Recap of the Anthony Daniels Panel from Star Wars Celebration

Anthony Daniels Panel – Inside the Heart and Chaos of C-3PO. 
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim
Friday April 17th 7:00pm

Well there’s not too much anyone can say about the name Anthony Daniels to a Star Wars fan that they wouldn’t already know.  But I found myself learning a few new things about the guy in the golden suit at his panel during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.  Now if you’ve been to any of the Celebrations in the past you know that Anthony Daniels is not one to shy away from applause.  The man seems to feed off of it and in a setting like this he must feel right at home.  He starts off this particular panel by playing to the crowd to get a proper introduction.  Luckily the host of the stage James Arnold Taylor, voice of Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series, was happy to oblige him.  Taylor would introduce him to the crowd and Anthony would appear quickly and give a short wave before discretely handing some instructions of his own to the host and slipping back behind the curtain.  This went on for a couple more minutes before Daniels finally got the introduction he was looking for.  And it ended with a great swell of applause from the fans in the crowd.  Taylor started the panel by presenting Mr. Daniels with five sealed envelopes laid out across his desk.  Daniels would then have to pick an envelope from the table at random based on the number it had on the front of it.  Whichever envelope he picked determined which type of question our host would ask him about his experiences in the Star Wars saga, past, present, or future!!  Of course everyone in the crowd was eager to learn any new information we could about the upcoming new film Star Wars the Force Awakens!! Unfortunately when the envelope was picked on that topic Mr. Daniels couldn’t reveal any new information to the crowd about the film.  But he did confirm that he would be returning as everyone’s favorite protocol droid C-3PO.  He briefly mentioned that they had made significant advancement in the technology that applies to his Gold Suit, how he gets in and out of it and how it moves on him.  Pointing out it was more comfortable this time around to play 3PO than it had been in the past Star Wars movies.  He ended his conversation about The Force Awakens by asking the crowd if they would like to see the new trailer again.  To which of course the crowd erupted into a resounding yes with screams of applause!!

After the crowd recovered from viewing this epic new trailer, the panel moved forward with Daniels being asked to pick another envelope.  This time around he picked the topic Favorite and Worst.  He was asked to recall both his favorite and worst moments of playing C-3PO in the Star Wars Saga.  His favorite moment had to be spending time with the cast and crew in Tunisia during the filming of A New Hope.  He said that even though it was chaotic and extremely hot it was the camaraderie on set between the principal actors that really made his experience worth while.  And he was also particularly grateful that he didn’t have to shoot any scenes outside in the freezing cold temperatures of Finsk, Norway for the films sequel The Empire Strikes Back.  For his worst moment he recalled a scene on the set of Attack of the Clones where he was walking along as 3PO talking to his companion R2D2 and he didn’t realize that the set itself was coming to an end.  He was so focused on get his dialogue correct and hitting his marks that he crashed into some boards and fell down onto his knees.  At this point our host James Arnold Taylor cuts in and mentions that he thinks has a clip of that particular incident.  Completely mortified Mr. Daniels turns to watch this clip unfold on screen!  It turns out it was actually a behind the scenes documentary from the Revenge of the Sith DVD called 3PO: His Moment to Shine.  Mr. Daniels can only watch in embarrassment as this tragic, yet comical, event plays out before a packed crowd.  Once the video is complete, amongst loud cheers from the crowd, Mr. Daniels can be seen with his hands covering his face shaking his head.  He commented that it was one of the most embarrassing and potentially dangerous moments he has ever had on set.