<P> From 1990, McDiarmid and Jonathan Kent served as the artistic directors of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, London, gaining the commitment of prominent actresses such as Glenda Jackson and Claire Bloom for their productions . The two men resigned in 2001 with the venue in good shape . In 1998, they shared the Special Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Achievement of the Year . Their tenure was marked by a string of highly successful performances involving actors such as Kevin Spacey and Ralph Fiennes . While connected with the Almeida, McDiarmid directed plays such as Venice Preserv'd (1986) and Hippolytus (1991). In 2002, McDiarmid won Almeida Theatre's Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor for his role as Teddy in a revival of Brian Friel's Faith Healer . Five years later in 2006, he reprised this role in his debut on Broadway . Directed by Kent, he performed alongside Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones, and won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play . </P> <P> One theatrical performance of note is his portrayal of Harry Hackamore in Sam Shepard's play Seduced . By McDiarmid's own description, Hackamore was a Howard Hughes - type character . To play the part, he was made - up in prosthetics, including a false beard and long fingernails . McDiarmid was only 37 at the time, and this convinced George Lucas and Richard Marquand that he could convincingly play a much older character in extreme cinematic close - up, which helped him land the role of Palpatine . </P> <P> After a minor part in the film Dragonslayer, McDiarmid was cast by George Lucas in Return of the Jedi as Emperor Palpatine, the main villain . Sixteen years after appearing in Return of the Jedi, he reprised the role as the character's younger incarnation of Senator Palpatine and Sith Lord Darth Sidious in the prequel films: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith . The prequels had him play two faces to his character; he re-created his diabolical interpretation of Palpatine from Return of the Jedi when playing Darth Sidious, the Chancellor's Sith alter ego, but created a pleasant, charming character in Palpatine's public persona . </P> <P> In the 2004 re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, a brief scene between Darth Vader and a hologram of Emperor Palpatine was updated to include McDiarmid . The Emperor was originally voiced by Clive Revill for that scene, and visually portrayed by Marjorie Eaton . With this addition to The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid has now appeared in every live - action film version in which Palpatine appears . </P>

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