David Prowse, Darth Vader's actor dies at 85.

David Prowse, the 85-year-old British weightlifting champion and behind the Darth Vader mask, died today.

Confirming this, his management company shared the news of his death on social media and said "very sad and heartbreaking for us and millions of fans around the world."

Prowse wore the Darth Vader costume in the original Star Wars trilogy, while James Earl Jones provided the iconic voice of the villain.

David Prowse is also known for his role as a bodyguard in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Used to play Hawking monsters, Pruse portrayed Frankenstein's creature in three different films: Casino Royale, The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and The Monster from Hell. He also made a cameo as a Minotor on the popular British science fiction show Doctor Who. Prowse was known to children as the Green Cross Man, a spokesman for road safety in England. Prior to his work in film, Proves was a champion bodybuilder and fitness consultant. He owned three gyms in London and trained Christopher Reeve for his role as Superman.

Born in Bristol, England on July 1, 1935, Prowse was mistreated with knee tuberculosis and was forced to wear a leg splint for four years as a teenager. Yet he won the Mr. Universe Bodybuilding competition in 1960 and also captured the weightlifting championship.