When the supporting roles for Episode III were still being cast, Duncan Young tried out for one of the smaller parts, but didn't get it. Casting Director Christine King had worked with Young before, and did find a place for the actor. Rather than playing just one role, he'll now play several, though it's quite possible he won't be seen or heard in the finished film.
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Young is now part of the crew, working as the off-screen reader for many of the digital characters in the film. "I've done mostly Yoda so far, and some off-screen dialogue for characters that are speaking over intercoms and radios and things like that," he explains.
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For his part, it's not important that Young sounds like the characters. It won't be his voice used in the finished film. It's the on-set performance that matters. "I'm not much of a Frank Oz impersonator, so I don't even attempt that," he says. "It's more getting the rhythms right. [Animation Supervisor] Rob Coleman has spoken to me in great detail. For him, it's getting the timing right, so that when Frank comes in to do it, it slots in seamlessly. I think the brief is to err on the side of slower, so he has plenty of room to color and massage it."
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Even though he won't appear on screen, Young did have to undergo makeup and wardrobe for one of his first days of shooting. The tall performer matches Jimmy Smits in height, and was a suitable substitute for one scene for which the real Bail Organa wasn't available. "Jimmy Smits wasn't in Australia, and they needed to shoot that scene because the set was built and it was going to be taken down," Young says. "So, I stood in and got the wig and the beard on. Of course, in the final product, they'll erase me out and put the real deal in."