After filming in serials and advertising dog food, actor Mark Hamill suddenly became the idol of millions, when he played Luke Skywalker 40 years ago in the cult star saga. And now - a triumphant return in the movie "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". About his new work, children and Carrie Fisher Hamill told Telenedely.
Nobody put Mark to me, they say, when they called you back to "Star Wars", they set the condition: to lose 23 kilograms. What other sacrifices did you have to go to return to the distant, distant galaxy?.
Well, nobody put any conditions on me. They said only that it would be nice to go on a diet and practice a little. So, before I started working on the film, I weighed 85 kg, and a year later 63. I lost 18 kg! The main thing in my diet was to avoid sugar and dairy products - I confess honestly, at times I was oh, how hard it was! Do you know what I call this diet? "If it seems to you that it is delicious, then it is impossible". Here's my diet.
How did the family react to your return to the saga?.
The eldest son was just happy - he is an ardent fan of "Star Wars". The younger is more fond of gloomy films: he is given to filmmakers David Cronenberg and Wim Wenders. Of course, I also like the tapes with my participation, but in a certain "dosage". And the daughter of Chelsea was my personal assistant, so she really worked in this picture. I understood that if they start shooting new "Star Wars", then we will all be called there, as it was in the prequels ("Episode I. The Hidden Menace "," Episode II. Attack of the Clones "," Episode III. Revenge of the Sith "). But this time I got much more pleasure from work than then: better understanding the process, I enjoyed it as I could not in my youth.
I loved her as a sister. Well, if you talk about your other family - from the set - with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher have been maintaining relationships all these years?.
Of course, we were connected, even if we did not see each other for a long time. Every time they met, it seemed that there was no break - Harrison and Carrie knew what to expect from me, and I knew what to expect from them! I, frankly, was a little upset when on the seventh episode I had to look at their work from outside, not being able to join. Well, now, because of the development of the plot, I will not be able to work with Harrison any more!.
And then we lost Carrie (the actress who played the princess Leia, died on December 27, 2016. - Prim. red. This shocked everyone. But Carrie played amazingly in "The Last Jedi"! You know, she's still alive in my heart, I do not even think about her in the past tense. We always had fun, we had a very trusting relationship. You know, Carrie was very suspicious of strangers. In public, she always wanted to look cynical and strong, and in real life was very vulnerable. In the shower she remained a little girl ... On the screen we played a brother and sister, but in life I loved her as a sister. True, we also swore like a real brother and sister! At the same time, they defended each other. I am very grateful to her for everything and try not to be angry with the fact that she is no longer with us ... And on a visit to each other went? You're still living in a house in Malibu, bought for a fee for the first "Star Wars"?.
Yes, of course, my daughter Chelsea is friends with Billy Lourdes, Carrie's daughter. It's good that Billy also plays in "Star Wars". I see in her so much from her wonderful mother ... In the beginning was Han Solo Remember how everything started for you 40 years ago.
It was an opening casting: you come to audition, but do not read the script. People look at you from the point of view of physical data, they talk, sometimes they interview. If you approach the age and physical training, then you get on the list, and then, maybe, you will be given to read the scene and once appeared in front of the camera with Harrison Ford. I remember he spent the whole day trying all the actors: Luke number one, Luke number two, Luke number three ... I suspect that at that time he himself had not yet received the role of Khan Sol. I think it all happened like this: George Lucas is so used to seeing Harrison in this image on the test, that he did not even think of looking for another actor. Here is our Han Solo - all this time was before my eyes! In short, the most common casting. But I was not allowed to read the whole script, only one passage. And I just could not understand what it was. Satire? Parody? Comedy? How to play it - seriously or detached? And, perhaps, the best that I did then - played Luke honest and sincere. Harrison, more precisely Han Solo, - that's who the cynic, that's who always mocks the Force, who always says that it's a bunch of witches and garbage. Well, Luke is full of enthusiasm and faith that all this is the present.
Honestly, when I was approved and sent the script, I was delighted. Even without the music of John Williams and without the tremendous special effects, I saw it all before me - the heroes and fantastic creatures jumped from the pages as living. For me it was not so much science fiction as a fairy tale - there was a wizard and a guy from a farm, and a princess, a space pirate, and robots who quarreled among themselves, figuring out where someone was guilty, where's whose fault.
It reminded me of so many films that I saw before - both "Robin Hood" and pictures about World War II ... I was excited: "Oh my God, here are flying cars, can I take a lead? Can I get a lightsaber? And can I robot? "It was a dream in reality - I still see it, I do not want to and I can not wake up.
The best time of life Did you already know that the film would be so successful?.
Oh no! I, of course, understood that he would become popular. Usually in science fiction everything is dry and serious, but in "Star Wars" there is so much healthy sense of humor that I immediately felt: the project is waiting for success. Such that on its wave you can remove the second and third part. But he could not even imagine that the picture will become a phenomenon in pop culture, which will continue indefinitely. I still hardly believe this. But this is the best time of my life!.
It's nice when you are associated with something that makes people happy. The real life is very hard, and the films have a therapeutic effect - whether it's "The Wizard of Oz," "The Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter" ... People need a world of illusions where they can free themselves from the shackles of reality, relax,.
"Star Wars" is a film of generations! The generation that watched the original "Star Wars" can now share its love for the franchise with its children. Yes, there - Ryan Johnson (director of the film "Star Wars: The Last Jedi") and JJ Abrams ("Star Wars: Awakening the Force") were little boys when we shot the first film, and now they take them off and write to them scenarios. This is a wonderful experience that I carried through my life. And how grateful I am for him!.