While he’s not a name many Star Wars fans are aware of, the fruits of his labour – which include building the original wooden prototype of R2-D2 and the landspeeder in his garage at home – are incalculable. Bill Harman has passed away, and Roger Christian marked his passing by emphasising the importance of his work on the original film, and beyond.
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Back in 2017 Roger spoke to CBC News about the build of Artoo.
A carpenter built a prototype out of plywood, and Christian took care of details, such as placing an old lamp on the droid’s body to give him a rounded look. Kenny Baker, a three-foot-eight comedian, got inside the droid to make it move.
Not surprisingly, it was very uncomfortable for Baker. The inside had to be cut and reshaped several times to make it work, but the results weren’t great.
“He could wobble it but he couldn’t walk,” said Christian.
Then came a breakthrough. Christian remembered that while buying airplane scrap, he’d also found a fighter pilot’s harness.
“We fixed that inside the R2-D2, and he could wear him like a rucksack,” Christian said. “He took about four steps and we knew then we had a film.”