Mark Interviews 2000+
A Conversation with a former Tatooine Farmboy
For countless fans across the galaxy, Mark Hamill always will be Luke Skywalker.
But after two decades of other work including Broadway, directing and animation, the 53-year-old actor said he is at peace with
his eternal image as the naive farmboy who longed for adventure and found the Force.
"I put it in perspective so solidly in my own life," he said. "I don't drag the wagonload of
STAR WARS around with me in my daily life."
Hamill, who was born in Oakland but moved frequently growing up — has been married for 26 years. He and his wife have children ages 25, 22 and
16. He is working on an animated series loosely based on his childhood days in New York.
Hamill sat down for an interview Friday before his appearance at the Modesto première of STAR WARS Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.
Did you feel closure watching Revenge of the Sith?
I can't see anybody being disappointed. It brings everything full circle and is a spectacular and fitting finale.
When you were filming the original trilogy, did you know the Darth Vader back story?
They told me right before Empire. I had to keep the secret … that was hard. Even my wife, my fellow actors, didn't
know that the line that was recorded on set, "You don't know the truth, Obi-Wan killed your father," was phony.
What is it about the films that has kept the level of adulation so high for some 30 years?
It aims directly at the very soul and psyche of your inner child, regardless of what age you are. It filled a vacuum in our
society in the sense that we'd grown so sophisticated and cynical post-Watergate, post-Vietnam, that we only could relate to
anti-heroes. And I think George (Lucas) thought wouldn't it be great to go back to the days of his youth — the period in time in pop
culture when good guys wore white.
Do you mind being forever seen as Luke Skywalker?
I didn't set out to be recognized — that was not what motivated me. I thought I was lucky when I was on a soap opera, on a
TV series and doing TV movies and nobody knew who I was. I was getting paid to pretend.
Has the frenzy around this final film been surprising?
I was surprised at the pressure to become involved. Last year I had Comic Book: The Movie, which I directed and co-wrote.
Being a no-budget, I was chomping at the bit to get out there and talk about it on late-night TV. But I couldn't get on those shows. Now all of those
people want me to come onto those shows for something I really didn't have anything to do with, other than being a fan and a supporter of George's.
So does that bother you?
I can't say that doesn't become frustrating. But I put it in perspective. I am always pinching myself. I say, to be the age I am and still
working on video games, cartoons, comic books, comedy movies, directing commercials, doing Broadway — I feel like I am so lucky.