10 Things You Didn't Know About Yoda

Yoda's presence helps define the entire Star Wars series, from his unorthodox introduction in The Empire Strikes Back to his prominent roles in the prequel trilogy.

Yet to begin with, he was a huge risk. The making of the Empire Strikes Back was at times chaotic and it was touch and go whether the film would be finished at all, with Yoda's weirdness being one of many leaps of faith. Such an important character being not only non-human, but not even played by an actor in a traditional way, could have gone hopelessly wrong for George Lucas and Empire director Irvin Kershner.

Instead, it all went memorably right. Yoda became enshrined as one of the most beloved characters in the entire Star Wars setting, while in story terms he was depicted as the wisest and most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. Humble and unassuming, and yet awesomely powerful when compelled to be, Yoda's legacy is such that name has become a synonym for all-knowing mentor.

He's a familiar face to anyone who has watched the Star Wars series in any depth, and yet there's plenty more to know about this pointy-eared guru.

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.