Michael Culver in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.Photo:Lucasfilm Ltd./Youtube
Lucasfilm Ltd./Youtube
Michael Culver, a British actor best known for his role in the 1980Star WarsmovieThe Empire Strikes Back, has died. He was 85.
Culver’s agency Alliance Agentsannouncedin a statement on Facebook Tuesday that he died Feb. 27. No cause of death has been revealed.
“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” read the statement. “A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles inSherlock Holmes,A Passage to India,Secret Armyand, of course, one of the most memorable death scenes in theStar Warsfranchise.”
They added that Culver “largely gave up acting in the early 2000s to concentrate his efforts into his political activism.”
“It’s been an honor to have represented Michael for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the bestStar Warsevents in the UK and Europe,” the statement added. “A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him.”
Michael Culver in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.Lucasfilm Ltd./Youtube
Culver was 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 toThe Guardian.
He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and began acting for the stage professionally in the late 1950s, making Broadway appearances in the Shakespeare playsKing Henry V,HamletandTwelfth Night, according toPlaybill. He subsequently made his debut on the West End in 1962, The Guardian reported.
The actor made his first onscreen appearances in 1961 with guest roles in the British television seriesYou Can’t WinandProbation Officer, as well as the television movieThe Night of the Match, per hisIMDb profile.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Michael Culver on Jan. 3, 2007.Richard Keith Wolff/Avalon/Getty
Richard Keith Wolff/Avalon/Getty
Among over 100 onscreen credits Culver had to his name between the ’60s and his final appearance in 2016’sServants' Quarters, the actor is best known for playing the character Captain Needa inStar Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Michael Culver in ‘Secret Army,’ Sept. 13, 1977.Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty
Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty
Aside fromStar Wars, Culver also notably held a role in 1984’sA Passage to India, which won Best Original Score and Best Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) among 11 total nominations at theOscarsin 1985.
source: people.com
