As a director he was not that interested in Vader.

I'd worked in Clockwork Orange with Stanley Kubrick and since Stanley was such a prestigious director this opened all sorts of doors for me - one of them being Star Wars.

So I went to George and told him I had the opportunity to become the figurehead of a government safety campaign, and he agreed to give me the week off and reschedule shooting!

My agent set up a meeting with George Lucas. They were casting in England.

It's obviously primarily for sci-fi fans, but it's a nice sort of quirky movie that appeals to all sorts of people, ... I think it's quite good.

It sounded like a lot of fun, so I agreed to come over and do it. I think it's lovely and the fans totally enjoy it.