C-3PO

C-3PO (pronounced See-Threepio, called 3PO for short) is a character from the fictional Star Wars universe. 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 from the robot of 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. 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, Cliegg Lars, 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).

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. 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. 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. 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.

He rarely makes it out of a movie completely intact, 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 a prissy high strung butler, proved very appealing and the character was changed accordingly.
• American voice actor Mel Blanc was one of literally 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. He can be seen in the bar on Coruscant as Lt. Dannl Faytonni.