Page 110 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)

TALES FROM THE RED CARPET
enemy territory in disguise, now we’ve
got Rose Tico and Finn. So I had to fight
the irrational urge that it’s a bunch of
strangers rummaging through my old
toy box playing with my old toys! But
basically now at this age, I’m happy
to let the kids do more heavy lifting.”
Given that Luke Skywalker is now
the elder statesman of Star Wars, would
Hamill compare his role to that of Sir
Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi?
“At first, when I read the script [for
The Last Jedi], I thought, ‘this is really
taking me out of my comfort zone.’
We’ve seen benign, wise Jedi before,
and nobody can do it better than Alec.
But I think being pushed in that way
was a good thing.
Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) enjoys the moment.
Stormtroopers escort John Boyega (Finn).
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“I was so lucky to work with someone
I admired for so long,” Hamill added.
“He was so gracious with his time. He
stayed in contact, writing to me with
beautiful calligraphy in old-fashioned
ink. I would see him in London, and
we’d go out to dinner. He was one of
the greatest actors ever.”
In a much-documented visit, the
British Royal Princes, William and Harry,
toured the set during the shoot. Hamill
seized the chance to solve a mystery that
had given him sleepless nights since the
making of Return of the Jedi. “I used the
opportunity when the princes came for
a tour to solve something that had been
bothering me since 1982. When George
told us that Carrie and I were brother
and sister, I said, ‘Wait a minute, if
Luke’s Princess Leia’s brother, doesn’t
that make me royalty?’ She said ‘No!’
“When I met the princes, I said, ‘My
mother was Queen Amidala, my father
was Lord Vader, my sister is Princess
Leia. Doesn’t that make me royalty?’
Unfortunately, it was a split decision.
William said yes, Harry said he needed
more information!”
With Luke Skywalker being one of
the characters most widely reproduced
on material as diverse as cereal boxes,
T-shirts, masks, and of course action
figures Hamill is able to see the funny
side of his fame, as well. “I just enjoy
it for the pure joy of being a Pez
dispenser,” he joked. “I don’t care
about the money, I just love being
on the underoos!”
s a recent addition to Star Wars
movies, Kelly Marie Tran freely
A admitted that, at times, she
had been taken aback by her experience
making The Last Jedi. “This was my first
substantial role in a very large movie. I’ll
remember the moments we had on set
for the rest of my life,” she reckoned.
“You know, I was this completely new
person, and it says so much about my
fellow cast and crewmembers that I felt
at home on that set, because everyone
was so welcoming and open. I really felt
like part of the family.
“I just loved that Rian had this sort of
child-like wonder about everything,”
she continued. “Everything felt fun,
and then you’d be doing a scene and
hear his little laugh, and I’d think,
‘We’re doing it, we’re doing it!’ It just felt
like we were hanging out in someone’s
backyard making a movie for ourselves.
And I think that’s really special.”
espite being badly injured
during the climax of The Force
D Awakens, Finn has a lot of
action in the new movie, and John
Boyega was more than up for taking
on Finn’s nemesis, Captain Phasma.
“The fight with Phamsa was a
challenge, because the weapon was
different for me this time,” he told
Insider. “There was a lot of stunt
training, mostly with Gwendoline
[Christie], and she has a really long
reach. I needed to dodge and pirouette
around her at all times.”