10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Wars
5. Jim Henson - Yoda
The legendary puppeteer Jim Henson will always live on in people's memories as the man who created the beloved Muppets. There was however one role that he should also have been synonymous with. With the staggering success of the first Star Wars movie, George Lucas plans for The Empire Strikes Back soon begun in earnest. One of the Director's first duties was to casting the role of a Master Jedi character by the name of Yoda.
Lucas immediately turned to Henson, hoping that Henson would design and voice the character. As explained by Lucas, Henson let him know that he was too busy at the time working on his own project, but offered Frank Oz's services instead. From this the legendary character and voice of Yoda was born, with Oz quickly becoming part of Star Wars folklore.
Of course the Jim Henson legacy could never be tarnished whatever his decision, with numerous Muppets movies and TV reboots, along with the continued success of Sesame Street letting his legacy live on. Still, it would have been nice to add Star Wars to his CV.