David Prowse was British national bodybuilding champion for three consecutive years (1962, 1963 and 1964) then deciding to try the road of cinema first with some uncredited appearances in 1967 in Frankenstein's Creation (not that of Eon Productions) and Casino Royale of the James Bond saga. The first major role dates back to 1971 when he plays Julian in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.
In 1975 he was chosen to play Green Cross Code Man, a superhero who taught children road safety. This role accompanied him, in various forms, until 1990 and earned him the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.
It was obviously his powerful physique and grandeur that convinced George Lucas to make him impersonate Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy or A New Hope in 1977, The Empire Strikes Again in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983.
Among the first two films in the Star Wars saga, Prowse was one of the screened actors for Superman, Richard Donner's 1978 film. As we all know he was not chosen for the part that went to the late Christopher Reeve but he worked on the film anyway. Thanks to his past as a bodybuilder, Prowse was in fact hired as the personal trainer of the young actor who needed to gain weight and muscle mass to be credible.
Prowse's last appearance before he retired for health reasons was in 2017. It was a cameo in the video for Jayce Lewis's song Shields.