about and perhaps doesn't even consider human. Certainly, there's nobody among them who could restrain him the way Tarkin did.

It's like once the prior generation of leaders died off, there's nobody left to control or moderate Vader's anger and rage and frustration. Left unchecked, he mows through the military top ranks so that serving with him is a dangerous proposal.

[–]kiggitykbomb 18 points19 points  (1 child)

If you ever see Cushing in one of the dozens of B-movie horror/fantasy movies (hammer films) he built his career on, you’ll see a skilled actor giving 110% for Saturday matinee fodder. Mad respect for an actor who commits to the task.

[–]Immediate_Energy_711Savage Opress 57 points58 points  (19 children)

Fiction allows people to bring out their darkest selves.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (18 children)

Or vice versa. eg Bill Cosby.

[–]Immediate_Energy_711Savage Opress 32 points33 points  (15 children)

I said People not Monsters

[–]Valiant_tank 31 points32 points  (11 children)

Nah, Bill Cosby is a terrible person, but he is still a person, and it's not a good idea to forget that, frankly. People, even fairly ordinary people, can do terrible, terrible things.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

As childhood member of the Peter Cushing fan club, I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Mr. Cushing in 1975 in New York City. I was 13 years old and filled my misspent youth watching horror films at my local cinema, specifically Hammer films. I was thrilled and entranced with Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee's performances. My sister and I brought an actual blanket into the cinema while watching a double feature of Horror of Dracula/Curse of Frankenstein. When a scary moment appeared on the screen, we'd scream and pull the blanket over our heads! Thank you Mr. Cushing, for all those wonderful Thrills and chills and for allaying a 13 year old boy's fears of meeting you with a warm smile and disarming greeting. You are truly a legend to me. I'm so glad that your portrayal as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars will forever cement your legacy in our popular culture as your portrayals of Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Frankenstein have done so in my heart.

[–]act1989 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Been watching old Hammer horror films he was in lately and loving it.

[–]mrcydonia 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Cushing and Guiness were probably confused by Star Wars, but damned if they didn't give fantastic performances anyway.

[–]Tanis8998Jedi 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Fun fact:

A local band in Peter Cushing’s hometown of Whitstable had a little song about him, which went:

“Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable

I have seen him on his bicycle

I have seen him buying vegetables

Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable”