Michael Pennington — better known to Star Wars fans as Return of the Jedi's Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod — has died aged 82, The Telegraph has reported.
British actor Pennington starred in Return of the Jedi as Jerjerrod, the Commander of Death Star II. He made a few brief appearances, including when Darth Vader warns him that the Emperor is coming to visit the new Death Star because construction has fallen behind schedule. A clearly terrified Jerjerrod responds: "we shall double our efforts."
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While no-one actually says the name of the Imperial officer in Return of the Jedi, and in the final cut Jerjerrod serves little purpose other than to hype up the Emperor's arrival, deleted scenes released by StarWars.com for Return of the Jedi's 40th anniversary show he could have played a beefed up role, even standing up to Vader at one point.
Battle of Endor: The Lost Rebels includes one deleted scene in which Jerjerrod and two of the Emperor’s Royal Guards try to slow Vader down on his way to see the Emperor. Vader chokes Jerjerrod through the Force but doesn't actually kill him, only relenting when Jerjerrod just about manages to tell him he's acting on the Emperor's orders. Another unused scene shows an alternative sequence where the Emperor orders Jerjerrod to destroy the Endor moon if the rebels succeed in blowing up the shield generator. A later scene shows Jerjerrod and several Imperial officers following that command, despite the fact doing so means killing his own men.
Though he spent most of his career on stage and TV as a celebrated Shakespearean actor, Pennington never begrudged the supporting movie role, telling an interviewer in 2003: "Let’s not make too much of it, but I’ve done 20 years of plays since, and people still write for autographs, saying, 'If you ever do any more acting, please let us know.'"
Pennington was married to actor Katharine Baker, with whom he had one son. His other credits include the TV movie The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Wars of the Roses, and The Iron Lady.
The Telegraph reported he allegedly turned down the chance to star alongside Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman to perform as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, saying: "I realized I couldn’t let Hamlet go. It is one of the prizes."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.