Star Wars: 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Jabba The Hutt

10. He Was Based On Sydney Greenstreet

The initial concept for Jabba was an icon of corruption and greed. His character, and later his appearance, were modelled on Sydney Greenstreet, especially the character of Kaspar Gutman in The Maltese Falcon. His character of Signor Ferrari in Casablanca was also cited as an influence, to the extent that some concepts of Jabba had him wearing a fez like the Casablanca character.

Though he was only in Hollywood for eight years, Greenstreet worked with just about all the top names of the era including Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Joan Crawford, Hedy Lamarr and Spencer Tracy. He received an Oscar nod for his performance as Gutman and was known for portraying corrupt kingpin types, especially alongside frequent collaborator Peter Lorre.

Gutman's combination of corpulence, deceitfulness, malevolence and an appreciation for luxury are all apparent in Jabba's character.

Other inspirations include a late-career Orson Welles, early depictions of the Michelin Man, the hookah-puffing caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland and, from the animal kingdom, annelid worms, amphibians and snakes.