Marton Csokas
- "That was a really interesting exercise for me in terms of publicity casting and actually doing it and landing with absolutely zilch other than a credit for Star Wars and a letter from the casting director and George Lucas saying at the last moment they had decided to give him a computer-generated visage as well as voice. And it's amusing standing back and watching all that happen."
- ―Marton Csokas, describing his experience in Attack of the Clones[2]
Marton Csokas (born June 30, 1966, in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a New Zealander actor who was cast as Poggle the Lesser in the 2002 prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. The character was ultimately rendered using visual effects and Csokas was uncredited for his performance. Csokas is also known for his role as Celeborn in The Lord of the Rings film series.
Biography[]
- "It may sound a bit cliché, but you know immediately when someone's got the goods and I'm excited that he will be joining our cast."
- ―Casting director Robin Gurland, on Csokas' casting in Attack of the Clones[3]
Marton Csokas was born in Invercargill, New Zealand on June 30, 1966. The New Zealander actor rose to prominence as an actor through numerous film and television roles, including that of Celeborn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, released between 2001 and 2003.[1]
Csokas was cast as Poggle the Lesser (pictured) before George Lucas decided to create the character through CGI.
On July 18, 2000, Csokas was announced to be joining the cast of the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, with his role described as that of a planetary leader. The announcement was accompanied with praise for Csokas' talents by casting director Robin Gurland.[3] Csokas later described himself as feeling like a child by comparison to his Star Wars and Lord of the Rings co-star Christopher Lee,[2] who was known for his iconic role as Count Dracula in the film series released by Hammer Film Productions throughout the twentieth century.[4]
Towards the end of production, director George Lucas made the decision to render Poggle the Lesser, Csokas's character, with visual effects and to use sound effects for his voice as well. Csokas received a letter from Gurland and Lucas about the change and described the process of his performance being removed aside from his credit as "amusing."[2] Poggle's role was also significantly reduced from what it was in the screenplay by the time production was running. Industrial Light & Magic animator Charles Alleneck was the model for animating Poggle's movements.[5]
Sound designer Ben Burtt recorded himself reading Poggle's lines and played them backwards during rehearsals. Late in production,[5] he recorded voice actor Ernie Fosselius reciting Poggle's lines in reverse. Fosseulius also recorded Swahili-type clicking noises and the sound of him blowing on the edge of a piece of paper, which Burtt added to the character's voice.[6] Csokas was uncredited in the finished film,[7] which premiered on May 16, 2002.[8] He was still described as the voice of Poggle in the reference book Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones,[9] published in November 2002,[10] and in the ninety-fourth issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine,[11] which was first released at Celebration IV, an event that commenced on May 24, 2007.[12]
