# Interesting Mark Hamill quotes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535 "2013-05-05T11:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/41 "2013-05-06T17:15:04Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Not really relevant to my point. It was in fact extremely successful. Hamil didn’t seem to leverage that into a role in any other big budget A-list films. I think it’s relevant: he was only good enough to be cast in what everyone thought would be a dopey Saturday-matinee kid flick. That it turned into something else is what’s irrelevant; in the end, Hamill was not a good enough actor to be considered for A-list roles - never mind being a bit typecast. (As well as a blue-eyed blonde white guy, a type already being deprecated in casting by 1980.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/42 "2013-05-06T17:31:54Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks, who performed for years with Carl Reiner, who is the father of Rob Reiner. Family connections, no doubt. Probably asked them over dinner, since Mel and Carl eat together every night. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/43 "2013-05-06T18:25:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > True story: My wife is a dead ringer for princess Leia. I seriously scored. Here’s hoping you mean “Jabba’s Slave” princess and not “Entourage” hag. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/44 "2013-05-06T20:45:03Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I think it’s relevant: he was only good enough to be cast in what everyone thought would be a dopey Saturday-matinee kid flick. That it turned into something else is what’s irrelevant; in the end, Hamill was not a good enough actor to be considered for A-list roles - never mind being a bit typecast. (As well as a blue-eyed blonde white guy, a type already being deprecated in casting by 1980.) Are you sure he _wanted_ to do so? You seem to take it as a given that he would have chosen to do lots more movies if he could have, but was unable to do so. I see that he likely preferred the stage and the odd television project that appealed to him. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/45 "2013-05-06T21:30:20Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > True story: My wife is a dead ringer for princess Leia. I seriously scored. I’ll always remember as Jabba the Hut’s slave..attired that way!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/46 "2013-05-06T22:45:58Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Are you sure he _wanted_ to do so? Of course not, but it seems you’re going to great lengths to try and hang a… reverse sour grapes?.. attitude on him. There may be exceptions, but I have little doubt that if Hollywood had called, he would have answered. They didn’t (very much). He laughed all the way to the bank and found another path. Power to him. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/47 "2013-05-06T23:11:30Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Are you sure he _wanted_ to do so? You seem to take it as a given that he would have chosen to do lots more movies if he could have, but was unable to do so. I see that he likely preferred the stage and the odd television project that appealed to him. Not impossible that that’s the explanation. But he obviously wanted to be a movie actor in the late 70’s, and when he came back after his hiatus he went back to making movies. Maybe he wanted to do movies, then didn’t, then did again. Or when he came back he decided he only wanted to do cheesy made-for-TV sci-fi. But neither scenario seems particularly likely. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/48 "2013-05-07T00:22:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Not impossible that that’s the explanation. But he obviously wanted to be a movie actor in the late 70’s, and when he came back after his hiatus he went back to making movies. Maybe he wanted to do movies, then didn’t, then did again. Or when he came back he decided he only wanted to do cheesy made-for-TV sci-fi. But neither scenario seems particularly likely. Or maybe he decided at some point that he preferred voice acting and broadway, and after SW he was well off enough that he could just focus on doing things he liked. Why does everyone assume he couldn’t get more major movie roles? There have been plenty of actors that didn’t like or couldn’t handle the Hollywood scene and dropped out of it to focus on other things. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/49 "2013-05-07T01:29:05Z")
The thing about Hollywood is, actors don’t get to choose what jobs they get. They can only audition and then hope. Even Tom Hanks isn’t guaranteed to get any acting job he wants, there are still multiple variables that can prevent him from scoring a role. Mark Hamill tried his best in movie acting and it didn’t turn out so great, so he found different avenues. Thousands of other actors have done the same, and ever shall it be so. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/50 "2013-05-07T15:20:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The kid was the male equivalent of a supermodel and then a couple of years later he wasn’t. Nor did he age gracefully. He should be compared to Carrie Fisher, who was incredibly cute as a teenager ([some wow photos](http://www.castleawesome.com/2013/03/06/despite-her-health-concerns-carrie-fisher-confirms-star-wars-vii/)) but not later in her twenties. Well, Carrie Fisher had a ton of emotional problems, got drugged out, and struggled with her weight (binge eating and purging). So yeah, her looks got put through the wringer. But she was smoking hot in Star Wars. Mark Hamill looked a bit rough in Jedi compared to his pretty boy days from SW, but then did not go downhill for a long time. I saw him in a TV spot (IIRC early 2000s) and he looked very similar to how he looked in Jedi. > [@Simplicio](#): > > But its not that there’s anything “wrong” with being a voice-actor, its that Hamil at least at one point pretty clearly wanted to be in (live-action) movies, then he managed to land the lead role in the most successful movie trilogy of all time and then…nothing. Plenty of actors don’t do well after starring in a big hit, but they generally at least manage to leverage it into a _chance_ to be in a few more successful movies. Well, he did get a role in _Corvette Summer_, and another in _The Big Red One_. I don’t know if there was an element of typecasting that prevented him from doing more, but he did get a couple opportunities. Hollywood apparently wasn’t interested in what he had to offer. > [@Frylock](#): > > I’m having a hard time imagining what words the lawyers could have had concerning this. “No, Star Wars did not ruin Hamill’s career, his mediocre talent did that.” > [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Are you sure he _wanted_ to do so? You seem to take it as a given that he would have chosen to do lots more movies if he could have, but was unable to do so. I see that he likely preferred the stage and the odd television project that appealed to him. > [@Apocalypso](#): > > Or maybe he decided at some point that he preferred voice acting and broadway, and after SW he was well off enough that he could just focus on doing things he liked. Why does everyone assume he couldn’t get more major movie roles? There have been plenty of actors that didn’t like or couldn’t handle the Hollywood scene and dropped out of it to focus on other things. Is it possible that he decided he wasn’t interested in being a leading man in Hollywood? Sure. I recall an interview with Keifer Southerland after _24_ took off, like the first season. He was saying how people were dubbing this his comeback. His reply was something like “Comeback, I didn’t know I had left.” He had gone and done some Broadway. But to the movie-going public, when you make it to A-list headliner and then go do something else, you disappear. Maybe after Hamill’s run through the meatgrinder for the Star Wars trilogy soured him on movie work. Maybe he wanted to try Broadway. Maybe there was a professional rep hit from that contract deal. Maybe he just wasn’t A-list quality headliner and stumbled into that role in the Star Wars franchise but wasn’t a solid enough actor to hold it. It’s a credit to him that he did go find things to do and succeed. From that podcast interview, it looks like there were reservations and underestimations about what he could do. He managed to find something that he could do and do well, and turned that into a career. Good for him. By the way, have you seen _[Slipstream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipstream_(1989_film))_? It’s definitely the cheesy sci fi movie. Hamill played the bad guy. He looked very different, including looking beefier and having a beard. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535/51 "2013-05-07T15:26:54Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Is it possible that he decided he wasn’t interested in being a leading man in Hollywood? Sure. I recall an interview with Keifer Southerland after _24_ took off, like the first season. He was saying how people were dubbing this his comeback. His reply was something like “Comeback, I didn’t know I had left.” He had gone and done some Broadway. But to the movie-going public, when you make it to A-list headliner and then go do something else, you disappear. I remember that same interview, but Kiefer is clearly in the wrong. He wasn’t off doing Broadway in the five years before 24. He was starring in a string of shitty direct-to-video movies that no one watched (and taking a small role in Dark City, which was awesome, but no one watched). 24 was very much his comeback. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-mark-hamill-quotes/657535.md?page=2)