Mark Hamill, the actor best known for his role as Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, wasn’t always convinced that playing the iconic character would help him be taken seriously as an actor. After playing Skywalker, Hamill pursued other characters in other mediums and, often he didn’t mention Star Wars in his credits. Fortunately, he had a colleague to give him a reality check every once in a while, and convince him to embrace his legacy in the Star Wars universe. Who was that? Well, none other than Princess Leia Organa herself, Carrie Fisher.
Hamill is currently promoting his latest performance in Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck, and he spoke about it to NPR on their podcast Fresh Air. The actor also reflected on his career and, of course, the sci-fi space opera Star Wars came up as his defining performance. “I didn’t read the whole script until I was given the part,” Hamill recalls about the audition process. “That’s something I’ll never forget, sitting down and reading that script and knowing that I had been cast. And even without John Williams’ music or the special effects or anything, it read like a dream.”
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iconic characters like The Mandalorian and Grand Admiral Thrawn appeared well after George Lucas formed the rest of the Star Wars universe.
Decades later, Hamill appears to have accepted his legacy in one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. However, he recalls the advice offered by co-star Carrie Fisher when he told her that he wanted a resume that extended beyond the Star Wars sequels. She was candid in her response, to say the least:
“She came to see a Broadway show of mine. And in the playbill, in my bio, I listed all my theater credits and at the end said, he’s also known for a series of popular space movies. And she goes, ‘What’s the deal? How come you don’t mention Star Wars?’ And I said, ‘Well, I want to focus – to show that I have a resume that includes extensive theater credits.’ And she said, ‘Hey, get over yourself. You’re Luke Skywalker. I’m Princess Leia. Embrace it.’ And I kind of saw what she meant, you know, because you say to yourself, what territory do I occupy that no one else does?”
Being Luke Skywalker in the Modern ‘Star Wars’ Era
Hamill is seeing a sort of renaissance in his career. Not only is he starring in Flanagan’s new film, but later in the year, he will return in another Stephen King movie to play a ruthless villain figure in the big screen adaptation of The Long Walk. When it comes to a possible further return to the Star Wars franchise, though, he suggested that his time has passed, and the franchise needs to move forward:
“The disconnect between the current fans and myself is that, for me, I had my time. And I appreciate it. And I’m always grateful for George for letting me be a part of it. But it’s over. I mean, as an actor, you finish the job, you go onto the next job. You don’t hang onto the prior job. So I always have to really make an adjustment when I’m talking to fans where it’s very much in the present, it’s very much about the future, which is fine, you know?
“I mean, if it weren’t for the fans, I wouldn’t be here. And so I’m grateful to them. They know details I have never heard of. Somebody was asking me about, well, ‘When you went to the Wookiees’ home planet’ – and I said, ‘Wait a minute. Did we go to the Wookiees’ home planet?’ ‘Oh, well, in, you know’ – and they’ll tell me what novel it was in. And I don’t read any of the supplemental material. Like I say, it was an important part of my life that’s now over.”
Source: NPR
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
