Michael Pennington, the theater actor who played Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, has died aged 82.
His passing was confirmed by British newspaper The Telegraph. The cause of death was not revealed.
Pennington is a celebrated theater actor with numerous credits during a career that lasted decades. However, he is best known for his turn as bureaucratic military officer Moff Jerjerrod in the final Star Wars movie of the original trilogy.
His memorable scene from the pic saw Jerjerrof being castigated by Darth Vader for the slow construction of the second Death Star.
Pennington’s other screen credits include a 1969 version of Hamlet from Tony Richardson and playing former Labour leader Michael Foot opposite Meryl Streep in 2011 pic The Iron Lady.
More recently, he had roles in the likes of Raised By Wolves, Endeavour, Father Brown and Silent Witness. Further back, the starred in 1980s telemovie The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
However, Pennington’s main love was theater, with credits for the likes of Hamlet and The Henrys. In 1989, he starred in The Wars of the Roses, a TV version of Shakespeare plays.
Pennington’s career treading the boards began with roles in Royal Shakespeare Company before he went on to co-found the English Shakespeare Company.
