Carrie Fisher
After leading the rebel alliance, kissing her brother and hooking up with a scruffy looking nerd herder as Princess Leia, Fisher went on to write bestsellers, stage a one-woman show, star as Meg Ryan's BFF in When Harry Met Sally. And on 30 Rock, she begged Tina Fey: "Help me, Liz Lemon! You're my only hope!"
Fisher died at age 60 in 2016, four days after she suffered a cardiac event on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Medical examiners concluded that "sleep apnea and other undetermined factors" contributed to her death.
Jake Lloyd
"Will I ever see you again?" little Anakin Skywalker asked his mother in The Phantom Menace. For the rest of the world, the answer was a big no. After scathing reviews as young Skywalker at the young age of 10, a decade later, Jake stated that he will never act again.
Peter Mayhew
The man who upstaged a princess as "that walking carpet," like Anthony Daniels, has mainly stuck with the Chewie gig ever since. He even played the part on Glee. In 2015, he reprised his role in the first film of the third Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Mayhew died at age 74 in 2019.
Mark Hamill
The man was Luke Skywalker—what else do you want from him? In the 2000s Hamill's last gig on the big screen was as himself in Kevin Smith's Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, but nerds heard a lot from the former Jedi over the past couple of decades. Most notably, as the voice of the Joker in various Batman cartoons and video games, plus Marvel villain Red Skull and a baddie on Adventure Time. Changed sides, you have...
In 2015, the actor reprised his role of Skywalker in the third Star Wars trilogy, beginning with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Natalie Portman
As Queen Amidala in the prequels, she had the best outfits in the Saga by far. After (SPOILER!!!) giving birth to Luke and Leia at the end of Revenge of the Sith, the actress had a real baby boy with Benjamin Millepied, won an Oscar for Black Swan and got married in August 2012.
Ahmed Best
Floppy eared Jar Jar Binks was anything but the hit that George Lucas expected, and the character has became the butt of jokes and the focus of fanboy hated. At least Best has a good sense of humor about it, reprising his infamous role on an episode of Robot Chicken and the upcoming Star Wars: Detours series. Last year, he appeared in an episode of Law & Order—but not as Jar Jar.
Hayden Christensen
Teen angst Anakin was going to be a tough gig for anyone, but see Hayden in Shattered Glass for proof of his real acting skills. Lately, he's starred in forgettable flicks: Jumper and Awake. Probably not the last we'll see of him, though, right?
Anthony Daniels
Daniels' unforgettable role as the lovably well-mannered C-3PO has been his career for the past four decades. He's also the only actor to star in all six Star Wars flicks, and today he lends his voice to The Clone Wars show on Cartoon Network. Will we see him in Star Wars 7? Odd are very good.
Harrison Ford
Being cast as Han Solo would be enough, but Ford had to go and be Indiana Jones, too. And star in pretty much a zillion other blockbusters. Recently, he battled Cowboys & Aliens with James Bond (Daniel Craig) and remains married to Calista Flockhart.
Ian McDiarmid
How do you top being Emperor Palpatine, the most evil galactic ruler ever? By totally nailing some proper biopic roles on British TV. Look for him as the husband of Margaret Thatcher in Margaret, for example. Or, better yet, just watch that part in Return of the Jedi again where he talks about anger and shoots lightning from his hands.
McDiarmid played Palpatine in the original Star Wars trilogy, the prequel trilogy and in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
Ray Park
We never actually heard his voice as the Sith apprentice Darth Maul, but that hardly matters. Once we saw his skills with a double-sided lightsaber he was forever cool. After getting sliced in half and tossed down a reactor shaft, he's been working steadily as a stuntman. He'll be seen (probably not heard) next year as Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Billy Dee Williams
As Lando Calrissian, Williams never seemed happier than when he finally got the Millennium Falcon back. After that, Williams has worked plenty, showing up in everything from Dynasty to Tim Burton's Batman. More recently, he was seen on the small screen on an episode of NCIS as one Mr. Leroy Jethro Moore. Williams reprised his role of Lando in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
David Prowse
The 6-foot-7 former bodybuilder was the guy inside the Darth Vader suit, cast for his huge stature. (James Earl Jones did the voice, and breathing, for the Sith Lord.) Before donning the dark helmet, Prowes appeared in a crucial scene in A Clockwork Orange, and more recently he played Frank Bryan in The Kindness of Strangers, a British indie that screened at Cannes in 2010.
Prowse died at age 85 after a short illness, his agent said on Nov. 29, 2020.
Samuel L. Jackson
Mace Windu, Jedi knight, was everywhere before Star Wars, and he's still everywhere. You saw The Avengers, right?