C-3PO's golden moment of fame

The man behind the mask: Anthony Daniels

Actor Anthony Daniels worked on all six Star Wars films as the fussy robot C-3PO. He spoke the first line of the original movie, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

He tells BBC News about his enduring memory from that period and how he's still very much a part of the Star Wars universe.

It's a good story, tremendously well told. I don't know how George [Lucas] did it, I'm not sure he knows, but there is something working underneath.

It doesn't feel like 30 years. But I'm looking forward rather than back. I'm still doing the Clone Wars cartoons, the animated series - Star Wars isn't over yet.

I wonder how long I can go on doing it, but I'm very fond of my character C-3PO and I wouldn't want to leave him quite yet.

My main memory of Star Wars would be working on the costume for six months, going out to Tunisia, not sleeping, being really quite exhausted by the whole thing.

I remember being up after midnight completing the costume, getting to the location at 5 o'clock and then - forget Hollywood glamour - I had a tent with a sand floor and six people taking two hours to get me into the costume.

When they eventually got me in, turned the lights on and opened the tent flaps, I walked out, and for one brief moment - to the crew spread out across the desert in front of me - I truly was a god.

The morning sun hit that costume and people just gasped.

That was my moment of fame.