Return of the Jedi' Actor Was 82
variety.com • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Michael Pennington, a renowned Shakespearean actor and known for his role as Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod in "Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi," has died at the age of 82.
- Pennington's career spanned stage, film, and television, with notable appearances in Tony Richardson’s "Hamlet" (1969) and "The Iron Lady" (2011), as well as numerous TV credits including "Raised By Wolves" and "Father Brown."
- He was highly respected for his Shakespearean stage work and notably declined a leading film role in "The French Lieutenant’s Woman" to play Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980.
- Born in 1943 in Cambridge, Pennington was inspired to pursue acting after watching Paul Rogers perform as Hamlet during his childhood.