A Galaxy not so far away

Steven Burns, a security guard from Rhyl, north Wales, doubles up - sometimes he's Chewbacca, sometimes Han Solo Photograph: Steve Schofield

Andrew Robinson, revenue protection officer, Bristol, 40: "I was into Star Trek, and then I got into a group where Klingons act out battle scenes. My wife and I met at a convention. She was dressed as Dax and I was a Klingon. She started speaking in Klingon and I responded by reciting to her some Klingon poetry. We were married in costume - Dax and Worf. My son took a while to get used to the Klingon but my daughter loves it. It will be up to them whether or not they want to get into Star Trek." Photograph: Steve Schofield

Michael McNeil, psychiatric nurse, Wirral, 32: "I'm an AT-AT pilot like the ones featured in The Empire Strikes Back. My uniform was only cleared as being movie accurate in February. These are vacuum hoses on the side. I searched high and low for something the right size and then heard my mother-in-law was due to get rid of her Hoover. Everyone wants to be a stormtrooper but I'm too broad and I've got these big thighs. In any case, the stormtroopers were taken out by fuzzy bears." Photograph: Steve Schofield

Keith Carlos Batt (left), film extra and personal appearances, Luton: "I met Stuart many years ago at a Star Trek convention. His costume was phenomenal. When he told me he made it, I said to him, 'We need to talk.' We used to make costumes from PVC but now it's leather. It's amazing the reactions we get. Perhaps it's the warrior image. We both speak Klingon and it does allow for some excellent sayings. My favourite put-down in Klingon? 'Hab SoSlI' Quch.' Your mother has a smooth forehead." Photograph: Steve Schofield

'Jason' (or Captain Kirk), worked in advertising sales in Brighton Photograph: Steve Schofield

Chris Pearson, building surveyor, Middlesbrough, 29: "When Darth Vader appears, he fills the screen. I'm putting little speakers in the helmet to play MP3s to get the voice right. You need something booming. Children get up close and say, "Look, Darth has a beard." The beard is for when I dress as Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's an all-in-one suit with a fake leather codpiece with belt and cape. I can almost dress myself. Sometimes I get a stormtrooper to help." Photograph: Steve Schofield

Giles Aston, restaurateur, London, 43: “It's a quirk of fate. My hair started thinning at age 27 and one day I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘I look like Patrick Stewart.’ Which is not a bad thing since I've loved Star Trek for years. It started as a hobby, became a lifestyle and then a way of life. Now, along with a business partner who looks like another Star Trek captain, I'm opening a sci-fi restaurant in San José, California. It's called Captain's Table.” Photograph: Steve Schofield

Suzi Sterling, administrator, Gateshead, 29: “I am Princess Leia disguised as the Ubese bounty hunter Boushh at the beginning of Return Of The Jedi to get into Jabba's palace to rescue Han Solo. I remember playing out the scenes down the back lanes in Gateshead, calling the boys Luke and Han. I was Princess Leia, of course. I believe she's a good role model. I've got Star Wars tattoos. One arm is the dark side - Boba Fett and the other baddies - the other arm is for the Rebels.” Photograph: Steve Schofield

Nigel Jukes, Hartlepool, 39: “The facial prosthetic covers my whole head and comes with contact lenses and teeth blackener. When I first used it I didn't wear the blackener but ended up looking like Ross from Friends when he bleaches his teeth. I ordered monk's cloth from the US and had a dressmaker in Middlesbrough make my robe. I can't do the accent. It wouldn't sound right if the most evil figure in the universe had a voice from Hartlepool, but I can do both sides of the Force.” Photograph: Steve Schofield