Mark Hamill reveals Carrie Fisher advice that helped him navigate his post-‘Star Wars’ career

Mark Hamill has revealed how former co-star Carrie Fisher helped him reconcile with his Star Wars fame.

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The pair first appeared together in 1977’s Star Wars, later retitled Episode Four: A New Hope, with Hamill playing Luke Skywalker alongside Fisher’s Princess Leia. The original trilogy of movies would catapult both actors to superstardom, but Hamill initially felt overwhelmed by being associated with the character.

Speaking with NPR’s Fresh Air radio show, the actor recalled the moment Fisher confronted him about downplaying the films. “(Fisher) came to see a Broadway show of mine,” he said. “And in the playbill, in my bio, I listed all my theatre credits and at the end it said, ‘He’s also known for a series of popular space movies’.

“And she goes, ‘What’s the deal? How come you don’t mention Star Wars?’ And I said, ‘Well, I want to show that I have a resume that includes extensive theatre credits.’ And she said, ‘Hey, get over yourself. You’re Luke Skywalker. I’m Princess Leia. Embrace it’”.

The curt advice struck a chord with Hamill, who continued: “And I kind of saw what she meant, you know, because you say to yourself, ‘What territory do I occupy that no one else does?’ So, she was someone that sort of put it in perspective for me.”

Both Hamill and Fisher would return as their characters for the Star Wars sequel series, which ran from 2015-19. Hamill also played a younger version of Skywalker in TV shows The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett.

However, he said he will not be playing him in any future films, remarking: “I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.”

Fisher passed away in 2016 after suffering a cardiac arrest on board a flight from London to Los Angeles. She was 60 years old. Last September, Hamill talked about how he was “still not over” her death.

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