The Stormtrooper that banged his head

[dufresne]

Just noticed that there are a few stormtroopers at C11 on the monday. If one of them was definitely the guilty party, he gets my tenner !

[Skylover]

according to convention-guests, no, but Michael Leader has done a signing as "The Stormtrooper that banged his head"

[swsigsuk]

Michael Leader was interviewed in The Sun, and in that article they claimed he was the one who banged his head. However, Leader has since claimed that that was a bit of journalistic license, and he doesn't remember banging his head.

 

Lightning Bear has also claimed to be that trooper. However, Mr. Bear's claims of what he did on the films have varied wildly over the years; each time I meet him (5 so far) he tells me a different story and denies his last one, so any claims he makes have to be taken with a pinch of salt. He is at least a tall chap, and has consistently claimed to be in that scene (although not always that trooper) since about 2000. Michael Leader is short.

 

I think the honest answer is we don't know, and probably never will. If you think about it, they probably shot that scene several times, with the head bump happening to occur on the take they ended up using. Since then all concerned have worked on innumerable other productions, and there was nothing to indicate Star Wars would become what it has. Would you remember banging your head 30 years ago?

 

However, if a fan asked you which one you were, probably the easiest one to identify (not to mention to make your autograph more saleable) is that trooper.