Clive Revill, Kiwi Original Trilogy Actor, Dies at 94

Clive Revill, the New Zealand-born actor who voiced Emperor Palpatine in the original releases of The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away aged 94. His death (11 March, 2025) was confirmed by his daughter, Kate Revill, via The Hollywood Reporter.

Revill studied at Rongotai College, and went on to attend Victoria (Wellington) University, training for a career as an accountant. Following his heart, however, he moved on to take a path that led to stage work (including Broadway), television and feature film acting, and voice talent roles including, at different points in time, leading both the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. In addition to his Star Wars connection, Revill appeared in many movies, and, as a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appeared seven times on Broadway and received Tony nominations for his roles in musicals.

It was his connection to TESB director Irvin Kershner, with whom he had previously worked, that bought him into the Star Wars universe: “I’d done a film for [Empire director] Irvin Kershner called A Fine Madness… I got a call from Kershner, and he said, ‘Listen, I want you to come down and read something.’ I didn’t have anything planned that day, so I went down to the recording studio. He showed me some clips, and he said, ‘Read it and get some oomph in it.’ So I read the stuff through, and gave it the oomph, and they tinkered around with it — and the result is that I get a lot of mail.” (Star Wars Insider #49 [May/June 2000]).

You’ll have to go back to an original cut of The Empire Strikes Back to hear Clive Revill as the Emperor. Subsequent modification, 24 years after Empire’s theatrical debut, has Revill’s performance retired for the sake of continuity, being replaced by Ian McDiarmid in the 2004 DVD release (using footage shot during Revenge of the Sithproduction). He remains credited in most editions.

Perhaps less widely known is the fact that Clive went on to voice more characters in the Star Wars expanded universe, this time leading the Rebel Alliance as General Dodonna in LucasArts’ epic video game, Star Wars: X-Wing (1993), returning in Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1996). As well as his involvement in both sides of George Lucas’ galactic war, Revill is one of only four performers to have a role in both a Star Wars film and a Star Trek television series (as Sir Guy of Gisborne in the 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode ‘Qpid’), joining Felix Silla, Phil Fondacaro, and Jason Wingreen.