Mark Hamill Initially Thought Harrison Ford WasStar Wars' 'Leading Man' and He Was Just the 'Annoying Sidekick'

Mar. 15, 2025

Mark Hamill in ‘Star Wars’ (left); Harrison Ford in ‘Star Wars’ (right).Photo:Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty; Mark Sennet/Getty

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty; Mark Sennet/Getty

What if Han Solo was the protagonist ofStar Wars? That’s whatMark Hamillthought when he booked the sci-fi film.

On the Feb. 17 episode oftheSmartlesspodcast, Hamill, 73, reflected on his original screen test withHarrison Ford, 82, for the 1977 film. Hamill said that when he first read the script, he wondered ifStar Warswas meant to be “a parody” of other space adventure films. When he asked Ford, he told the younger actor, “Let’s just do it, and we’ll talk about it later."

“Translation: let’s just do it and we’ll never talk about it later,” Hamill said.

“When I tested, I figured Harrison’s the leading man. I’m like the annoying sidekick,” he continued. “Because I’m badgering him and all this stuff.”

Harrison Ford (left) and Mark Hamill (right) in ‘Star Wars.'.Screen Archives/Getty

Screen Archives/Getty

But after he booked the part, he opened the script, which was then calledThe Adventures of Luke Starkiller. “And I’m thinking, ‘Wait a minute. Wasn’t I Luke?’ ” He figured he was wrong and Ford was Luke. “He was a traditional leading man. He was 35 or whatever, and he was Harrison Ford. Come on,” Hamill remembered.

“So I started to read this thing and, in the very beginning, I realized, ‘Oh my god. This is seen through the eyes of this teenage farm boy.’ That was unusual in and of itself. You’d think it’d probably be through the eyes of Han Solo.”

Hamill was 24 when he filmedStar Wars(which was eventually retitledStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope). He told theSmartlesshosts that he “idolized” Ford, which helped make the relationship between Luke and Han “real.” He said, “I looked at him as a mentor or an older brother and all that.”

Mark Hamill (left) and Harrison Ford in 2017.Gustavo Caballero/Getty

Gustavo Caballero/Getty

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Hamill, Ford and costarCarrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia, also starred in 1980’sStar Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Backand 1983’sStar Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi. Ford and Fisher reprised their roles in 2015’sStar Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, while Hamill had a cameo at the film’s end. Hamill and Fisher both appeared in 2017’sStar Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi, released afterFisher’s 2016 death. Hamill also cameoed in 2019’sStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerandin the Disney+ seriesThe Mandalorian.

Hamill’s career outside ofStar Warshas included many acclaimed roles as a voice actor, including, most notably, his time voicingthe Batman villain The Joker. He also voiced a role inthe 2024 Oscar-nominated filmWild Robot.

Though Hamill sometimes struggled with how much audiences associated him with Luke, he told PEOPLE in 2017 that it was Fisher who helped him make peace with it. “She said, ‘Look, I am Princess Leia. You are Luke. Get over it,’ ” he remembered. “She was able to cut to the quick and see the positives. I learned so much from her.”

source: people.com