Lighten Up!

You could be forgiven for thinking that Mark Hamill has ample reason to be bitter about all things Star Wars. After all, the trilogy raised him up to leading man status only to drop him into a career wilderness that some might say he's never found his way out of. Happily, the former Mr Skywalker, isn't one to dwell on the past - as he explains to Empire magazine this month. Talking about how he felt when George Lucas began filming the prequels, Hamill says; 'When we finished the last one, I was curmudgeonly thinking, "Alright, when the new guys come in they're not using my lightsaber. Get them their own lightsabers!". I think you find the right balance, so you're respectful of everyone who really cares, but you don't want to be some pathetic old guy shuffling around in his slippers going, "Yeah, I used to have the Force. The Force was with me, dang it!" Reluctant to give his opinion on what he thought of The Phantom Menace, Hamill would say this; 'If I were to talk to George - and I will - I'd say to him, "One of the greatest advantages that the earlier pictures had, which the new picture did not have, was a voice of scepticism." We had someone in there going, "The Force, are you kidding me? I'm just here for the money." ...Everybody's so serious. I mean, sheesh! Lighten up!' You can read the full Public Access interview with Mark Hamill in the November issue of Empire magazine.