C-3PO
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C-3PO (pronounced See-Threepio, called 3PO for short) is a character from the fictional Star Wars universe, created by Anakin Skywalker circa 32 BBY, for "human-cyborg relations". He is a protocol droid - an android specifically designed to interact with organics - with a very proper manner and British accent when speaking in English. He never tires of mentioning that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". He is portrayed by actor Anthony Daniels.
3PO's appearance was inspired by the robot in Metropolis.
Background
C-3PO is generally seen with his long-time companion, R2-D2, who is a small, quirky astromech droid. His main function as a protocol droid is to assist with etiquette, customs, and translation so that meetings of different cultures run smoothly. Threepio's TranLang III Communicator module combined with his AA-1 VerboBrain allowed him to be "fluent in over six million forms of communication." C-3PO is also comprised of many ancient parts, due to salvage that Watto and Tatooine could provide Anakin Skywalker. He is very loyal to his masters (as his programming dictates) and has served over 40 since his creation (the only masters seen in the original six films were: Anakin Skywalker, Shmi Skywalker, Cliegg Lars,Padme Amidala, Raymus Antilles, Owen Lars and finally Luke Skywalker; masters other than those mentioned were seen in the animated TV series Star Wars: Droids, which may account for some of the rest of Threepio's masters). Jabba the Hutt was also "master" to 3PO for a short while in Return of the Jedi, but as this was part of a subterfuge to smuggle R2-D2 and Luke Skywalker's lightsaber into Jabba's palace, Jabba arguably does not count as one of 3PO's masters.
C-3PO is one of the few characters to appear in all six of the Star Wars feature films, and one of the very few to be played six times by the same actor (voiced and played by Anthony Daniels). Fans have suggested he may have had a prior existence before being taken apart--this was before the events in The Phantom Menace, in which we learn that 3PO was built by Anakin Skywalker from those scrap parts (Although a comic story revealed that Anakin discovered 3PO in the junkyard and subsequently put him back together and reactivated him, although whether he remembers anything prior to this was never confirmed). After Anakin leaves, 3PO is left with his mother, Shmi Skywalker on Tatooine. Appearing mainly in a skeletal state in the film, he doesn't gain his coverings until Attack of the Clones, in the property now of Cliegg Lars. After Anakin and Padme visit the planet, 3PO follows his maker.
As revealed in Star Wars: Clone Wars, 3PO received his familiar gold plating from Padmé Amidala to better fit his role as her assistant, though his left thigh inexplicably retains the silver plating. In Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy, 3PO is shown shutting down after seeing Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, because his "protocol programming requires him to request that he shut down to protect his ex-owner's secrets", but this contradicts the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, in which his memory is wiped and, in the process, disavowing any knowledge of Anakin's descent into the Dark Side of the Force or Padme's death. (However, in Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, C-3PO states that he and R2-D2 were shut down by Darth Vader, saying that he 'knew all of the proper shut-down codes', and at the end of the radio version of Return of the Jedi, 3PO recognizes Darth Vader as Luke's father, which may hint that some point after his reactivation 3PO somehow learned about Anakin/Vader's identity, and may also hint at C-3PO and R2-D2's previous ownerships.)
Once 3PO was reactivated with his memory fresh and new, his first job under new master Captain Antilles was to program binary loadlifters (according to A New Hope); this is why by the time we get to A New Hope, he wouldn't recognize either Tatooine, the name Skywalker, or even Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In half of the movies, he gets quite badly damaged, (having damages to his body in Attack of the Clones, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back), and hates adventure (how he knows he has had an adventure is hard to tell). His motto is, "We're doomed!".
In 2004, C-3PO was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame.
Trivia
- C-3PO was originally to have the voice and mannerism of an American used car salesman. However, when Daniels was rehearsing with his usual voice, the image conveyed, which many see as something of a prissy high strung butler, proved very appealing and the character was changed accordingly.
- American voice actor Mel Blanc was one of hundreds of individuals that were auditioned by director George Lucas to provide the voice for the C-3PO character, and it was he who ultimately suggested that the producers utilize Daniels' own voice in the role.
- Daniels appeared without his C-3PO costume in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He can be seen in the bar on Coruscant as Lt. Dannl Faytonni, and again in Episode III during the opera house scene.
- Daniels also appeared as C-3PO in the Discovery Channel special The Science of Star Wars with R2-D2, and appeared out of costume at the end of it.
- The name C-3PO comes from George Lucas' hometown map. The post office was located in grid C-3.
- C-3PO and R2-D2 are the only beings to survive all six movies (If you consider Anakin dead at the end of Revenge of the Sith and don't include Force ghosts).
- In Italy, C-3PO's name was changed to D-3BO in the original trilogy. He re-assumed the original name in the new trilogy.ca:C-3PO
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