Drewe Henley


Drewe Henley was an English actor. He had a variety of roles in film, television and theatre including as Red X-Wing Squadron Leader Garven Dreis in . He retired from acting due to bipolar disorder. He was married to Felicity Kendal, with whom he had a son.

Career

Henley appeared in a number of film, television and theatre productions. These included episodes of Z-Cars, UFO, The Avengers and Randall and Hopkirk and a three-week run of Henry V in 1968 in which he played the lead role.
He is best known for his role as X-Wing pilot "Red Leader" in the film , a role for which he was mistakenly credited as "Drewe Hemley". Henley used an American accent for the part; the role had limited physical movement as Henley's character remained in the cockpit for much of the film which Henley found difficult. Unlike many of the actors in the first released film in the series, Henley's performance was not dubbed in post-production. Henley interpreted his character as an experienced battle veteran and so opted to play him without any excitement in his voice. Director George Lucas disagreed with this so they compromised so that Red Leader would at first be formal but as the battle progressed become more excited.
The performance was Henley's final one on film, as he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, then known as manic depression, shortly after completing his part and retired from acting. When the Special Edition cut of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released in 1997 it featured an additional scene of Henley in which he talked with Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter. Henley was pleased with the scene's addition, although his credit was not corrected.

Personal life

He was married to the actress Jacqueline Pearce for three and a half years from 1963 until they divorced. He married the actress Felicity Kendal in 1968 and they had one son, Charley, a special effects technician. They divorced in 1979 after he became manic depressive. According to an interview with Kendal in 2000, Henley had become a "former" manic depressive. Henley and his illness were discussed in her autobiography White Cargo. He and his third wife Lyn Henley ran a bed and breakfast in Devon, and they were married until her death in 2015.

Death

On Valentine's Day, 2016, he choked to death on a fish pie at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. He was 75 years old.
Henley posthumously reprised his role as Garven Dreis from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in the 2016 film via the use of archive footage. Previously unused audio was also used for some of his scenes.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1963Heavens Above!Doris' Boy FriendUncredited
1964Nothing But the BestDenis
1964633 SquadronThorUncredited
1965Operation CrossbowUncredited
1965The Alphabet MurdersBowling Alley AttendantUncredited
1966A Man for All SeasonsUncredited
1967The 25th HourCapt. Brunner
1968Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely DaughterClive
1970Hell BoatsSub. Lt. Johnson, R.N.
1970When Dinosaurs Ruled the EarthKhaku
1971Puppet on a ChainJimmy Duclos
1971Quest for LoveMan
1972FrenzyForensics technicianUncredited
1976The Seven-Per-Cent SolutionUncredited
1977Star WarsGarven Dreis Credited as Drewe Hemley
2016Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryGarven Dreis Archival footage, posthumous appearance

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1967The AvengersGroom1 episode
1967Wuthering HeightsEdgar Linton3 episodes
1968-69Z-CarsSteve Ritchie/Sgt. Walker3 episodes
1969UFO Capt. Steve Maddox1 episode
1970-71The DoctorsDr. David Owens6 episodes
1974The ProtectorsClarke1 episode
1975Hogg's BackWeight-lifter1 episode
1977Joe Ehrlich2 episodes