LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jeremy Bulloch, the English actor who first wore a helmet, cape and jetpack to play Boba Fett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, died Thursday.
Bulloch died at a London hospital from health complications after years of living with Parkinson’s disease, his agents Brown, Simcocks and Andrews said in a statement. He was 75 years old.
While Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett, Bulloch came out with a carbonite-frozen Han Solo in 1980, “The Empire Strikes Back,” and then zoomed around the Tatooine Desert in a 1983 jet pack. the Jedi “.
“Today we lost the best bounty hunter in the galaxy,” Billy Dee Williams, whose Lando Calrissian appeared in key scenes with Bulloch in the movies, said on Twitter.
Mark Hamill tweeted that Bulloch was “the quintessential English gentleman.”
“A good actor, a lovely company and so kind to everyone who’s lucky enough to meet him or work with him,” Luke Skywalker actor said. “I will miss him deeply and I am very grateful to have met him. #RIP_DearJeremy “.
Boba Fett had a few minutes of screen, though important, between the two films, and speaks only of four lines of dialogue played by another actor. But Boba Fett quickly became a cult favorite and would eventually emerge as one of the most beloved figures in the “Star Wars” galaxy, inspiring characters and plots into other properties of “Star Wars,” most notably The Mandalorian. “at Disney +, where Boba Fett has recently resurfaced.
The phenomenon made Bulloch a major attraction on the convention circuit, where it was common in recent years.
Born in Leicester, England, Bulloch began acting in teen commercials and would have more than 100 credits in a career devoted primarily to British television, with small roles in programs such as “Dr. Qui “,” Crown Court “and” Sloggers.
He also appeared in a couple of James Bond films, “For Your Eyes Only” (1981) and “Octopussy” (1983).
Bulloch also played a couple of small roles in “Star Wars” without the mask, Lieutenant Sheckil in “The Empire Strikes Back” and Captain Jeremoch Colton in “Revenge of the Sith.”
Bulloch was the first of four actors to take on the role in some way. Jason Wingreen performed the voice in the original trilogy. Temuera Morrison, who played Boba Fett’s father Jango Fett in 2002, “The Attack of the Clones,” plays Boba Fett aged in the second season of “The Mandalorian.” And Daniel Logan played Boba Fett as a boy in “Attack of the Clones.”
“CONVENTIONS WILL NOT BE THE SAME WITHOUT THE FORCE ALWAYS BEING WITH YOU,” Logan said on Instagram along with a photo of himself and Bulloch.
When the prequels were still in development in 1999, Bulloch told The Associated Press that he would like to return for the role.
“But if he has to show his face, he would be much younger and would probably need a good plastic surgeon.” Bulloch said.
Instead, it would settle for the tiny role of Captain Colton, Alderaan’s pilot, and one more flight through the “Star Wars” galaxy.
Bulloch is survived by his wife Maureen and their three children.