LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jeremy Bulloch, the English actor who first wore a helmet, cape and jetpack to play Boba Fett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, passed away on Thursday.
Bulloch died in a hospital in London of health complications after years of living with Parkinson’s disease, his agents at Brown, Simcocks & Andrews said in a statement. He was 75.
As Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett, Bulloch took off with a frozen carbonite Han Solo in 1980s’ The Empire Strikes Back ‘, then zoomed across the Tatooine desert in 1983 in a jetpack’ Return of the Jedi. ”
“Today we lost the best bounty hunter in the galaxy,” Billy Dee Williams, whose Lando Calrissian appeared in the main scenes with Bulloch in the movies, said on Twitter.
Mark Hamill tweeted that Bulloch was “the quintessential English gentleman”.
“A great actor, great company and so nice to anyone lucky enough to meet or work with him,” said Luke Skywalker’s actor. “I will miss him very much and am so grateful to have known him. #RIP_DearJeremy. “
Boba Fett had only a few minutes of screen time, although significant, between the two films, and speaks only four lines of dialogue that were performed by another actor. But Boba Fett quickly became a cult favorite and would eventually become one of the most beloved figures in the ‘Star Wars’ universe, inspiring characters and storylines in other ‘Star Wars’ properties, most notably ‘The Mandalorian’ on Disney + where Boba Fett has recently re-emerged.
The phenomenon made Bulloch a major draw on the conference circuit, where he was a regular customer in later years.
Born in Leicester, England, Bulloch started acting in commercials as a teenager and is said to have more than 100 credits in a career spent mostly on British television, with small roles on shows such as’ Dr. Who, ” Crown Court ‘and’ Sloggers.
He also appeared in a few James Bond films, 1981’s ‘For Your Eyes Only’ and 1983’s ‘Octopussy’.
Bulloch also played a few minor “Star Wars” roles without the mask, Lieutenant Sheckil in “The Empire Strikes Back” and Captain Jeremoch Colton in “Revenge of the Sith”.
Bulloch was the first of four actors to take on the role in one form or another. Jason Wingreen played the voice in the original trilogy. Temuera Morrison, who played Boba Fett’s father Jango Fett in 2002’s ‘Attack of the Clones’, plays an aging devastated Boba Fett in season two of ‘The Mandalorian’. And Daniel Logan played Boba Fett as a boy in “Attack of the Clones.”
“CONVENTIONS WILL NOT BE THE SAME WITHOUT THE FORCE CAN ALWAYS BE WITH YOU,” Logan said on Instagram along with a photo of himself and Bulloch.
While the prequels were still in development in 1999, Bulloch told The Associated Press that he would like to come back for the part.
“But if he had to show his face, he would be much younger and I would probably need a good plastic surgeon!” Bulloch said.
Instead, he would settle for the small role of Captain Colton, pilot of Alderaan, and instead take another flight through the “Star Wars” galaxy.
Bulloch leaves behind his wife Maureen and their three sons.