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IMDbPro

Sebastian Shaw(1905-1994)

  • Actor
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Sebastian Shaw
The lives of an English expat photographer, her daughter, her player ex, a commie spy, a "00" agent and other English in Lindos, Rhodes, Greece.
Play trailer2:00
High Season (1987)
1 Video
9 Photos
Though primarily a stage actor, Sebastian Shaw appeared in some forty film and television productions from 1930 to 1991. Born on May 29, 1905, in Holt, Norfolk, England, he first appeared on stage as a child in 1913, graduating to lead roles by the late 1920s. It was in 1930 that he made his first film appearance in Caste (1930). His most notable film roles of this period were as an aspiring actor opposite Miriam Hopkins and Rex Harrison in the Alexander Korda-produced Men Are Not Gods (1936); as a crime suspect in another Korda production, Murder on Diamond Row (1937); and opposite Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson in Michael Powell's The Spy in Black (1939). His later films included Roy Boulting's documentary-style Journey Together (1945), The Glass Mountain (1949) (in which he played an eccentric Scottish lyricist), and Scotch on the Rocks (1953).

In the 1960s, he appeared in Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's imaginative It Happened Here (1964), made in semi-documentary style showing Britons coping during a Nazi persecution. Mostly stage and television work followed (including an appearance as a judge in Rumpole of the Bailey (1978)). In 1982, Shaw was approached by George Lucas to make an appearance in the final episode of his Star Wars films, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). The role was the small but crucial one at the film's climax of the unmasked Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) and in the final scene as Anakin's ghost. The role has since made him a cult figure all over the world. Much of Shaw's remaining career was spent playing distinguished elderly gent roles, such as cold war spy cum art critic Basil Sharpe in High Season (1987). Shaw continued to act on stage, film and television well into his eighties. Sebastian Shaw died at age 89 of natural causes on December 23, 1994.
BornMay 29, 1905
DiedDecember 23, 1994(89)
BornMay 29, 1905
DiedDecember 23, 1994(89)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos9

Miriam Hopkins and Sebastian Shaw in Men Are Not Gods (1936)
Rex Harrison and Sebastian Shaw in Men Are Not Gods (1936)
Mark Hamill and Sebastian Shaw in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Sebastian Shaw and Conrad Veidt in The Spy in Black (1939)
Valerie Hobson and Sebastian Shaw in The Spy in Black (1939)
Sebastian Shaw
Edmund Lowe and Sebastian Shaw in Murder on Diamond Row (1937)
Edward G. Robinson, Richard Attenborough, and Sebastian Shaw in Journey Together (1945)

Known for:

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Warwick Davis, David Prowse, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Carter, and Larry Ward in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
8.3
  • Anakin Skywalker
  • 1983
Ann Todd, Tamara Desni, and Edmund Lowe in Murder on Diamond Row (1937)
Murder on Diamond Row
6.1
  • Frank Sutton
  • 1937
It Happened Here (1964)
It Happened Here
6.7
  • Doctor Richard Fletcher
  • 1964
Sebastian Shaw and Ronald Squire in Scotch on the Rocks (1953)
Scotch on the Rocks
6.2
  • Hugh Marvell, M.P.
  • 1953

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Growing Rich
    • Mr. Sallace
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • John Lynch, Christine Kavanagh, and Douglas Mann in Chimera (1991)
    Chimera
    • Dr. Liawski
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1991
  • Chernobyl: The Final Warning (1991)
    Chernobyl: The Final Warning
    • Grandpa
    • TV Movie
    • 1991
  • Chelworth
    • Lord Toller
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1989
  • Casualty (1986)
    Casualty
    • Charles Howlett
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Theatre Night (1985)
    Theatre Night
    • Knut Brovik
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Scene (1968)
    Scene
    • Harry
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Portraits
    • Short
    • 1987
  • Retirement Hobbies for Octogenarians
    • Short
    • 1987
  • Jacqueline Bisset and Irene Papas in High Season (1987)
    High Season
    • Sharp
    • 1987
  • Ciaran Madden and Richard Pasco in Drummonds (1985)
    Drummonds
    • Matthew Drummond
    • TV Series
    • 1987
  • Don Henderson, Diane Keen, Peter Sallis, and Don Warrington in Crown Court (1972)
    Crown Court
    • Justice Bewes
    • His Honour Justice Bewes
    • His Honour Judge Bewes
    • TV Series
    • 1976–1984
  • The Weather in the Streets (1983)
    The Weather in the Streets
    • Mr. Curtis
    • TV Movie
    • 1983
  • Reith
    • Chairman of Committee
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1983
  • The Nation's Health (1983)
    The Nation's Health
    • Doctor Thurson
    • TV Series
    • 1983

Writer

  • Armchair Mystery Theatre (1960)
    Armchair Mystery Theatre
    • writer
    • TV Series
    • 1960
  • Round the Film Studios
    • narrative script
    • TV Series
    • 1937

Videos1

Trailer
Trailer 2:00
Trailer

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
  • Born
    • May 29, 1905
    • Holt, Norfolk, England, UK
  • Died
    • December 23, 1994
    • Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK(undisclosed causes)
  • Spouse
    • Margaret Kate S Wellesley Lynn (stage name Delamere)1929 - 1956 (her death, 1 child)
  • Children
    • Drusilla MacLeod
  • Parents
    • Dr. Geoffrey Shaw,
  • Relatives
      Martin Shaw(Aunt or Uncle)
  • Other works
    He acted in Arthur Wing Pinero's play, "His House in Order", at the New Theatre in London, England with Sir Godfrey Tearle and Mary Kerridge in the cast.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    In a 1987 interview, he revealed that, while under consideration for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), he was not informed about the role of Anakin Skywalker until the producers were certain that he would be playing the character. Because the role was being kept a secret during production of the movie, he was under contract not to disclose it to anyone. He honored that deal, and after the film's release, he was finally permitted to talk about his role. Despite the fact that the role was only two minutes long with only 24 words of dialogue, Shaw enjoyed the experience, which earned him legions of young fans, and found having an action figure made in his likeness oddly flattering.

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