Michael Culver, the veteran British actor who portrayed the doomed Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back and a bigoted police inspector in David Lean’s A Passage to India, has died. He was 85.
Culver died Feb. 27, according to Alliance Agents, which represented him for the past decade. No other details were immediately available.
Culver also appeared on lots of British television over the years, from The Befrienders, Secret Army and The Adventures of Black Beauty to The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Game Set and Match, The House of Eliott and the Derek Jacobi-starring Cadfael.
In Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, Culver’s character, as captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger, loses track of the Millennium Falcon piloted by Han Solo during a pursuit.
Needa takes full responsibility and apologizes to Darth Vader, who then kills him (“Apology accepted, Captain...
Culver died Feb. 27, according to Alliance Agents, which represented him for the past decade. No other details were immediately available.
Culver also appeared on lots of British television over the years, from The Befrienders, Secret Army and The Adventures of Black Beauty to The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Game Set and Match, The House of Eliott and the Derek Jacobi-starring Cadfael.
In Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, Culver’s character, as captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger, loses track of the Millennium Falcon piloted by Han Solo during a pursuit.
Needa takes full responsibility and apologizes to Darth Vader, who then kills him (“Apology accepted, Captain...
- 3/13/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died at the age of 85.
According to a statement from Culver’s agency, he passed away on February 27th. No cause of death has been revealed.
“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” Alliance Agents shared in a statement also noting his “career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.
Culver played a small role as Captain Needa in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the 1980 film, the character goes to Darth Vader to take responsibility for failing to capture the rebels. After the scene cuts, Culver is seen falling to the floor after Vader uses the Force to choke the life out of him. “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader quips.
Born in London on June 16th,...
According to a statement from Culver’s agency, he passed away on February 27th. No cause of death has been revealed.
“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” Alliance Agents shared in a statement also noting his “career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.
Culver played a small role as Captain Needa in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the 1980 film, the character goes to Darth Vader to take responsibility for failing to capture the rebels. After the scene cuts, Culver is seen falling to the floor after Vader uses the Force to choke the life out of him. “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader quips.
Born in London on June 16th,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died aged 85.
The British actor played a small but famous role in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back as Captain Needa, whose failure to capture the fleeing Millennium Falcon results in Darth Vader force-choking him to death aboard a Star Destroyer.
“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” said his agency, Alliance Agents, in a statement reported by several websites. The actor passed away on February 27, Alliance Agents added.
The agency noted Culver’s was “a career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.”
Culver had largely stopped acting in the early 2000s to concentrate on political activism, unusually becoming more outspoken as he got older. He was a major...
The British actor played a small but famous role in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back as Captain Needa, whose failure to capture the fleeing Millennium Falcon results in Darth Vader force-choking him to death aboard a Star Destroyer.
“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” said his agency, Alliance Agents, in a statement reported by several websites. The actor passed away on February 27, Alliance Agents added.
The agency noted Culver’s was “a career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.”
Culver had largely stopped acting in the early 2000s to concentrate on political activism, unusually becoming more outspoken as he got older. He was a major...
- 3/13/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
A new wave of productions forgoes the feelgood factor and focuses instead on issues such as poverty and homelessness
"Musicals can tackle anything," says Rufus Norris. As the director who set to music the events surrounding the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006, Norris should know.
His production, London Road, which is poised to transfer to the cinema screen, is part of a new wave of stage productions that are breaking the traditional feelgood musical mould and successfully pushing the genre into new, sometimes darker, territory.
London Road may not be in the Les Misérables league, but it was, nevertheless, a critical success. The production began as an experiment in 2011 by writer Alecky Blythe, who interviewed people in Ipswich, and composer Adam Cork, who turned their speech into music. It quickly transferred to the National Theatre's Olivier stage last year, when sell-out performances were seen by a total of 57,000 people.
"Musicals can tackle anything," says Rufus Norris. As the director who set to music the events surrounding the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006, Norris should know.
His production, London Road, which is poised to transfer to the cinema screen, is part of a new wave of stage productions that are breaking the traditional feelgood musical mould and successfully pushing the genre into new, sometimes darker, territory.
London Road may not be in the Les Misérables league, but it was, nevertheless, a critical success. The production began as an experiment in 2011 by writer Alecky Blythe, who interviewed people in Ipswich, and composer Adam Cork, who turned their speech into music. It quickly transferred to the National Theatre's Olivier stage last year, when sell-out performances were seen by a total of 57,000 people.
- 4/13/2013
- by Maggie Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
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