Harrison Ford: Carrie Fisher was ‘one-of-a-kind’
Harrison Ford has released a statement following the death of Carrie Fisher, his Star Wars costar and long-time friend.
“Carrie was one-of-a-kind… brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely,” Ford said. “My thoughts are with her daughter Billie, her mother Debbie, her brother Todd, and her many friends. We will all miss her.”
Fisher suffered a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday. Following her hospitalization, Ford released a statement saying he was “shocked and saddened” by the news.
Both Ford and Fisher shot to fame thanks to George Lucas’ Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, playing Han Solo and Leia Organa, bickering heroes who would become a couple by the end of the original trilogy’s Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The actors reprised their roles in last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, playing a Han and Leia who had become estranged after their son, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), turned to the Dark Side.
“It felt historic to have her, especially with Harrison, back in scenes together,” Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams told EW last year. “I can only imagine the baggage that they bring to it, I’m just a fan who loves this stuff, but they’ve been living with it — and living in it — since ’77.”
Of reuniting with Ford onscreen, Fisher joked at the time, “I think we’re pretty sick of each other by now, so we pretend to be interested in each other between takes. And we fail. I’m mostly interested in how stays in such good shape. I can talk to him about that for a long time.”
Disney
This year, as part of her memoir The Princess Diarist, Fisher revealed she and Ford had an off-screen affair during production on the original Star Wars.
“It was so intense,” Fisher said of their relationship in a statement to PEOPLE. “It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend.”
In addition to Ford, Star Wars cast mate Mark Hamill, as well as Lucas and other members of the franchise’s family, have paid tribute to Fisher since her death on Tuesday morning.
