10 Greatest Unspoken Star Wars Movie Plot Points
4. General Grievous Hides His Cough From Palpatine - Revenge Of The Sith
Beyond being a four-armed cyborg, the most distinctive thing about Revenge of the Sith's Separatist commander General Grievous (Matthew Wood) is his distinct asthmatic cough.
The 2003 Clone Wars series revealed this to be the result of lung damage inflicted upon him during a battle with Mace Windu, though it's technically not canon anymore.
All the same, a small but intriguing character flourish is noticeable when Grievous speaks with Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) hologram - he loudly clears his throat before connecting the call.
Given that Grievous doesn't seem bothered about coughing in front of anyone else, we can infer that he basically wants to conceal his cough from Palpatine as much as possible, rather than fear looking "weak" in his presence.
It speaks to not only Palpatine's fearsome standing but more curiously Grievous' own insecurity about his cough and how it might present him to others - especially those in positions of authority above him.