Mark Hamill recalls Carrie Fisher checking him for downplaying 'Star Wars' fame

Jun 04, 2025

"So she was someone that sort of put it in perspective for me," he admits of the late Fisher, who died in 2016.

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Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill didn't just play perhaps the most famous sibling pair of all time, they seem to have acted like it off the big screen, too.

One time in particular, Fisher called him out for being a bit bashful about their Star Wars fame, Hamill recounted in a new interview on NPR's Fresh Air — like any good sister would.

"She came to see a Broadway show of mine. And in the playbill, in my bio, I listed all my theater credits and at the end it said, 'He's also known for a series of popular space movies,'" Hamill said of Fisher. "And she goes, 'What's the deal? How come you don't mention Star Wars?' And I said, 'Well, I want to show that I have a resume that includes extensive theater credits. And she said, 'Hey, get over yourself. You're Luke Skywalker. I'm Princess Leia. Embrace it.'"

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Hamill took his late friend's words to heart. "And I kind of saw what she meant, you know, because you say to yourself, 'What territory do I occupy that no one else does?' So she was someone that sort of put it in perspective for me," he said.

Even still, after all of these years — writer-director George Lucas' Star Wars first hit theaters in 1977 and has spawned countless sequels, spinoffs, and the like since — Hamill said he still struggles a bit with newer fans of the beloved space opera.

"The disconnect between the current fans and myself is that for me, I had my time, and I appreciate it, and I'm always grateful for George for letting me be a part of it, but it's over," he explained. "I mean, as an actor, you finish the job, you go onto the next job. You don't hang onto the prior job. So I always have to really make an adjustment when I'm talking to fans where it's very much in the present, it's very much about the future, which is fine, you know?"

He continued, "I mean, if it weren't for the fans, I wouldn't be here. And so I'm grateful to them. They know details I have never heard of... Like I say, it was an important part of my life that's now over."

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Next up for Hamill is the role of a hard-drinking grandfather in The Life of Chuck, director Mike Flanagan's adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name. It also stars Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, and more.

The Life of Chuck hits theaters June 13.