We Could Totally Beat Mark Hamill in ‘Star Wars’ Trivia
We like Mark Hamill. His career may not be as outwardly impressive as those of his "Star Wars" cohorts Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, but he's been a steady presence in movies, theater and television since first playing Luke Skywalker almost 35 years ago. And where Ford and Fisher often seem annoyed and embarrassed about their connection to "Star Wars," Hamill is nothing if not gracious: He's got his issues with what George Lucas has done with the prequels and the re-releases, but, hey, it's not his call. But because he has less on his résumé that can compare to "Star Wars," Hamill's the one star who's probably most connected to the original trilogy. But even he doesn't dwell on it. Seriously, don't ask him what the Kessel Run is, because he doesn't know.
Hamill recently sat down for The A.V. Club's terrific Random Roles column, where an actor talks in detail about different character he's played, whether large or small. And while writer Todd VanDerWerff dutifully discussed "The Big Red One" and "Batman: The Animated Series," you knew eventually "Star Wars" would come up. And here's what Hamill had to say about what it's like to be forever synonymous with that farm boy from Tatooine:
But like I say, it's frustrating, because I'm not creatively engaged when [Lucas] makes the special editions or… I guess it's coming out in Smell-O-Vision now, where you can smell the wet Wookiee, and 3-D, and it's a roller-coaster ride, and a breakfast cereal. It's all these things. It's almost like one of the original Mouseketeers being asked their opinion of Epcot Center. I mean, you're tangentially connected to it, but not really hands-on. But it's hard to say. I mean, I really related to George Harrison when they said, "What's it like to be in The Beatles?" He says [imitates Harrison], "Well, what's it like to not be in The Beatles?" 'Cause he didn't know. He was in The Beatles, so he couldn't imagine any other way.
Totally reasonable, if you ask us. But this next part may be particularly difficult for diehard "Star Wars" fans to read:
Well, the thing is… I don't watch [the movies]. The last time I saw them was when they were in the movie theaters, and my son laughs, because I flunked a "Star Wars" trivia quiz he gave me one time out of a book. Because you forget all the details! The Kessel Run. What was that? Oh, okay, that's the spice-mining endeavor that Han Solo was involved… I mean, the details. The minutiae were important. At the time, I was all over it. I was a very enthusiastic participant, but when we finished, it's our job to flush our memory banks and move on.
Luke Skywaker doesn't know what the Kessel Run is?!?! How could this have happened?!?!? Sorry, folks, but it's true. So you probably shouldn't quiz him on what the heck a midi-chlorian is. But to be fair, we never quite figured that one out ourselves:
Random Roles: Mark Hamill [The A.V. Club]
