C-3PO’s Infamous Oil Bath In STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE Was Far More Gross Behind The Scenes Than You’d Expect
C-3PO might spend most of his time fussing over danger, dirt, and the endless trouble R2-D2 gets him into, but he does have one moment of pure bliss in Star Wars: A New Hope.
When Luke Skywalker brings the droids home to the moisture farm and drops the golden protocol droid into an oil bath, Threepio practically melts with joy. It is one of the few times he isn’t complaining. Unfortunately for Anthony Daniels, the actor inside the suit, the experience on set was anything but relaxing.
Anyone who has ever read interviews with Daniels knows how challenging that iconic costume could be. It pinched, scraped, and irritated his skin.
According to The Making of Star Wars: Enhanced Edition by J W Rinzler, filming the oil bath scene took things to another level. Beneath the cheerful performance was a man wading through something he described as downright unpleasant.
Daniels recalled exactly what it was like to shoot the sequence and he did not hold back. He said:
"I stood on a special effects platform and, as the oil bath scene began, the platform was lowered by three men into a big tank containing a mixture of oil and colored water.
“I'd had the foresight to have them heat the mixture first for this was still winter in England — but it was a fairly disgusting experience, feeling this warm oil seeping up between the costume and me.
“By the end of the day, we'd done it so many times the sticky tape came off and my leg began to float away."
Warm or not, that sounds like a nightmare, especially when you imagine the oil creeping inside the already restrictive suit. Fans see a moment of comfort for Threepio but Daniels was basically marinating inside a messy blend of water and oil while trying to keep the character’s sunny attitude intact.
Even so, Daniels managed to find something enjoyable during that long filming day. He explained:
"I also had a little ear microphone to hear Mark speaking, and what is so wonderful about those instruments is that you can hear anyone near the microphone, so you listen in on some very outrageous gossip."
So while the oil bath was a sticky ordeal, at least he got access to some top tier behind the scenes chatter. He offers no details on the gossip and now we are all left wondering what on-set secrets drifted through those earbuds.