This past summer, CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla uploaded an old video of a young Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford going over some lines for a Star Wars screen test. Hamill shed some light on the footage, explaining that it was his first time meeting Harrison Ford, and that neither actor had yet read the full script to Star Wars. This week, thanks to a promotional video from Omaze, Hamill was forced to react to that very same audition tape in real time, dripping with embarrassment over his Beatles-esque haircut.
With a camera aimed at his adorably cheery face, Hamill watches the original audition tape in chunks, pausing only to cringe and audibly wince in his at his older self delivering clunky dialogue. Obviously, Hamill hadn’t fully grasped Luke Skywalker’s Starkiller’s character yet, nor did he know how to pronounce names in the script (“Why did I call him ‘Hans’ instead of ‘Han?’” he ponders). When he asked George Lucas how to approach the subject, he was told to just wing it.
The wildest part about this video is the fact that Ford, despite being off-camera, still steals the show with his Solo-level of coolness. Still, this is an early audition tape from 1976, and it wouldn’t be until a year later that Hamill found confidence in his acting chops.
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I remember some of this from the OT Special Edition VHS release. Even back then it was pretty shocking to see how much the actors had aged in about 14 years.
Obviously, Hamill hadn’t fully grasped Luke Skywalker’s Starkiller’s character yet, nor did he know how to pronounce names in the script (“Why did I call him ‘Hans’ instead of ‘Han?’” he ponders).
It’s a pretty common mistake for people who haven’t seen the film, Mark.
Know ye who read this there is more to my life than history records.
Firstly, I did not kill the legendary Greedo, he was already dead, I
merely shot him. Secondly, I have not always been known as Han Solo. Until the rise of the Empire, I was Hans Sprungfeld, murderous pirate. And
the half wits of this galaxy will never learn the truth, ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha. I write this confession so that my infamy will live on long
after my body has succumbed to a lightsaber wound from my moronic offspring.
I Han, and I am Fran…and we are here to pahmp up your galaxy!
One of the first Star Wars ads selling action figures and T-shirts described him as Hans Solo. Of course, the ad appeared in the Star Wars comic book where they got the name right…
Still, this is an early audition tape from 1976, and it wouldn’t be until a year later that Hamill found confidence in his acting chops.
…when he nailed his Corvette Summer audition!
Wait til he sees The Last Jedi.
“It’ll be regional” is both completely accurate in hindsight and wildly unhelpful in the moment.
And keep in mind at this point, Ford was just a stand-in for the auditions as he still wasn’t quite sure on leaving his carpentry career for acting (he only got his role in The Conversation because he built Coppola a bookcase).
Ford wanted to be an actor. He and Lucas were unsure of doing another movie together right after American Graffiti. He did carpentry because he hated the studio system that acted like they owned you and he wanted to be able to support his family and say “no” to shitty acting jobs. He felt more confident going into auditions knowing he didn’t need the role. He wasn’t trying to be a carpenter for life.
“Hamill watches the original audition tape in chunks, pausing only to cringe and audibly wince in his at his older self delivering clunky dialogue”This sentence is a travesty.
this is an early audition tape from 1976, and it wouldn’t be until a year later that Hamill found confidence in his acting chops. people could actually read Lucas’s dialogue without wanting to vomit!FTFY!
Wouldn’t it be his “younger self”? I am detecting some chroniton radiation in the area, so I don’t know.
Is it just me or did Mark Hamill used to look a lot like Jodie Foster?