Mark Hamill Never Thought Star Wars Would Be Successful

Make a wish; you may get a chance to meet the man who made the Force. But as for who’s in the movie …

“I didn’t expect it [Star Wars] to be a critical success,” Mark Hamill tells Reddit, in an AMA. Cult status, sure, midnight movie showings, absolutely, but anything beyond that seemed impossible, in the galaxy far, far away that was 1977. “I thought it would be popular but never thought it would be on the cover of Time magazine.”

As for being famous, Hamill still can’t wrap his head around that, even after all this time. In his head, he’s still the guy who wasn’t sure he was going to be an actor. “Luke is immortal and I’m just an actor who got the honor to play him,” is his take on what’s happened so far.

But if you’re wondering who’s in that movie, either Hamill really doesn’t know, or he’s got too much hero in him to let important secrets like that slip. The only character he knows for sure is returning for the sequel is R2-D2. “He hasn’t stopped beeping about it.”

Villains are a lot more fun to play, says Hamill, who had his eye on Darth Vader’s part, in a wistful its-never-gonna-happen kind of way back in 1977. That was one of the reasons he went for the Joker role – comic fanboy that he is – but he never figured the producers would take the guy who played Skywalker seriously. The galaxy’s greatest hero playing Gotham’s most evil villain? Never.

“I felt cocky when I left [the audtion] and thought ‘That’s the best Joker they are every going to hear – too bad they can’t hire me.’ And then two weeks later when they called and said I got the job I immediately lost my confidence.” Standout memory of the Joker? His a capella Only You, which most of you probably remember from Arkham City.

Hamill decided to leap into Reddit before the launch of the Star Wars movie to promote a project of his own: a make-a-wish drive. The winner gets to meet George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch, and then head out to Nerdist Studios to spend some time with Hamill. $10 a pop, minimum, but it’s a great charity and worth supporting.

Source: Reddit Hamill AMA