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If you've thought about them at all, you either assumed they were professional actors/extras hired by the studio, or that they popped out of a cloning vat in George Lucas' basement.

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You're half right: They're not clones, but Lucas totally has one of those vats.

The reality is actually more interesting. Those Stormtroopers, like our source Brian, are part of the 501st Legion, a fan-run costuming conglomerate that Lucasfilm rings up whenever they need to produce an imperial butt-ton of walking, talking Star Wars villains. Mentions of the 501st Legion in Star Wars media such as the Clone Wars TV series are actually a "wink wink, nudge nudge" to the organization, which was created under that name in 1997 and today has over 8,000 active members in more than 100 "garrisons," from Alabama to Slovakia.

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And, keep in mind, each of those people has likely poured thousands of dollars into their costumes. "At the high end," says Brian, "you have costumes such as Boba Fett and Darth Vader, which can run upwards of $5,000, are very complex, and which sometimes take years to locate the correct parts." What, you thought you could rent film-quality gear from a costume shop? Oh, no -- if you're joining the Legion, you're taking on a part-time job that will consume a significant part of your life.