Declan Mulholland was born 6 December, 1932 in Belfast. He is an Irish actor who played Jabba the Hutt in scenes cut from the 1977 release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
In Mulholland's scenes as Jabba, Jabba is represented as a rotund Human dressed in a shaggy fur coat. George Lucas has stated his intention was to use an alien creature for Jabba, but the special effects technology of the time was not up to the task of replacing Mulholland. In 1997, the "Special Edition" re-releases restored and altered the original scene to include a computer-generated portrayal of Jabba.
Pablo Hidalgo used Mulholland's appearance as the basis for Opun Mcgrrrr in his short story, "Spare Parts".
Although his most famous role was left on the cutting room floor, Mulholland had a long and varied career as an actor, amassing over fifty credits in movies and on British television between 1962 and 1997 like Casualty, The Bill, Lovejoy and Father Ted.
Mulholland appeared alongside Star Wars actors Jack Purvis and Kenny Baker in the movie Time Bandit. In this movie, his costume is almost exactly the same as the costume he wore as "Jabba."
Sadly, Mullholland died on 29 June 1999 at his home in London following a fatal heart attack.