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In The Empire Strikes Back, is that the back of David Prowse's head that we see in the hyperbaric chamber before Darth Vader is fitted with his mask?

Image from theforce.net

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    I seriously doubt it. There is no reason it would have to be him. His height / stature is irrelevant to this shot without other characters around for perspective. Also, special make-up effects shots like this often do not need the actor, since their likeness is meaningless in this context. Nov 13, 2013 at 2:34
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    @MeatTrademark ... for that matter, it could also be just a prop and not a real person at all. Nov 13, 2013 at 13:23
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    @Paulster2 I already made that point. "...special make-up effects shots like this often do not need the actor..." I said you didn't need the actor. Not sure how that was not clear. Nov 13, 2013 at 16:10
  • @MeatTrademark ... yes you said that, but it implies it is a different actor. ( "... often do not need the actor ..." not an actor) My point is, as stated, it doesn't even require that. Nov 13, 2013 at 17:18
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    Why isn't this closed... pure trivia question
    – Tom
    Dec 5, 2013 at 21:03

2 Answers 2

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Yes, it was Dave Prowse playing Vader in that scene. He had the prosthetics adhered to the back of his head for the shoot.

Here is a rare photo of Dave on set in the meditation chamber - I believe it comes from the recent J. Rinzler 'making of' book.

enter image description here

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    "Yes, it was Dave Prowse playing Vader in that scene. He had the prosthetics adhered to the back of his head for the shoot." I disagree. That doesn't even look like the meditation chamber. And I believe he wore that head cover to make the helmet more comfortable. It's obviously not a bald cap that he's wearing in that photo.
    – user37997
    Jul 17, 2016 at 21:21
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    [citation needed] Jan 11, 2018 at 12:11
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I'm not sure about Empire (it may have been Bob Anderon), but the unmasked Darth Vader (Return of the Jedi) is not played by David Prowse. The actor in question there is Sebastian Shaw.

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