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Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died at the age of 85.

According to a statement from Culver’s agency, he passed away on February 27th. No cause of death has been revealed.

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” Alliance Agents shared in a statement also noting his “career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.

Culver played a small role as Captain Needa in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the 1980 film, the character goes to Darth Vader to take responsibility for failing to capture the rebels. After the scene cuts, Culver is seen falling to the floor after Vader uses the Force to choke the life out of him. “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader quips.

Born in London on June 16th,...

Star Wars actor Michael Culver has died aged 85.

The British actor played a small but famous role in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back as Captain Needa, whose failure to capture the fleeing Millennium Falcon results in Darth Vader force-choking him to death aboard a Star Destroyer.

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver,” said his agency, Alliance Agents, in a statement reported by several websites. The actor passed away on February 27, Alliance Agents added.

The agency noted Culver’s was “a career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise.”

Culver had largely stopped acting in the early 2000s to concentrate on political activism, unusually becoming more outspoken as he got older. He was a major...

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