David Prowse, the actor and bodybuilder who filled out Darth Vader’s tall frame in the original “Star Wars” trilogy has died at the age of 85.

Although James Earl Jones provided the voice for the space villain, it was Prowse’s 6-foot-7-inch frame that hid beneath Vader’s armor while he matched lightsabers with his son Luke Skywalker.

The actor’s lines were dubbed because of his Bristol, England accent.

Mark Hamill, who played Skywalker, shared a tribute to Prowse in a Twitter post early today.

“So sad to hear David Prowse has passed,” Hamill wrote. “He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him.”

Prowse was famous across the pond for playing Britain’s Green Cross Code Man, a character created in the 1970s to teach children about road safety. In 2000, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his service in that role.