Mark Interviews 2000+

Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill enters with flare, a big smile and high energy. He tells stories with fervor, nudging and grabbing those sitting in proximity (yours truly included). He amuses us with a hauntingly accurate Harrison Ford impersonation.

How many offers do you get to send up the Luke Skywalker character?

With an alarming frequency, actually. I probably should avoid those, because it's so hard to judge in advance how it's all going to come together. I recall when Mel Brooks was getting Space Balls together ... I knew he was going to call and I love Mel Brooks so much I was kind of surprised that he didn't.

You have to be very careful, when you're involved in something that's of cult status. It's from the people it comes; it's nothing you can manufacture. I love the fans, but the questions these people have!!! 'Your father was a navigator, when he made the Kessel run, did he ever stop by the university where Chewie went to college?" It's astonishing and I should know better, I have certain elements of my life that I obsess on. I mean, take the Beatles, comic books, cartoons, etc.

Any advice for your fans?

I must be the king of bad advice, because when George said he was going to re-release the STAR WARS series, I said, 'Don't just put glitter and stars on the old ones, make new ones! You got 'em all on video tape -- we've seen them a million times.' And of course, I was wrong, everyone wanted to see them again.

Also, Arnold Schwarzenegger once asked for advice and I said, 'Really? Try and lose your accent because it's going to be a hindrance rather than a help. And your name is absolutely unpronounceable. I'm just being nice. I mean, ... please.' Cut to three years later, I'm, you know, at the unemployment office reading about Arnold getting $600 million for his next movie.

Everyone's walking on marshmallows around George. And George is such a regular fun guy. He almost has to be rescued and deprogrammed, because he's so insulated in Skywalker Ranch surrounded by people that, you know, think of him as some sort of deity. But that's not healthy, though, because you're not out with the real people and you don't have the pulse of what's going on.

But don't people think of you as a deity/hero in a way?

Oh, please, I'm no hero, I wish I was ... I don't even like to fly.

Ross Anthony's Hollywood Card, July 2001