| Star Wars | The Empire Strikes Back | Return of the Jedi | The Phantom Menace | Crew | Star Wars Universe | Autograph Book | Links |
I am the
official UK Scout (Representative) of the Belgian Star Wars fan club Teekay-421.
Teekay-421 is a great club with a high quality fanzine 4 times a year. My membership
has allowed me to be more involved in the Star Wars universe, than I
otherwise would have been.
Thanks to Mark
Dermul, for introducing me to the club and his continued support in my
participation, including the odd translation!
Being involved with the club has allowed me to meet several of the Stars and
help the club out by inviting guests to shows, taking their photographs with the magazine and so
forth. This combined with my work on John Chapman's website gave me a great opportunity
to interview the lovely
Katie Purvis, an actress who played one of the maternal ewok's in Return of the
Jedi.
Katie is very modest about her involvement in Star Wars, and says she only go
the part because of her dad, the late
Jack Purvis, and would hate for people to think that she's only 'on the circuit'
because she was his daughter. If you've every met Katie then you'll agree with
me that anyone who really believes that about Katie is very much mistaken.....
she really is a star in
her own right!
So I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I enjoyed
taking it!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
An interview with actress Katie Purvis, an ewok from Return of the Jedi, by Lee Massie for TEEKAY-421. |
|
Thank
you for sparing the time to talk to us Katie, it’s greatly appreciated by all
of us here at Teekay-421.
A.
I was only 15 years old when I appeared in Return of the Jedi. I got the
part because my dad, Jack Purvis, had already been in both
Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, so it was only natural that he
get his daughter involved.
Q.
What was it like wearing an ewok costume – and did you get to keep it?
A.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to keep the costume. As for wearing it, well it
was very uncomfortable as it was so hot. The padding in the suit would make
my arms ache, and in fact I was actually sick on one particular day because
of the heat! I remember that the eyes steamed up all the time so much so
that I couldn’t see very much of what was going on!
Q.
You played a maternal ewok in the village scene, did you play in any other
scenes?
A.
No, my only part was in the village scene.
Q.
Did you get to fly to America for filming or was that on set at Elstree, or
both?
A.
No, unfortunately I was only needed on set at Elstree Film Studios, although
my dad did manage to get out to the forest set in America for some of his
scene's!
Q.
What was it like on set?
A.
For a fifteen year old it was a whole new world! It was very exciting, so
much better than being at school doing my exams. Another thing was that it
was great fun being with so many other people of the same height.
Q.
You have some brilliant photographs of yourself and Mark Hamill – by this time
he must have been an international heart throb! What did you and your friends
think of your brushing shoulders with such a movie star?
A.
Unfortunately my friends were quite envious of my knowing Mark. I had come
to know Mark for quite a few years, since Star Wars when he had come home to
tea with my Dad. I had gotten quite used to him by Return of the Jedi,
although I must admit I did have a little crush on him!
Q.
Do you still meet or keep in contact with any of the other stars from Return of
the Jedi and Star Wars in general?
A.
Only really the other ewoks, although I still meet up with a lot of the
other cast members at the conventions and shows I attend. I’m friendly
with Maureen Charlton, who lives very near to me, and I see some of the
other guys when I appear in Pantomime at Christmas time! I get on well with
Kenny Baker, who’s known me for many years, as he and my dad were partners
on stage. Infact I was Kenny’s bridesmaid when I was only 3!
Q.
You say that you were too young to be in the cast of A New Hope and The Empire
Strikes Back, but were you involved with the film in any way. For example did
you visit the set?
A.
I didn’t have any real involvement with Star Wars, or Empire as my dad was
very much of the mind ‘Work is work and family is family’, until
obviously I got involved with Jedi. My brothers and I did however manage to
get ourselves some of the Star Wars T-shirt’s. Dad came home one day with his
on, and we pestered him so that he would get us ones as well! They were
white, with a triangle in the middle and a picture of Luke Skywalker holding
his lightsabre above his head.
Q.
Sadly your father, Jack, isn’t with us anymore. He has a very large part in
the Star Wars world, with the parts that he played. What do you think he would
make of how ‘big’ Star Wars has become?
A.
I think he would be amazed at the revival of Star Wars and only wished
he’d asked for more money!!!! (laughs)
Q.
You yourself now have children, don’t you?
A.
Yes, I have two daughters.
Q.
When your not looking after your daughters – how do you fill your spare time?
A.
I don’t actually have much spare time – but I still manage to do the odd
film, for example I was a stand in for Killian’s son in Sleepy Hollow. I
also perform in pantomime at Christmas, as I mentioned before.
Q.
What would you say if you were invited to be in another Star Wars movie?
A.
I would say - Yes Please!
Many thanks again Katie and as they say - May The Force Be With You!
|
Star
Wars ™ & © by Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |
