Michael Pennington, 'Star Wars' Actor, Dies at 82, Years After Reflecting on His 'Return of the Jedi' Overacting
Michael Pennington, 'Star Wars' Actor, Dies at 82, Years After Reflecting on His 'Return of the Jedi' Overacting
Matthew ThomasMon, May 11, 2026 at 3:17 PM UTC
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Michael Pennington, 'Star Wars' Actor, Dies at 82, Years After Reflecting on His 'Return of the Jedi' Overacting
A beloved English actor who is best known for his memorable Return of the Jedi role died at 82. Decades after he appeared in the classic film, Michael Pennington made a surprising confession about his role in the iconic Star Wars movie.
Michael Pennington Dies at 82 Years Old
On Sunday, May 10, the Telegraph reported that Michael Pennington had died at 82 years old. The outlet's obituary described him as a "warm and pleasant man" who was an accomplished chef and liked to hand out "jars of his homemade quince butter." Predeceased by his partner Prue Skene, he was married from 1964 until 1967 and had a son with his wife.
Best known for portraying Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi and briefly in the special edition re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, Pennington had a small but memorable role. His character was the commander of the second Death Star who faced the wrath of Darth Vader and the Emperor and died when the battle station exploded. Later in his career, Pennington gained further notoriety for playing Michael Foot in The Iron Lady, the Meryl Streep-starring Margaret Thatcher biopic.
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In addition to a slew of other TV and movie roles, he was an extremely respected stage actor who spent decades giving acclaimed performances. He co-founded The English Shakespeare Company with the theatre director Michael Bogdanov to stage larger-scale classical productions. The Telegraph's obituary also detailed that he wrote several books during his career.
His Surprising 'Star Wars' Confession
When Page Six reported on Michael Pennington's passing, they noted that he reflected on his Return of the Jedi performance during a 2012 interview. The celebrated actor confessed that he believes he "horribly" overacted in the film. Still, he noted that his role in the movie provided him with a lasting legacy.
“I look at it now, and I think I overact horribly, and I can’t even remember the storyline. We all did it for a song, but I suppose that it has given me some kind of calling card for movies. Whenever I come out of the Stage Door after a performance, all people would ask about was Star Wars. Nowadays, there’s less of that and more about The Iron Lady.”
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
