<P> Everything he does is an act of pure hypocrisy, and that's interesting to play . I suppose it's rather like playing Iago . All the characters in the play--including Othello until the end--think that "Honest Iago" is a decent guy doing his job, and he's quite liked . But at the same time there's a tremendous evil subconscious in operation . </P> <P> McDiarmid noticed that the script for Revenge of the Sith demanded more action from his character than in previous films . Lightsaber combat was a challenge to the 60 - year - old actor, who, like his costars, took fencing lessons . The close - up shots and non-acrobatic sequences of the duel between Palpatine and Mace Windu were performed by McDiarmid . Advanced fencing and acrobatic stunts were executed by McDiarmid's doubles, Michael Byrne, Sebastian Dickins, and Bob Bowles . </P> <P> McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine was generally well received by critics . Todd McCarthy of Variety commented, "Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times,' Sith' has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid's dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire ." A reviewer for The Village Voice wrote that "Ian McDiarmid's unctuous Emperor turns appropriately vampiric as he attempts to draw Anakin into the Sith fold with promises of eternal life ." Still, his performance was not without detractors; David Edelstein of Slate critiqued, "McDiarmid isn't the subtlest of satanic tempters . With his lisp and his clammy little leer, he looks like an old queen keen on trading an aging butt - boy (Count Dooku) for fresh meat--which leaves Anakin looking more and more like a 15 - watt bulb ." McDiarmid had expressed interest in reprising the role of Palpatine in the planned Star Wars: Underworld TV series, which remains unproduced . </P> <P> Ian McDiarmid required little make - up in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones . He recalled, "I'm...slightly aged (in Attack of the Clones). In the last film, I had a fairly standard make - up on, but now, they're starting to crinkle my face ." Transforming McDiarmid into Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, however, required extensive make - up . McDiarmid remarked in an interview with Star Wars Insider magazine, "Yes--that was a four - hour job, initially, although we got it down to about two - and - a-half in the end . But this was just a little bit of latex here and there, a little bit of skin - scrunching ." He told the Homing Beacon newsletter, "When my face changes in the film, my mind went back to the early silent movie of The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, Sr ..." Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that he "looks uncannily like Death in The Seventh Seal" (1957) and film historian Robin Wood compares him to the hag from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). </P>

Who played darth sidious in the original trilogy