Anakin Skywalker is one of the central figures of Star Wars, but just how tall is he both in and out of the Darth Vader armor? As the foremost villain of the original trilogy, Darth Vader’s towering character was made so by substantially increasing Anakin Skywalker’s height with a specialized suit of armor. Throughout the Star Wars films, the all-black armor becomes a symbol of terror and awe that functions both as a life-support system and an intimidation tactic.
Darth Vader’s armor is created out of necessity when he loses three of his limbs in a lightsaber duel with his former teacher and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi (having already lost his right forearm in a fight with Count Dooku, necessitating a cybernetic replacement). What’s left of Vader's body is enflamed and badly burned by a river of lava on the volcanic planet of Mustafar. To save his life, Darth Sidious encases Vader within a suit of armor that gives him prosthetic limbs, an infamous breathing apparatus, and other life support systems. These systems contribute to Vader's imposing stature, but also add to his height, a deliberate design both by the filmmakers and within the Star Wars universe.
Every Star Wars Character Who Knew Anakin Was Darth Vader
Anakin is a taller-than-average 1.88 meters (~6’2”), but Darth Vader’s canonical height is a staggering 2.03 meters (~6’9”), meaning Darth Vader's armor, which Anakin dons in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith after the near-fatal duel, increases his height by approximately 7”. The original vision for the character of Darth Vader is that of archetypal villain and his impressive height is a significant characteristic of his intimidating presence. His boots are slightly lifted in the heel while Vader's large, foreboding helmet adds to his height as well. For the actors who were noticeably shorter than Darth Vader, like Bob Anderson (6’1”) who did many of the stunts and battle scenes for Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, lower camera angles were used to make them appear much taller.
At 6’7”, David Prowse, the in-costume actor for most of the original Star Wars trilogy, stands taller than all five of the other actors who have donned the iconic armor on screen. Hayden Christensen, who wore the armor briefly at the end of Revenge of the Sith, is fairly tall at 6’, but still two inches shorter than his character, Anakin. Sebastian Shaw (Return of the Jedi), Daniel Naprous (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and Spencer Wilding (Rogue One) have also acted and done stunt work as Darth Vader - and they are all over 6’ tall. In every film, Vader’s iconic voice was provided by the incomparable James Earl Jones, who himself stands at 6’2”.
Darth Vader’s towering height and ominous black armor make him appear instantly threatening to most of the characters he encounters. His height also provides striking cinematic contrast when Princess Leia (portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher) confronts him with all 5’1” of her indomitable self. Darth Vader’s armor lends him three of his most menacing characteristics: his voice, his enormous and daunting appearance, and his mechanical breathing sounds, which are so distinctive that many people who have somehow never seen a Star Wars film can still identify them as belonging to Darth Vader.