Mark Interviews 1980+

Farewell, Luke Skywalker

A young actor bids adieu to friends, enemies and Darth Vader as he enters his final battle as a Star Warrior.

Perhaps no sequel in the motion picture history has been as eagerly awaited as Return of the Jedi. Far more than a mere follow-up to an already established success, it provides the finale to the variety of dangling plot threads which have kept audiences bewitched, bothered and excited for six suspenseful years. Given such high anticipation, though, is it possible for everyone to be satisfied with the on-screen results?

"I know there'll be people who'll be disappointed," admits core cast member Mark Hamill. "With everything that's been set up, you can't bring the trilogy to a conclusion without disappointing some people. However, I'm sure many others will be surprised and pleased."

Sitting in his Chicago apartment, a temporary residence during his tenure in the national touring company of the hit play Amadeus, the 31-year-old actor is cautious in predicting the public's reaction to the new film. "I don't think this chapter will confound and confuse them," he says. "It's the logical resolution to what has gone before. It's very traditional storytelling. It's not meant to have an O. Henry type of twist."

"The trilogy is structured as a fairy tale set to a classical three-act play. STAR WARS was act one. It introduced the characters. The Empire Strikes Back was act two. It developed the characters and gave them problems, with tragic overtones. Jedi is act three. It's the big finish, and everything is brought to end. For the most part, I'm very pleased with what they've come up with for this finale."

Even if Hamill hadn't been satisfied, there was little chance he would turn down the opportunity to reprise his Luke Skywalker portrayal one last time. When he originally signed for STAR WARS, the young actor also committed himself to two further sequels without knowing their content—an act of faith in producer George Lucas. Possibly because his participation was guaranteed, he wasn't permitted to read the Jedi screenplay until shortly before shooting began.

"I don't feel I was left out because the actors were kept at bay," Hamill maintains. "There were changes which had to be made for logistical and financial reasons, so letting us in too early would have just complicated matters."

Fake Jedi

While awaiting the script, Hamill took advantage of an invitation to meet Richard Marquand (Starlog #71). "I liked him from the start," he declared. "We discussed everything, from what we thought was going to happen to what we wanted to see happen. He was very enthusiastic and delighted at the prospect of making the movie. His energy matched my own enthusiasm for finishing the trilogy. I was also heartened by the fact that he had been an actor, so he knew the kinds of problems we would encounter on a film of this nature. He was able to communicate in a way which was very helpful."

According to Hamill, Marquand was selected for the assignment only after David (The Elephant Man) Lynch removed himself from consideration. "Part of the deal was knowing it wasn't a picture unto itself, but rather one that had to fit into a context," Hamill points out. "David decided he didn't want to do a George Lucas movie, because he felt he couldn't be constantly answering to another producer. George didn't want to restrict someone that original, so they came to an amiable parting of the ways. Ironically, David left to make Dune for Dino De Laurentis. Everybody warned him about it, but I guess he felt that was a project he could start and finish."

When he finally did read the Jedi screenplay, Hamill discovered it wasn't completely accurate. "It told the story from start to finish, but as with the Empire script, it contained several 'false scenes,'" he states. "They were substituted for key scenes which we weren't given until much later in the production. This plan was organized to prevent crucial information from leaking to the press and public, as happened with Empire."

"During Empire's shooting in England, for example, it was rumored that Obi-Wan killed Luke's father, and that Luke cut off Darth Vader's head. What happened was that someone in the cast or crew read those scenes, didn't know they were deliberately false, and spilled the beans. I imagine some British reporter, too, this person into a pub, bought him a few drinks and slipped him some money."

"As soon as I was given the Jedi script, I was told which scenes were false. There were more of them than in Empire. And they were only willing to tell me that in person, rather than over the phone or in a letter. I felt like Boris Badenov in Rocky and Bullwinkle, but it was all part of the fun. It set me thinking about what the real scenes could be."

Hamill's guesses proved basically accurate. "There were three major false scenes," he recounts. "The way they were written and whom they involved indicated where they were going. I got two of them right, and one was a surprise to me. The biggest surprise was that all the pieces to the puzzle were present. Like many people, I was looking for something left out of field, but everything was really set up in the first two pictures. It all had a purpose, so nothing was arbitrary."

Such careful planning became even more apparent to Hamill when he expressed his dissatisfaction with a particular element in the screenplay. "At first, I felt one of the plot developments was too obvious and conventional," he says. "Then, I realized you must take into account the trilogy which comes before and the trilogy which comes after this one. If you eventually see the first three films and then STAR WARS, Empire, and Jedi, that aspect will fit in much better. That's how it should be with a small part of a large story. You must consider it within its context."

Although director Marquand actively solicited creative contributions from his cast, Hamill was determined to remain discreet about offering suggestions. "I didn't want to perform major surgery," he insists. "It was all fine tuning. You see what the scene wants to accomplish and then, it's your job to do it in a way that's comfortable for you and everyone else. There were certain choices I wanted explained to me. But it's really George Lucas' baby, and he and his people have been very conscientious in staying true to his basic concept."

Empire Torture

To his relief, Mark Hamill found that he enjoyed the production of Return of the Jedi far more than the making of The Empire Strikes Back. "I knew going in that this film was the last one, so I didn't take it for granted," he remarks. "On the other hand, Empire seemed like nine months of torture to me. I really got the stuffing kicked out of me in that movie. I'm supposed to be an actor, not a stuntman. And, because of the mechanical problems with Yoda, I was the only human being listed on the call sheet for months. Everything else was puppets, props and special effects."

Of course, Jedi also had more than its share of effects and problems. "So much of the acting in these movies has been technical," Hamill laments. "To the average viewer, it looks like all we do is show up and react. Still, the idea that people don't think we're doing anything is actually a compliment. As with a magician performing his tricks, it's all a matter of diversion. But, in many ways, these three motion pictures have been harder than anything I've ever done."

Among Hamill's greatest challenges on the Jedi shoot were the sequences which required him to act backwards. "You must think out the shot in advance and perform it in reverse, so that when it's projected, you get the opposite effect," he explains. "For instance, there were scenes in which my lightsaber had to jump into my hand. To accomplish that action, I had to enter the shot as though I was exiting it, with my final mood intact. Then, I had to make an abrupt move into calmness, put my hand up and throw my sword away."

"It was very difficult to coordinate. I had to go over to a corner, close my eyes and think for a moment, because it didn't come naturally. It was very much like mime."

Once again, Hamill was presented with the problem of acting opposite special effects which weren't always there, most notably in a scene involving a creature who didn't fully show up on screen until post-production. "In shooting that sequence, one of my biggest acting dreams came true," he laughs. "I actually got to be held in a giant rubber hand."

"We had the same script girl as Raiders of the Lost Ark, and she said we beat Steven Spielberg's record for the number of camera set-ups in one day. We worked until 9 PM, which is outrageous in England, since they always stop at 5 PM."

"I was on a rostrum, and was held up by a crane. They fitted the claws around my middle, and then, I pushed off from the rostrum. It was all controlled, but after what I went through on Empire—hanging 60 feet above the floor with mattresses below me and wind machines blowing—nothing could faze me."

For the shots of Skywalker in close combat with the creature, Hamill had to carefully coordinate his body movements with the actions of the monster who would be matted in later by Lucasfilms' special-effects subsidiary, Industrial Light and Magic. "They had cut-out the size of the creature for lighting purposes, and to give me an eye line," Hamill explains. "Then, they pulled it out, and I mimed my reaction to how I thought the monster would be moving. At one point, they had a stick for me to work opposite, but I didn't think it matched so I took it out. I did a couple of takes with my eyes following the creature's darting movements, and they liked that idea."

"They pretty much knew what they needed, but we gave them some alternate takes in case they wanted to change their minds. Fortunately, they let me fraternize with special effects technicians like Dennis Muren and Richard Edlund, so we each knew what the other was doing."

Darth Vader Secrets

More dangerous for the young actor were his fight scenes with the evil Darth Vader, in the course of which he worked with five different stuntmen—none of whom was David Prowse. "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting," Hamill reveals. "It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn't think it was fair anymore. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to try to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."

"As a matter of fact, when I shot the fight scene with Darth Vader for Empire, Dave was in America with Tony Daniels touring science-fiction conventions promoting the re-release of STAR WARS. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but he had the double disadvantage of not being a professional fencer and having to work with a mask on."

"From the standpoint of my own safety, a more proficient swordsman would make me look better. Also, it was easier to substitute a trained stuntman for Vader than to make an over-the-head Mark Hamill mask for a stuntman to wear, something which would look convincing on camera—although God knows there were times I wished they had tried."

Despite the stuntman substitution, Hamill was persuaded to pose for publicity photos with Prowse in the rehearsal hall. "I thought that was nonsense," he charges. "They had us pose in rehearsal clothes with our swords crossed. I had actually been rehearsing all morning with the 'real' Vader, and then, Dave just came in for the photo session."

"I don't want to hurt his feelings, though, because Dave is a very sweet man. He has a real presence, and he walks well. He has every right to be proud of contributing to the STAR WARS films. But the truth is: he wasn't able to do the kind of swordfighting necessary. For the most part, I worked with Bob Anderson."

Indeed, Hamill became so adept at performing his own stunts that he was inducted into the British stuntman's union. "I'm very proud of that honor," he comments. "England is different from America. Here, they'll give you a belt buckle at the drop of a hat, but the British are more conservative in such matters. I did all my own stunts in Jedi. I also did all my own stunts in Empire, except for the shot of Luke going through the window—which they showed on the TV special, naturally."

Besides preferring the production of Jedi to the Empire shoot, Hamill also had more rapport with director Richard Marquand than with his predecessor, Irvin Kershner (Starlog #34). "Overall, I probably had more differences of opinion with Kersh," he discloses. "I liked his work, but he was an eccentric guy. I didn't find that to be a problem, but sometimes it was more difficult to get across what I was trying to say. He was very preoccupied, so I had to grab him by his collar and look him in the eyes to get his attention."

"Kersh also changed his mind frequently, particularly with camera set-ups. For example, we would rehearse a set-up for the next morning, but the odds were by that time, the shot would change. Usually, it would be a better shot, but if they had let him, he would have changed it again."

"By contrast, Jedi was more of a return to the 'smash-and-grab' technique, which I think worked very well in STAR WARS and Raiders. You make do with what you have, and a certain kinetic energy emerges which sets up a rhythm that works."

Hamill also appreciated the increased participation of George Lucas during the lensing of Jedi. "George came over to England and was involved with production meetings and seeing rushes every day," he recalls. "On the set, he was more vocal regarding technical matters, such as the choice of lenses. Occasionally, he would come up with a more economical way to shoot something."

"All of his input came within the bounds of good taste. He avoided making Richard feel like he wasn't the captain of the ship—which he was. Actually, George was almost a second-unit director. I shot second unit with him quite often, whereas he didn't do that even once in Empire."

Consequently, Return of the Jedi was a far more efficient production. "Empire went about $6 million over budget and 10 weeks over schedule," Hamill reports, "which drove George crazy, because he doesn't like to see waste. On the other hand, Jedi came on schedule in about for months."

Nevertheless, certain footage proved unsatisfactory, requiring reshooting several months after the completion of principal photography. "There was a sandstorm sequence which we did during our first three days of filming which was later dropped," Hamill remembers. "They thought it was too chaotic looking and intense for the picture's pace. All they wanted was to get some information across, which they decided I could more easily accomplish over the intercom in my X-wing. So, I flew up to George's studio after my Sunday night performance of Amadeus in Los Angeles, shot all day Monday, and then flew back to do the play on Tuesday."

"I wish they had realized that in the beginning, because it was really torturous shooting the sandstorm scene. They threw fuller's earth in front of big fans, and it got in my eyes and nose. It was awful."

STAR WARS Endings

Closing the most important chapter of his professional life with Jedi's release, Hamill considers the changes which unprecedented success has brought to his friend George Lucas. "George is much more open than he used to be," he observes. "That's also a matter of my getting to know him better and feeling more comfortable with him. I don't think he has outwardly changed. He has never been a materialistic person about cars or clothes."

"His daughter, Amanda, has actually changed him more than any of the movies' successes. As busy as he is, he always sees her every day. It's fun to see him so happy. Most of the time during STAR WARS, he wasn't happy. Basically, his success has given him confidence."

Success has likewise conferred increased confidence and true stardom on Hamill and his co-stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher (Starlog #71). More importantly, it has given them financial security—and the creative freedom which accompanies it. "We get many job offers which are respectable in terms of salary but aren't intrinsically worthwhile," Hamill complains. "We don't want to abuse what STAR WARS has given us, so we would rather not work than do projects which aren't up to our standards. We no longer feel we have to keep working just to be working."

For his part, Hamill believes he has grown as an actor during his seven-year relationship with Luke Skywalker and friends. "I do feel older and wiser," he chuckles. "As you grow older, you have more life experience to draw on, and that makes you a more complete actor. I know my stage work has given me a great deal of confidence. I've had to audition for stage roles, and I think I got those parts because of my ability, rather than from my association with STAR WARS."

As he prepares to leave for the theater and an evening performance of Amadeus, Mark Hamill pauses to reflect on the great expectations he and the audience hold for Return of the Jedi. "I love the film," he emphasizes. "I think it's the best of the three. But that's also how I felt about The Empire Strikes Back. Jedi is even more satisfying, because it's like finally hearing the other shoe drop. It's the punch line that has been coming for six years. To me, it's as satisfying as the end of Robin Hood. But I temper my judgment, because who can predict what the public will think?"

"I'm often taken aback by the intensity with which some people relate to the STAR WARS saga. I see it in fan letters, and from kids who wait for me at the stage door. These pictures are only meant to be diverting entertainment. They shouldn't have any more weight than a really good Looney Tune cartoon. When you get right down to it, Return of the Jedi is only a good movie—it's not the tablet from the mountain."

Starlog #72, July 1983