Alec Guinness Had Strict Requests For His Work In Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back

Alec Guinness's complicated relationship with "Star Wars" is well documented. Depending on his mood, he'd either call that first film "a marvelous, healthy innocence" or "fairy-tale rubbish." The intense fandom that was inspired by the 1977 original film played a role in alienating the classically trained actor who wished to be known for nuanced portrayal of Shakespearean characters instead of a space wizard, but once "Star Wars" released, his performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi became a career-defining part and Guinness had no say in the matter.

Reports differ on Kenobi's fate in that first film. What fans had heard for years was that Guinness forced that decision on Lucas because he thought the movie was a stinker and he wanted to be killed off, but in J.W. Rinzler's incredible "The Making of Star Wars," George Lucas says that was a decision he himself came to very late in the process. Something was nagging at him in that Ben Kenobi is just sitting on the sidelines once they escape from the Death Star, with nothing to do but look concerned while Luke is off blowing up the Empire's greatest weapon.

Lucas also thought somebody needed to die on the Death Star or it wouldn't live up to the incredibly dangerous place it was built up to be. He considered Chewbacca and C-3PO, but ultimately landed on Kenobi.

The way Lucas recalls it, he told Guinness his character was going to be killed off and the actor was actually very emotional over it. Despite his hesitation to accept the part, Guinness still expected to make it to the third act. He also didn't understand the spirituality angle, reportedly saying, "You mean I get killed but I don't have a death scene?"