C-3PO almost had a totally different voice — here's the inside story of the 'Star Wars' droid

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C-3PO almost wasn't a British droid. 

In a new interview for New York magazine, Anthony Daniels, the actor inside the C-3PO suit, revealed that director George Lucas had imagined the robot sounding like he was from the Bronx, not the UK. 

Daniels first traveled to the US to re-record the lines for "Star Wars" ("Episode IV: A New Hope") in 1976 because the costume muffled anything he said, and that's where he learned about Lucas' displeasure with his voice.

“I walked into the sound producer’s stage on Highland and the engineer said, ‘Huh, interesting. We spent a couple of months trying to find a voice for your part because George really hates it,'" Daniels said. "But he had the generosity of spirit to change his mind. Had it not been for that, I wouldn’t have been in 'Episode V.'”

Lucas didn't change his mind about replacing Darth Vader's voice, however. James Earl Jones' voice substituted that of David Prowse, the actor who initially portrayed Darth Vader. 

In the interview, Daniels also admitted that he originally wasn't interested in auditioning, but his agent told him, "Don't be stupid."

After showing up for the five-minute audition, Daniels ended up staying for an hour and liked a painting of C-3PO by conceptual illustrator Ralph McQuarrie. "He [C-3PO] seemed a bit lost. He had a vulnerability that attracted me," Daniels said. 

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