Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid
McDiarmid at the 2007 Celebration Europe.
Born	(1944-08-11) 11 August 1944 (age 72) Carnoustie, Scotland, United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of St. Andrews
Occupation	Actor, theatre director
Years active	1968–present

Ian McDiarmid (/məkˈdɜːrmᵻd/; born 11 August 1944) is an Olivier and Tony award-winning Scottish character actor and director. He has appeared in 47 films since 1976. Internationally, he is most famous for his role as Palpatine in the Star Wars film series.

McDiarmid was born in Carnoustie, Scotland. He became a theatre aficionado when he was five years old, when his father took him to see an act named Tommy Morgan at a theatre in Dundee. In 2004, he stated, "It sort of fascinated me, and it also scared me. All those lights, all that make-up. I said to myself, 'I don't know what this is, but I want it.'" However, fearing his father's disapproval, McDiarmid attended Queens College, Dundee, part of the University of St Andrews, where he received an M.A. in psychology. Soon after, he decided to pursue a career in the theatre instead, and took acting training courses at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. In 1968, McDiarmid received a gold medal for his work, the first of many recognitions given to him for his work in the theatre. McDiarmid claimed he became its recipient "by doing all the boring jobs you have to do when you are young, to eke out an existence."

McDiarmid is renowned for his work in British theatre, having won plaudits as an actor and director from a wide variety of sources. He has starred in a variety of Shakespeare plays, including Hamlet (1972), The Tempest (1974, 2000), Much Ado About Nothing (1976), Ross and the Porter in Trevor Nunn's 1976 Macbeth (television 1978), The Merchant of Venice (1984) and King Lear (2005). From April to June 2012, he played the title role in Timon of Athens at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He played Ivanov in Tom Stoppard's play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the Mermaid Theatre in 1978.