who played the original emperor in star wars
Palpatine Sheev Palpatine[3] (also known by his Sith identity Darth Sidious and publicly as Senator Palpatine, then Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and later Emperor Palpatine) is a fictional character and one of the primary antagonists of the Star Wars franchise,[4] mainly portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In the original trilogy, he is depicted as the aged, pale-faced and cloaked Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the Sith master of Darth Vader. In the prequel trilogy, he is portrayed as a middle-aged charismatic Senator from Naboo who uses deception and political manipulation to rise to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic before transforming the Republic into the Empire.