Signed in person at San Diego Comic-Con, 2002

Mark Hamill Luke Skywalker

On his screen test for "Star Wars": "Nobody saw a script until later when I did a screen test, then they sent me four, maybe five pages of scenes, and no character description. I just had to pretty much play it neutral; play it the way I would react to that situation, which would work out fine. When I finally tested for the role, it was with an actor named Harrison Ford. Harrison had tested with a few other people, and maybe George was leaning toward them, I didn't know, but he had worked with George before In American Grafitti. I was really nervous. This was a screen test with George Lucas and I was all, 'Yes sir,' 'No sir,' and Harrison was all, 'Aw shit, George, let's get this fuckin' thing over with and let's get the hell outta here!' I was really shocked that he was talking to George that way, you know what I mean?" Memories playing Luke in "Star Wars": From Empire Building: The Remarkable Real Life Story of Star Wars: (Mark) Hamill had been given little instruction by (George) Lucas before the first day's filming, but that was hardly surprising since, in essence, he had hired the leading trio to play themselves. Hamill's only cue came when, during an early take, he tried imitating his insular, soft-spoken director. "I did it just like I thought George would react in the scene," said Hamill, who had expected a rebuke. Instead Lucas muttered: "Cut. Perfect." "I was flabbergasted. I thought, 'Oh, I see, of course, Luke is George.'" For the remainder of the film Hamill was as relieved as he was mildly unsettled. "I began to really feel like I was playing George." "Nobody thinks I'm acting. I'm just setting up jokes for the robots," an exasperated Hamill complained at one point. "Be philosophical," (Alec) Guinness soothed. "Nothing makes any sense in this business." Comparing lines became the subject of gallows humor on-set. Reading their script on the drive to a Tunisian set one morning, Anthony Daniels had turned to Mark Hamill laughing. "How can you say this?" he asked. Knowing Daniels had not seen his new lines, Hamill replied: "You think that's bad, look at your line. 'Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough.' How can you say that?" "Because I've got a mask one and none of my friends know I'm in there," the Briton replied. From Skywalking: The Life and Times of George Lucas, the Creator of Star Wars: (Mark) Hamill remembers a scene in the Millennium Falcon with Luke, Ben, Han, and the robots. "Everybody got all their lines right, which is hard, and then the scene's over and we look out. George was on a crane and said, 'Uh...let's do it again, only this time...do it better.'" "The art director is fantastic in the film; the look of the costumes and everything is great! I wear a tunic, a Samurai-type tunic. You throw my poncho over it and immediately it switches from Oriental to a Western or Spanish look. For a while they were trying to get me a huge brimmed hat, I mean it was gigantic, turned up like maybe like I'd wear it in the sun. Fortunately, they decided against it because it looked so damned silly." Time spent on the set playing Luke: Unknown Other characters played: None Other actors who portrayed Luke: Colin Skeaping, ESB fight sequence Source: "THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM TROOPERS" by James Van Hise, 1977

Links: International Mark Hamill Fan Club The Unofficial Mark Hamill Page

Home