Who did Michael Culver play in Star Wars? Character explored as the talented star dies aged 85

Michael Culver, who starred in the famous Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, in 1980, died on February 27 at the age of 85. As per his agency, he had terrible health for years, however, the cause of his death is still unknown.

His representative stated the British actor's passing on Wednesday, March 13. The statement said,

“We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver. 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.”

The role of Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back made Culver most famous. Darth Vader, the villain in the movie ultimately sent Captain Lorth Needa to his death.

He also landed two-bit parts in James Bond films. In his later years, he became a political activist.

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Michael Culver was most famous for playing the character of Captain Needa

Actor Michael Culver, born in Britain, made two appearances in James Bond flicks without a credit. He played a man in a punt in From Russia With Love (1963), and in Thunderball (1965), he played the co-pilot of an Avro Vulcan (Callsign Ramjet MBX-79).

In addition, he played a significant role as a prejudiced police inspector in A Passage to India (1984) and as Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He also made a cameo appearance in Wallander's inaugural episode, Sidetracked, in 2008. In the 2003 premiere of New Tricks, Culver played a dishonest dinosaur investigator.

Michael Culver's character, Lorth Needa, was a male human who served as the captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger after being appointed lieutenant commander of a Carrack-class light cruiser in The Empire Strikes Back.

Needa fought numerous Rebel transports that were leaving during the conflict. Nevertheless, the chase of one of them—Captain Han Solo's Millennium Falcon—proved to be his downfall in the end.

The Falcon was in the Avenger's sights after a protracted pursuit, when Solo abruptly altered direction and rushed the Star Destroyer's bridge before vanishing from its sensors.

Needa accepted responsibility for the incident and personally apologized to Vader, who killed him as retaliation for losing the ship, even though he had no idea how the Falcon might have escaped him.

On an Imperial 2-Class Star Destroyer, Captain Needa was seen in command. One of the heroes with one of these ships, Needa, was among the most potent.

In the end, Darth Vader used telekinetic strangulation to kill Needa. Eventually, the Millennium Falcon returned, realizing that the supposed cave it had been hiding in was actually the mouth of a massive space slug.

Rather than being just another one of Darth Vader's victims, his legacy ought to be that of a valiant soldier who stood his ground in the face of terror.

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As per Radio Times, in a statement, his representatives verified his demise, saying,

"We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver.”

On the other hand, The Irish Sun was provided with a statement that concluded,

"We worked with Michael just 3 weeks ago at his last home signing with our friends at Elite Signatures. Michael died on Tuesday 27th February at the age of 85. We miss him.”

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His family has not commented anything as of now.