Mark Hamill is someone who most people know of but do not know too much about. The actor gained a quick rise to fame as one of his early roles was playing Luke Skywalker in the iconic Star Wars series. This was a double-edged sword - on one hand, he was now famous and successful early in his career, in an industry that has a reputation for chewing talent up and spitting them out. On the other hand, he was now typecast in a certain role and no one seemingly wants him to play anything else.
While this did leave him in a strange place for a long time, Hamill has bounced back very well, taking on different jobs in the world of acting in recent years. This career resurgence probably has something to do with the Disney Star Wars movies but either way, it's time to learn some facts about this Hollywood icon.
16 His Family
Mark Hamill was born on September 25, 1951, in Oakland, California to a pretty large family. Mark is one of seven children, having 2 brothers and four sisters. His father has English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh ancestry and his mother was half Swedish and half English.
15 He Always Wanted To Be An Actor
Hamill was always fascinated by the world of acting and knew it was what he wanted to pursue as a career from a young age. Hamill attended Los Angeles City College and majored in drama, picking up many skills that prepared him for his dream job.
14 Early Roles
After he finished his time in school Hamill went on to take small roles in TV shows in order to help him get his foot in the door of the world of acting. He had a reoccurring role on the soap opera General Hospital but he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on The Bill Cosby Show.
13 How He Became Luke Skywalker
Robert Englund, most known for portraying Freddie Kruger, was auditioning for a role in Apocalypse Now when he walked across the hall where auditions were taking place for Star Wars. After watching some auditions he realized Hamill, who he was friends with, would be perfect for the role and told Hamill to audition, Hamill agreed. It went well.
12 He Kept Luke Skywalker's Boots
It's a fairly common practice for actors, especially ones playing in important and lead roles, to take a souvenir from the set of their movies. Hamill's choice of souvenir was the boots that Luke Skywalker wore in the first Star Wars film. He was later asked by his son if he could wear them, Hamill said no.
11 Car Accident
On January 11, 1977, before shooting one of his scenes in Star Wars, Hamill was in a car accident in which he fractured his nose and left cheekbone, requiring seven hours of surgery. Hamill has stated that this was after the filming of Star Wars but this did affect the way Hamill looked in The Empire Strikes Back.
10 He Did Almost All Of Luke's Stunts
Aside from a few scenes that he could not do because of his accident and the following surgeries, Hamill performed most of the stunts you see Luke Skywalker do in The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. The only scenes where a double was used were the early scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.
9 Other Star Wars Role
When you think of Star Wars, the first thing you probably think of is Luke Skywalker. Hamill was so iconic as the Jedi that he was typecast as him for a while but Luke isn't the only person in the Star Wars Universe Hamill has portrayed. In the animated Clone Wars series, Hamill lent his voice to the character Darth Bane.
8 Video Game Appearances
While the actor has been typecast as Luke Skywalker for pretty much all of his acting career in front of the camera, he has had a long career of voice acting, including in video games. A lot of them are Star Wars video games naturally but he has also taken roles like Detective Mosely in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers as well as many characters in the Crash Bandicoot series.
7 Training For His Return
When it was announced that Hamill would be making a return to the Star Wars series alongside Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford for the Disney trilogy fans went insane while Hamill went to the gym. It was reported that both Hamill and Carrie Fisher had been assigned nutritionists and personal trainers to work with ahead of production.
