Dave Prowse, actor who played Darth Vader, dies at 85

Dave Prowse, British weightlifter-turned-actor who played Darth Vader in original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died. He was 85.

Prowse died Saturday after a short illness, his nt Thomas Bowington said Sunday.

Born in Bristol, southwest England, in 1935, Prowse represented England in weightlifting at Commonwealth Games in 1950s before breaking into movies with roles that emphasized his commanding size, including Frankenstein’s monster in a pair of horror films.

Director George Lucas saw Prowse in a small part in “A Clockwork Orange” and asked 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) actor to audition for villaius Vader or wookie Chewbacca in “Star Wars.”

Prowse later told BBC he chose Darth Vader because “you always remember bad guys.”

Physically, Prowse was perfect for part. His lilting English West Country accent was considered less ideal, and his lines were dubbed by James Earl Jones.

Prowse was also kwn to a generation of British children as Green Cross Code Man, a superhero in a series of road safety advertisements

“Ant-Man” director Edgar Wright paid tribute to Prowse on Twitter.

“As a kid Dave Prowse couldn’t be more famous to me; stalking along corridors as evil incarnate in part of Darth Vader & stopping a whole generation of kiddies from being mown down in street as Green Cross Code man,” he wrote. “Rest in Peace, Bristol’s finest.”