10 Things You Didn't Know About Yoda

10. He Was Played By John Lithgow

You know John Lithgow? Yeah, the one from Third Rock From The Sun. Also the bad guy in Stallone thriller Cliffhanger, and of course in Santa Claus The Movie. Yes, him. He played Yoda.

As Lithgow himself tells it, he was having lunch with John Madden (no, not that one) who was slated to direct the radio adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. While many of the film actors were reprising their roles, Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda in the movies, wasn't.

Madden lamented who he would use to play Yoda, to which Lithgow replied with a pitch-perfect Yoda impression, and got hired for the part on the spot.

Fun bonus fact: Mark Hamill, demonstrating early his talent for voice acting, was hoping to play Yoda himself in the radio version, and again according to Lithgow he wasn't happy to be robbed of his chance to show off a Yoda impression of his own.