Amongst this motley group of creatures is one of the most notorious of the bounty hunters... his name is Boba Fett. Dressed in a weapon-covered, armoured space-suit this human bounty hunter displays a menacing and dangerous look and is not the kind of character you would want to confront, whether you're living today or a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!
In reality, the man behind the bounty hunter's streamlined mask is a very friendly soul eager to discuss his days as Star Wars' Boba Fett. Although most of you reading this article will know him best as the deadly Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch has been acting for years and has a substantial list of credits, an interest in acting that goes back to his childhood.
"When I was about 11 years old," recalls Jeremy, "I took what was called an 11 plus exam... which I failed. That's when I decided that an academic life just wasn't for me, and went to drama school.
"I attended Coma Academy in 1957... I went out for parts in the school plays and even painted scenery as young as eight. When I was doing lessons in English or history or geography, all I was interested in was having fun and playing football and cricket... The only thing I could do, apart from playing sports, was mimic people or act in different plays. I loved mimicking the teachers - that's how it all started."
Jeremy's first professional piece at 12 was a cereal commercial for television. The cereal package contained little models of a frog man. Jeremy had to put the frog man in a bottle of water, press the cork and get the frog man to reach a certain depth. "This was the free gift and they had to see my happy, smiling face," he recalls.
"I was terribly nervous," he adds, "because I had to reach a certain mark on the bottle and. of course, (the frog man) kept going past the mark. The director got rather cross with me, but my hands were hot and sweaty and I kept making a few mistakes. I suddenly thought, ‘Is this what acting is all about: getting shouted at by directors?' But, in fact, it went fine and the director said he was sorry he'd shouted but they had to finish by six o'clock. From then, I did a series of children's films which used to be shown Saturday morning at the cinema."
Since then, Jeremy has worked steadily as an actor having played parts in Doctor Who and various British comedies and films. He also played two seasons as the sheriff of Wickham in the television series Robin of Sherwood.
Jeremy was introduced to Star Wars through his children. "Christian, Jamie and Robbie went to see Star Wars and loved it," he remembers. "It was completely new and very exciting. When the second film, The Empire Strikes Back, was being done at Elstree Studios I got a call one day and was asked to go down and read for it."
Jeremy didn't know what the second instalment was called and when his agent explained what Empire was, he went down to the studio immediately to meet George Lucas and Irvin Kershner. "They were both very pleasant. I got into the costume and put the helmet on. There were lots of little gadgets and knee pads and the boots had two little jets on the toes. I thought, ‘This looks rather good!' There was a jet pack, too. I found what I thought was my hair so I put it on underneath the helmet, hanging down. When I came out to show George Lucas, he said, ‘What’s that funny thing sticking out Of your helmet?" I said, "isn't it the character's hair?" "No," said George, "it's a Wookiee scalp - it's supposed to be tied to your belt!"'
They made Jeremy walk up and down and turn in different directions. The next day he received a call asking if he would like to play the part of Boba Fett. "I was thrilled, and my kids were too." Even though he was excited to be playing a part in the sequel to Star Wars, Jeremy still considered it just part of his job. One day he could be playing a lawyer in a courtroom. The next day he was a bounty hunter in a science fiction film.
"I met everybody from Mark Hamill to Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher... In all my scenes, I was behind a mask. Every now and then, they'd take the helmet off and cool me down. People like Dave Prowse in the Darth Vader costume, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca were far more uncomfortable in their costumes than I was. Even though I was quite hot, my costume was not too had, although the jet pack was quite heavy.
"At the end of filming," Jeremy continues, "there was a party and then you would get on to your next job which, for me, was a British comedy series called Agony. Then The Empire Strikes Back came out in the US and I started to receive letters. Mostly, they were from kids saying 'Dear Jeremy' or 'Dear Boba, I think you're very neat or really cool and could you please send me a picture?' I had some photographs done and I sent out a reply to everybody. Then, suddenly, hundreds of letters started to arrive... from all over the world! I thought, ‘This is crazy! Is this success?"'
In 1982, he was asked to attend a convention in Miami, Florida, and talk about his The Empire Strikes Back role and his part in early Doctor- Who. The fans at the convention kept asking Jeremy when Return Jedi' the Jedi was going to be out, and he still didn't know if he was going to be in it. The fans were positive that he would be back.
"It was a lovely surprise when Lucasfilm called and asked if I would come and play Boba Fett again," he says smiling, "The mail began coming in from as far away as Japan, Australia again - all over the place. It was just one of those wonderful periods in my career. It allowed me to go to America and I was asked to Australia, to attend a big convention... I still get letters from people, it's now in dribs and drabs, not hundreds, but the interest is still there. And I still get asked to do radio shows, to speak about being an actor, especially about the role of Boba Fett."
Jeremy recalls that fateful day when he first walked onto the Empire set as Boba Fett. He definitely received a food deal of attention as the costume demands a good look.
"When I first walked onto the set to see George Lucas and to check that everything was all right with my costume, the cast and crew stopped and looked and thought, ‘Who’s this?' It was a nice feeling."
Boba Fett had a mighty presence. Jeremy moved slowly and methodically as the character, keeping in mind that with his jet pack, the laser, the rope and other gadgets, if anybody attacked Boba Fett he could be very ruthless. When acting with a mask, demeanour is everything. "I just found it quite funny because no one can see your face, a slight turn of the head was a more menacing gesture than I could do with my own face."
Another thrill for Jeremy was acting with the trilogy's stars, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. "The times I spent talking with them all were very pleasant... I felt very at home with them. When I came back to do Return of Jedi, they said, ‘Hey, Jeremy, how are you, lovely to see you, I'm glad you're playing the part again."'
Jeremy only met George Lucas a few times, "He was always very pleasant and always asked how I was doing. I didn't really have a lot to do with him because really I was just a small cog in a very big machine. Although I was an important character, I was really a special effect, so to speak! When I met George, he was always busy. He had so much going on around him. I thought he was quite a shy man."
Many of Jeremy's scenes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were with costumed actors or puppet-like creatures, which was a little different. "Most of my scenes were with Darth Vader but there were a good number of scenes shot on Slave I and the sail barge with Jabba the Hutt. But in Jedi the demise of Boba Fett in the Sarlacc Pit happens quite quickly." Jeremy laughs, "I was quite upset about that! When I first saw Jabba the Hutt, I thought it was incredible the way they manipulated that creature.
"One morning, I arrived a little early on the set. It took me about 20 minutes to get into Boba's costume to do the Jabba the Hutt scene. There were all these extraordinary people walking around, getting made up in amazing costumes. I'd walked past the dwarf actors who were getting their costumes on and then there were acrobats practising walking on their hands. I was just thinking that this is an extraordinary way to go to work! You arrive, put on a funny costume and start talking to people with pig-nose-type faces on... it's a very strange way to make a living!" But working with puppets and actors in bizarre costumes was something Jeremy got used to rather quickly. "I’d rather go from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. dressed up in a funny costume than go from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday working in a normal job."
Jeremy was very pleased he was brought back for Return of the Jedi and happy with the initial scenes he filmed, even though he knew many would end up on the cutting room floor. His only disappointment was that Boba Fett ends up in the Sarlacc Pit so early in the film.
"Many fans have written to me saying, ‘Surely Boba Fett can get out. After all, he's got his jet pack on!' So he's probably still down there waiting," he says with a laugh.
The scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader summons all the bounty hunters together and demands Han Solo's capture is Jeremy's favourite. It was also the first scene he filmed. There is a special excitement on the first day of filming any project, says Jeremy. That excitement always makes the first day his favourite. "I can remember being in the room full of bounty hunters... I thought. 'Here I am. I'm going to be involved in this project for three or four weeks. I'm putting this costume on. I don't have any lines to remember.. All I have to remember is not to fall over when I walk' (the helmet reduced Jeremy's vision).
"If you lose the excitement of getting a job then it's time to give up acting. That means that you're not hungry anymore. It's not a question of needing the money to survive either. Every job I get I look forward to and, like a five-year old, I still punch the air and shout, ‘Yes!’ Each time I work it's a thrill."
For Jeremy, the hardest part about playing Boba Fett was projecting the right kind of image. "I was hoping Boba didn't look silly. Everyone said it was a very neat costume. I wanted to come across as the right kind of person - menacing and slow but quick when he needed to be.
"Playing the character of Boba Fett has brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction. I was once playing in a cricket match and I signed this autograph for a young lad. The boy said he'd seen me in something recently and then asked me what films I'd been in. When I told him I played Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, he nearly fainted! His eyes went up and he just fell over. I thought, 'Now I know what it's like to be a pop star!"'
At conventions, Jeremy is often asked specific questions about gestures and movements Boba Fett made on screen. Jeremy doesn't remember exactly where and when Boba Fett tilted his head or made a hand gesture, not because it was over 10 years ago, but because many of the gestures are things actors do naturally. "When Carrie Fisher, in Jedi, dressed up as a bounty hunter, there was just a nod of appreciation and approval between us as bounty hunters. People have written saying that knowing look and nod was very powerful and really neat. But it's part of acting in a role."
Jeremy continues to get roles in English theatre, British television comedies and soap operas but would he do another Star Wars film, if asked?
"I'd jump at it," he exclaims. "I think it would just be marvellous. I would be like a four-year old all over again. Filming it was such fun, it just takes you away from everything. Star Wars was the first and the best of that sort of movie... A classic! That's why it is still going. If they go back to do earlier movies, Boba Fett might be a younger trooper or a soldier. Just to be involved would be superb. I think George Lucas has been quite right to delay the other films until exactly the right time. There have been many copies of the Star Wars saga that came out immediately afterwards and I think the timing has to be just right. I'm still young enough and fit enough to do it," he concludes with a smile. "I'd love to be behind that mask again."