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HMDYK About Denis Lawson

On August 7, 2020

Wedge in ROTJ (left); Wedge in TROS (right)

How much do you know about Denis Lawson? This guy is a much lesser known actor compared to the previous three I covered. In fact Denis Lawson does not have nearly as prolific of a career as Cushing, Lee or Guinness. However, while he isn’t as distinguished as the others, he is a fan favorite of the Star Wars universe. He is known for his role as Wedge Antilles, the ace Rebel pilot. In fact his role in Star Wars is about the only thing Denis Lawson is known for among his 98 credits.

Despite all the criticism of Disney for turning the Extended Universe canon into mythology, I’m glad they kept Wedge alive. To my knowledge, Wedge was never killed in any of the EU comics and books. So to see him alive, and survive, in Rise of Skywalker is awesome.

An interesting bit of behind-the-scenes trivia about Wedge, during the Rebel briefing in A New Hope, Luke is sitting next to “Wedge”, but it isn’t Denis Lawson. The actor we see is Collin Higgins, but he constantly struggled with his lines and he was ultimately fired. Lawson was brought in to film the remainder of the scenes. Collin Higgins’ “Wedge” would colloquially become known as “Fake Wedge” among fans. Coincidentally both actors voices were overdubbed by David Ankrum, a common practice in Star Wars.

The Force Is Strong In His Family

Denis Lawson was born in 1947 in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. He has one child, Jaime Lawson, and a sister. His sister was born Carol Lawson but would marry a man names James McGregor. They would have two children, Ewan and Colin. Whether its a little known fact, or just esoterically known by Star Wars fans, Denis Lawson is the maternal uncle of Ewan McGregor, the man that would play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels. In fact his role as a pilot in Star Wars was inspiration for this nephews; Ewan to become an actor (ultimately in Star Wars) and Colin to join the Royal Air Force. If you ever listen to any of his interviews, he sounds a lot like Ewan McGregor.

I don’t want to say that Denis Lawson in unremarkable because his legacy is cemented in Star Wars canon. However, among his 98 credits, I can’t find anything that really stands out. He hasn’t portrayed any iconic characters. He’s mostly done a few TV shows that I’ve never heard of. Apparently he’s a musical comedy star in London and has even won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

If there’s anything you’d like to share about actor Denis Lawson, please leave it in the comments.

HMDYK About Sir Alec Guinness

By Biggs

On June 21, 2020

In HMDYK, Movies, Star Wars

All right, we talked about two bad guys so let’s cover some neat trivia about a good guy. The good guy! Of all of the good guys in Star Wars, I don’t think anyone compares to Obi-Wan Kenobi (except, perhaps, Yoda). The man endured the loss of his best friend/brother to the dark side and even witnessed him slaughtering younglings. Satine Kryze, the woman he cared about most, is murdered right in front of him. He is betrayed by his first in command because of Order 66 and becomes, essentially, one of the last remaining Jedi. After ALL of that, he is never once tempted by the dark side. A Jedi as legendary as Obi-Wan Kenobi can only be initially portrayed by a legendary actor. So how much do you know about Sir Alec Guinness?

Sir Alec Guinness passed away in 2000 from lung cancer at 86 years old. In 1959 he was knighted by Elizabeth II for his contribution to the arts. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award in 1980. He was only married once and has one child.

Unlike the previous actors, Sir Alec Guinness’ film career spans only 63 credits. However, similar to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, he has portrayed some pretty notable characters. I really think he is one of those actors more people need to talk about and appreciate. Before we get into his other roles, I want to share some behind-the-scenes Star Wars trivia.

A Love-Hate Relationship

He apparently claims it was his idea that Obi-Wan Kenobi is killed in the first movie to reduce his involvement with the film. He never hated the movie but he did hate the fact that it’s the only role people knew him for despite all his previous roles. I, honestly, don’t blame him; as you will soon see, he had a great career. The other actors in the movies claim he was very professional and very kind, however he once told a fan to “never watch it [Star Wars] again”. Despite his mixed feelings fans, actors and even Disney continue to honor the man that brought us Obi-Wan. Ewan McGregor would spend hours studying his earlier films in preparation for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels. Disney and J.J. Abrams even **cast his granddaughter, Sally Guinness, in Rise of Skywalker to honor his memory.

As I already said, Sir Alec Guinness should be appreciated for more than his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He has a lifetime achievement award for only 63 films so you know there is more to this mans’ career than a decrepit hermit Jedi. In the 1940’s he was in a couple film adaptations of some fairly well known novels; Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. Fun Fact: the voice for Watto was modeled after Guinness’s performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist.

He’s in a few other movies you may have heard of; Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai. The latter two films both won Best Picture. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the role that would make him famous but seeing the distinguished career he had prior to Star Wars I feel inclined to go back and watch his other films.

HMDYK About Christopher Lee

By Biggs

On May 13, 2020

In HMDYK, Movies, Star Wars

How Much Do You Know about Christopher Lee? The last time I wrote a post of this type it was about Peter Cushing. Coincidentally Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were actually good friends and were in 22 movies together. Most of us probably only know Christopher Lee in two roles, both of which were villains. He was the evil Count Dooku (aka Lord Tyranus) in the Star Wars Prequels and another one of Emperor Palpatine’s pawns. Count Dooku was once the padawan of Master Yoda before falling to the dark side. As Lord Tyranus he had an apprentice, my favorite, Asajj Ventress. As is typical of Sith, he turned on Ventress to further his agenda and she vowed to one day kill Dooku for his betrayal. Fun fact the name Dooku comes from the japanese word “doku” meaning poison.

Christopher Lee was also the maniacal Saruman in the Lord of the Rings movies. Apparently Lee was quite a Tolkein expert (having actually met J.R.R. Tolkein); he was often dispensing tips and advice during the production of the films. If you’re a James Bond fan, like me, then you also know him as The Man with the Golden Gun, Scaramanga. It seems Lee had a penchant for playing the villain. However, there is much more to Sir Christopher Lee than many might realize.

“I Welcome You To My Home”

In October of 2009 he was knighted by Prince Charles for his services to drama and charity, he’s a classically trained singer and step cousin to Ian Fleming. Sir Christopher Lee passed away in 2015 at 93 years old! In that time he accrued 282 acting credits in television, movies and even video games. Like his friend, he starred in several horror movies, including the Frankenstein monster opposite Peter Cushing’s Baron Frankenstein. However it isn’t this monster that he was known for.

Before he was Count Dooku, Christopher Lee was the iconic Count Dracula. He portrayed Count Dracula in ten films until 1972 when, according to Lee, “the character had deteriorated to such an extent that it really no longer had any meaning“.

When he wasn’t hunting the blood of young women, he was also a sleuth. Just like Cushing, he also portrayed Sherlock Holmes as well as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft. His video game credits are all voice reprisals of characters he’s played (ex: Scaramanga, Count Dooku and Saruman).

With 282 credits, this could become quite verbose. The man is so interesting, an amazing intellectual and truly a legend. If you have any interesting factoids or comments to share, please leave them in the comments.

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” – Aristotle

HMDYK About Peter Cushing

By Biggs

On February 6, 2020

In HMDYK, Movies, Star Wars

How Much Do You Know about Peter Cushing? Star Wars fans know him as Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin from A New Hope. If you’re not quite “Star Wars savvy” to know which one is Tarkin, he is the Imperial leader that ordered for the termination of Leia and the destruction of Alderaan (see picture on the right).

“I try to consider what the audience would like to see me do and I thought kids would adore Star Wars.”
– Peter Cushing

I’m sure it’s a generation thing but Tarkin is the only role I know Peter Cushing played. Granted, he was 64 years old when Star Wars was released so, obviously, he’s had many roles in his career. I was curious, so I dug into his filmography. He has quite the distinguished career.

From Darcy to Sherlock

Peter Cushing passed away in 1994 and over the course of his 81 years he’s been in 130 movies or TV series. What I found most surprising is, of the 130 films/series, 50 of them were horror films. It seems he had a penchant for the creepy and scary. In fact, among his horror accolades, he played some iconic characters. Baron Frankenstein and Van Helsing are two of the more well known characters in the genre.

It seems that when he wasn’t trying to scare the audience, he was sleuthing. Yes, Peter Cushing was Sherlock Holmes in several well known Sherlock stories (including The Hound of Baskervilles). His archetypal portrayals also extended to the prideful Mr. Darcy in a Pride and Prejudice series in 1952 and the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1960.

However, I think the role that surprises me most of all was that of Doctor Who. In 1965 and 1966 two Doctor Who movies were produced: Dr. Who and the Daleks and Dalek’s Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. in which Peter Cushing was the beloved Doctor. Hopefully I can track down these movies and watch them.

In fact, I think I need to track down several of his other films; and not just the well known characters. If there is any Peter Cushing film you’ve seen and would recommend, please leave a comment.

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” – Aristotle

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