Darth Vader is one of the most feared beings in the Star Wars galaxy, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed voice actor Sam Witwer admits that he was scared of the infamous Sith Lord. Witwer is no stranger to the Dark Side of the Force, as he has played many villainous characters across multiple Star Wars projects over the years. He has voiced the Dark Side-empowered Son during the third season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the resurrected Darth Maul, and has even stood in for Ian Mcdiarmid as the voice of Emperor Palpatine. In fact, Sam Witwer recently reprised the latter two roles in the recent LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
However, Sam Witwer’s earliest contribution to the Star Wars franchise was the role of Galen Marek/Starkiller, the playable main character of 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its 2010 sequel. Starkiller was trained in the ways of the Dark Side by Darth Vader as part of a supposed plot to usurp Palpatine as ruler of the galaxy - a plan that took the powerful Sith apprentice across many different Star Wars worlds and led to him gathering many key figures of the soon-to-be-formed Rebel Alliance. However, Starkiller would start to grow fond of his newfound allies as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s story played out, eventually leading him to rebel against his former master and sacrifice himself in a final battle against the Sith onboard the original Death Star. As it turns out, the voice behind Starkiller had as much fear and respect for his former Sith master in real life as his onscreen persona did before his turn to the light.
Sam Witwer recently sat down with the Star Wars website to discuss Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in celebration of its recent re-release on the Nintendo Switch. When asked if there were any particular memories from the game’s recording sessions, he recalled not being able to see Darth Vader for reference while taping his lines for The Force Unleashed. Witwer remembered asking how tall Vader was, prompting Voice Director Darragh O’Farrell to have him sent downstairs to meet the Sith Lord in the flesh. “So we go downstairs, and they took me to see […] a Darth Vader costume. And I was struck by how enormous and terrifying Darth Vader is,” Witwer explained, revealing that he was awestruck at how imposing the nearly seven-foot-tall dark warrior was. “We all grew up with Darth Vader […] but to be confronted with him, face-to-face, and seeing how tall and large he is, how terrifying that armor is, it was a reminder to me how absolutely horrifyingly villainous he could be.”
Plenty of Star Wars video games have pitted players against Darth Vader, often as the final boss. One particularly memorable and recent example is 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which saw Jedi outcast Cal Kestis find himself face-to-face with the Empire’s dark enforcer on the moon of Nur during the game’s climax. This fight highlighted the fear and menace Sam Witwer described, as players can’t defeat Vader in a straightforward confrontation - only flee from him as he tears down the Imperial base around him with the Force.
In contrast, Starkiller had a much easier time taking down Darth Vader in both Star Wars: The Force Unleashed games, but Sam Witwer still acknowledges the sense of fear that comes with standing before the dreaded Dark Lord of the Sith. Vader truly is one of the most menacing villains of the Star Wars franchise, made all the more frightening by the fact that he was once the galaxy’s greatest hero.
Source: Star Wars