‘Star Wars’ Actor Famed for ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Scene Dies: Michael Culver Was 85

Veteran British actor Michael Culver, who portrayed Captain Needa in 1980’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, has died. Culver passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the age of 85, his representatives at Alliance Agents confirmed in a social media tribute Tuesday. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” the post, shared to Facebook, read in part. “A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise. Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000’s to concentrate his efforts into his political activism.”

Born in Hempstead in North London in 1938 to West End stage actor Roland Culver and Daphne Rye, who worked as a casting director in London-based theater, according to The Guardian, Culver attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He began acting for the stage professionally in the late 1950s. As a member of the Old Vic company, he appeared on Broadway in 1958 in Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and King Henry V, going on to make his West End debut in Judith in 1962.

A year before his West End debut, Culver made his first onscreen appearances in 1961 when he appeared in guest roles in the British television series You Can’t Win and Probation Officer, per The Hollywood Reporter. He also starred in the television movie The Night of the Match. Later in the decade, he starred in the James Bond films From Russia With Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965), and had his breakthrough performance in the 1977 ITV telefilm Philby, Burgess and Maclean, starring turn alongside Derek Jacobi and Anthony Bate.

Culver, however, is perhaps best known for his appearance as Captain Needa, an Imperial officer, in the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back. After losing track of the Millennium Falcom, Culver’s character is killed by Darth Vader (James Earl Jones). Speaking about his Star Wars role on the Making Tracks podcast last year, Culver said, “When I did Star Wars, it just seemed to be, ‘Oh, they’re doing a movie about starships.’ So I did it. I just thought, ‘Well, I hope it’s successful… You don’t expect 40 years later to be still signing autographs for it.”

Culver was also well-known for his role as police inspector Major McBryde in A Passage to India. His other credits include The House of Eliott (1992), The Sweeney, The Professionals, Miss Marple, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. His final role came in 2016’s Servants’ Quarters. Culver is survived by his second wife, Amanda; children Roderic, Justin and Susan; and four grandchildren.