Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Turns 20! See the Cast Then and Now
Alexia Fernandez
Neeson, 66, starred as the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn in the 1999 film. The film followed his character as he sought to protect Queen Padmé Amidala and came across a young Anakin Skywalker.
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McGregor, 48, played Qui-Gon's apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan was left in charge of Anakin's training after Qui-Gon's death at the end of the film. And the rest is, as they say, history.
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Lloyd, 30, brought to life the role of Anakin, who was destined to become the fearsome villain Darth Vader in later films. Lloyd left Hollywood in 2001 and no longer acts.
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Portman, 37, gave life, and moxie, to the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, who sought to protect her people from dark enemies arising in the galaxy. Portman would reprise her role in the next two Star Wars prequels. She won an Oscar for Black Swan in 2010.
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Daniels, 73, reprised his role as the intelligent droid fluent in over 6 million forms of communications, C-3PO. He previously played the character in George Lucas' original trilogy released in the '70s and '80s. He's continued to work on Star Wars projects, including the new trilogy beginning with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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Baker was the original actor to portray the beloved droid R2-D2. He reprised his role for The Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequels. Baker returned for The Force Awakens, released in 2015. He died the following year.
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Jackson, 70, starred as Jedi Master Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He's worked on several Hollywood hits, including The Hateful Eight, Kong: Skull Island and The Avengers franchise for Marvel.
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McDiarmid, 74, was first cast as Emperor Palpatine by Lucas in Return of the Jedi (1983). He came back to the character for the prequel trilogy. In a twist, it was revealed at the 2019 Star Wars Celebration in April that McDiarmid would return as Palpatine in the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
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Best, 45, portrayed the Gungan Jar Jar Binks in Phantom Menace and voiced the character in the next two prequel films. He’s made appearances in TV shows such as Alias, Cougar Town, Law & Order: LA and Big Time Rush.
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Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Turns 20! See the Cast Then and Now
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