Beginnings In 1951, Baker was approached on the street by a woman who invited him to join
John Lester's theatrical troupe of
little people. This was his first taste of show business. Later, he joined a
circus for a brief time, learned to ice skate and appeared in many ice shows. He formed a successful comedy act called The Mini Tones with entertainer
Jack Purvis and played in
nightclubs.
Star Wars 1977–1983: Star Wars original trilogy While working with Purvis and the Minitones, Baker was selected by
George Lucas to operate the robot ("droid")
R2-D2 in the fantasy feature film
Star Wars, released in 1977. Baker recalled that he initially turned down the role, concerned about breaking up the Minitones partnership when the duo had reached the final on the British television talent show
Opportunity Knocks. On 22 March 1976, Baker's first day of filming took place at
Tunisia which provided the setting for Tatooine. He "wore a harness that secured the R2-D2 unit to his body" and controlled turning the head, walk or light up whenever it was required. This version of the unit in which Baker could fit inside weighed about 80 pounds and was effective for making his character wobble and bow as well as turning his dome. There was an opaque window and although Baker could not see much at all, he insisted he "didn't need to, as long as [he] could see who [he] was supposed to be reacting to." A mechanical R2-D2 was built for some scenes which required the droid to roll along on three legs. There were many versions of R2-D2 for the first six theatrical films. The success of
Star Wars launched a
multimedia franchise leading to two more films rounding out the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and film conventions which continued Baker's association with his character and the franchise. Prior to the release Baker, like the cast and crew, did not expect the film to be a success. Baker appears as R2-D2 in six of the episodic theatrical
Star Wars films, and played an additional role in 1983's
Return of the Jedi as Paploo, the
ewok who steals an Imperial
speeder bike. Baker attended several conventions as part of
Star Wars Celebration as a guest. Celebration Europe III in July 2016 marked his last appearance at Celebration. Daniels acknowledged Baker's enthusiasm saying his co-star "adored his association with
Star Wars and Artoo and the fans." He also described Baker's waddling as R2-D2 into the escape pod in
A New Hope as "especially memorable." However, they both admitted their relationship did not match their on-screen relationship.
Other work Baker's other films include
The Elephant Man,
Time Bandits (also with Jack Purvis),
Willow (also with Purvis and Warwick Davis),
Flash Gordon,
Amadeus and
Jim Henson's
Labyrinth. == Personal life ==