STACK NZ Dec #69

FEATURE

DVD & BD

The release of space behemoth StarWars: The Force Awakens is nearly upon us and as original hero Luke Skywalker returns, Mark Hamill shares his joy at reprising his greatest role.

“I t’s kind of like Scrooge on Christmas morning: ‘Oh my God, this time I’m going to appreciate it in a way I wasn’t able to as a young man.’ The fact that it is so special to so many people, it’s hard to believe you could take something for granted like that.” So says Mark Hamill, who, like the legions of Star Wars fans worldwide, is simply thrilled to be reprising his most famous character. More than 30 years after Return of the Jedi , Star Wars is finally back. Things are a little different this time around: Disney is at the helm and George Lucas has handed directorial duties over to J.J. Abrams, but Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to be a return to form for the franchise. Indeed, following the prequel trilogy that disappointed a lot of

fans (although Jar Jar Binks took most of the flack for that), the highly anticipated trailer released earlier this year – in which Han Solo turned to his faithful furry friend Chewbacca and said, "Chewie, we’re home” – sent fans into a frenzy all over again. “I never thought it would happen, never in a million years,” Hamill says. “George Lucas had told me that he wanted to do some more Star Wars films, even though he wasn’t going to be doing them himself, and I assumed that I wasn’t going

the actor had all but disappeared in thee interim years, but he’s actually been pursuing a successful career as a voiceover artist, including a long-running role as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series . “Boy, is it a great job!” he grins. “It’s the ultimate lazy actor’s job: you don’t have to memorise your lines and you can come in looking like hell. They don’t care how you look; they care about how you sound.” But all that changes now. Typically, details of the blockbuster are under wraps, with actors forbidden to talk about plotlines. What we do know is that along with Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are reprising their roles and Girls actor Adam Driver is starring as Kylo Ren, a dark warrior. And if the trailers are anything to go by, the latest instalment will truly be a force to be reckoned with.

to be coming back because our story had a beginning, middle, and an end. My story was finished. But then George told me that I could return to the role if I wanted to and if I didn’t they would write me out of it! Of course, there was no way I was going to turn that chance down. It wasn’t like I had a choice. Can you imagine all those fans forming a mob around my house protesting that I had turned down the chance to do another Star Wars? I decided I didn’t want to go from beloved icon to most hated man in fandom!” The irony of returning to a role that he has spent most of his

professional life trying to get away from is not lost on Hamill, who says that once he got his head around that fact he was thrilled. It may seem as if

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