Michael Leader obit

Michael Leader, Star Wars’ Clumsy Stormtrooper, Has Passed Away

 

He was not on the list.

Actor Michael Leader passed away this week, after a forty-year acting career that started as an extra, playing a Stormtrooper in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The British actor is best known across the pond as the Milkman in EastEnders, a long-running soap that started – with Leader in tow – in 1985. Over the course of over thirty years, he appeared several times, though he rarely uttered a word. Leader also had guest roles in Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, giving him quite the science fiction pedigree despite only ever playing bit parts.

However, Star Wars fans around the world would recognize Leader’s role in the first film, even if they don’t recognize his name or face. That’s because Leader was the infamous “Clumsy Stormtrooper” in the film, who hit his head on an archway while walking into a room. Hey, those Stormtrooper costumes don’t give you much in the way of peripheral vision – if your head isn’t pointed so you’re looking directly at something, you may not see it… and walk into it.

As spotted by GamesRadar, Leader was even homaged in last year’s Star Wars Battlefront from EA and DICE, with a very subtle Easter Egg.

The BBC tweeted out the news, saying, “Our dear friend and colleague Michael Leader passed away on Monday. He will be greatly missed.”

Leader’s final scenes on EastEnders were as recent as July of this year, when he helped another longtime castmember take a tour of their town before she left the show.

The 2004 DVD of A New Hope actually enhanced the sound of Leader’s Stormtrooper knocking his head on the doorway, which carried over to the blu-ray releases of the film, in tribute to his fan-favorite status for the gaffe.

RIP, Mr. Leader. May the Force Be With You.

Actor

EastEnders (1985)

EastEnders

4.8

TV Series

Michael (Milkman)Michael

1985–2016

527 episodes

 

Harry Hill in TV Burp (2001)

TV Burp

7.2

TV Series

Slow Eastenders Extra

2008

1 episode

 

Love lifting

Short

Crusading Counsellor

2002

 

Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Ray Fearon, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn, and Norman Lovett in Red Dwarf (1988)

Red Dwarf

8.4

TV Series

Hooded Horde (uncredited)

1992

1 episode

 

Patricia Routledge in Keeping Up Appearances (1990)

Keeping Up Appearances

7.9

TV Series

Man near reception (uncredited)

1991

1 episode

 

George Cole in Minder (1979)

Minder

7.8

TV Series

Winchester Club PatronTrain PassengerPolice Constable (uncredited) ...

1979–1988

9 episodes

 

Roger Moore, Maud Adams, and Kabir Bedi in Octopussy (1983)

Octopussy

6.5

Auction Patron (uncredited)

1983

 

Paul McGann, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, William Hartnell, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who (1963)

Doctor Who

8.4

TV Series

SoldierMutantTerileptil (uncredited) ...

1980–1983

4 episodes

 

The Shining (1980)

The Shining

8.4

Ranger 2.A (uncredited)

1980

 

Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

8.7

Imperial Crewman (uncredited)

1980

 

Jan Chappell, Paul Darrow, David Jackson, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, Jacqueline Pearce, and Gareth Thomas in Blake's 7 (1978)

Blake's 7

8.0

TV Series

RebelTechnician (uncredited)

1980

2 episodes

 

Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and Harvey Stephens in The Omen (1976)

The Omen

7.5

Rugby Match Spectator (uncredited)

1976

 

Jack Warner in Dixon of Dock Green (1955)

Dixon of Dock Green

6.9

TV Series

Casino Patron (uncredited)

1976

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, and Kenny Baker in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

8.6

film extra (uncredited)

1977

 

Thanks

EastEnders (1985)

EastEnders

4.8

TV Series

in memory ofthanks

2016

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

The Empire Strikes Door (2019)

The Empire Strikes Door

7.6

Short

Self (archive footage)

2019