PlayingLuke Skywalkerin theStar Warsfranchise has been a blessing and a curse for Mark Hamill: a blessing because he has made millions of dollars and become more famous than he ever imagined, and a curse because the character has stuck with him throughout his adult life. Hamill has been a part of over 50 live-action and animated productions, yet for some reason, fans (and his peers) see him as nothing more than the Jedi Master who fought in the Galactic Civil War during the reign of the Galactic Empire. It’s a good problem to have.
Some people pictured Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker before he got the role. According to the actor, Robert Englund was angling for a role in Francis Ford Coppola’sApocalypse Nowwhen he stumbled into a hall where auditions for George Lucas’Star Warswere taking place. After watching the auditions, he concluded that his buddy, Hamill, would make a perfect Luke Skywalker. He advised him to go to the auditions and, as it turned out, the actor’s agent had already set up the audition that landed him the part.
Regrettably, everyone else would keep seeing Hamill as nothing else than Luke Skywalker, including Miloš Forman, the director of one of the greatest biopics of all time:Amadeus. Hamill wanted to play Wolfgang Mozart in the Oscar-winning film, only for the Czech filmmaker to bluntly tell him that Luke Skywalker was not Mozart.
Envy Soils Good Music in ‘Amadeus’
Amadeusbegins in the early 19th century when an old man is thrown into an asylum after trying to take his own life. The man is revealed to be Antonio Salieri, thelegendary Italian composer who helped to develop and shape multiple features of operatic compositional vocabulary. Salieri is visited by a preacher, with whom he discusses rival composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who gained continental fame for his exploits and much-sought-after musical pieces. Salieri thenmakes a shocking confession about his role in Mozart’s downfall.
Events in the movie thus play out in flashback format as Salieri recalls how he was a valued court composer at the home of Emperor Joseph II of Austria, only for Mozart to appear and steal his glory. Struck by his raw talent and charisma, the Emperor hired Mozart to produce an opera, andas the composer’s star ascended, Salieri was left facing a fading career and caustic inner demons.
Salieri, a staunch Christian man who believed all musical talent and inspiration came from God, slowly grew resentful. He couldn’t understand how God would allow such a vulgar and hedonistic man to produce such good work. Slowly,he began devising schemes to get rid of Mozart.
The Greatest Biopic of All Time Is Totally Phony (That’s Why It’s Great)
Unlike other biopics, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind isn’t ashamed to bask in preposterous exaggerations and obvious lies.
Overall,Amadeusisa beautiful biopic whose themes carefully encompass remorse, distrust, melancholy, and the passage of time.Opulent sets and choice songs complement the prevailing madness, andthe motion picture’s crowning virtue lies in how all the music enhances, rather than detracts from, its winsome central rivalry.Location shooting at Kroměříž and the Count Nostitz Theatre in Prague also accentuates the predominant sense of foreboding.
The film was a huge hit, grossing over $90 million and receiving 53 award nominations across different organizations, winning 40.These include eight Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director), four Golden Globes (including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director), four BAFTA Awards, and a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film.
F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce (who portrayed Salieri and Mozart, respectively),were both nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor, with Abraham winning.Today,Amadeusis stillthe most recent movie to receive more than one Best Actor nomination at the Oscars.
Duringan interview on “CBS Sunday Morning,”Mark Hamill revealed that everyone in the production team was blown away by the success of the originalStar Wars. The popularity grew even further after the success ofThe Empire Strikes Back.Still, Hamill felt the desire to temporarily move from Tatooine to Earth. After all, his co-star, Harrison Ford, was taking on different kinds of roles with much success.
For Hamill,there was no better place to showcase his acting skills than on Broadway.He chose to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Tony-winning Broadway playAmadeus,taking over from Tim Curry.
When director Milos Forman began looking for actors for his 1984 big-screen adaptation ofAmadeus, Hamill figured it would be wise to translate his stage magic to a film set.Heopenly expressed interest, figuring he’d have an upper hand, given his fame, but his request was flatly declined.
Mark Hamill’s Favorite Star Wars Movie Is Probably Yours As Well
Mark Hamill’s choice for the best Star Wars film is the same as most audiences and critics.
Hamill recalls that he did an impression of the character for the Czech filmmaker, but that didn’t help.
“I said, ‘You know, I’d really love a chance at playing Mozart. And he said, ‘Oh, no, no, no. The Luke Skywalker is not to be being the Mozart.’ So, I thought, well, at least he’s honest! I mean, I at least admired the fact that he said it right to my face. But, you know, it’s a crazy business.”
The results proved Miloš Forman made the right choice. Perverse but beguiling,Amadeusinstantly secured his reputation as a coolly assured filmmaker and ranks among the cleverest of court-dysfunction tales. The Czech-born director valued art over spectacle, so it made sense for him to seeStar Warsas nonsense.
FromOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NesttoMan on the Moon, Forman’s films are thought-provoking and detailed. On top of that,he was a major figure in the Czechoslovak New Wave.His early films always seemed fated for minor arthouse receptions at best, but there were plenty of cultists ready to indulge in the heady and abstruse approach. Forman’s films were so controversial thathe was forced to leave Czechoslovakia for the United States, where he found more glory. But even after breaking into the studio system, he kept one foot outside it.
Mark Hamill Kept Trying to Distance Himself from ‘Star Wars’ Before Embracing It
Most actors would be happy to be known as “the Star Wars guy,” but Mark Hamill grew frustrated. Forman’s rejection must have hurt him, considering thatAmadeusprovided a real shot at winning an Oscar, so he kept trying to distance himself from the role. For example,he wrote in his Playbill biography during his Broadway days, that he was “known for a series of popular space movies,”without explicitly mentioningStar Wars.
Mark Hamill Has Just One Regret About His ‘Big Bang Theory’ Role
Devoted fans of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ rejoiced when Star Wars alum Mark Hamill made a cameo, but the actor had one wholesome regret about his role.
Thankfully, one person was bold enough to advise him to “cut the cr*p.” Hamill recalls co-star Carrie Fisher telling him:
“She said, ‘Get over yourself. Look: You’re Luke Skywalker. I’m Princess Leia. Just accept it!”
He sure did get over himself, hence why he agreed to reprise the role in recentStar Warsmovies. To confirm that he had embraced Luke Skywalker, the CBS journalist Tracy Smithasked him a rather fitting question:
“At this point, you could basically win a Grammy, cure cancer, and still forever you are going to be Luke Skywalker. Have you accepted that?”
His response:
“Yeah. Well, I don’t care,” Hamill said. “I mean, the truth of the matter is, I never really expected to be remembered for anything. I just wanted to make a living doing what I liked. And I thought, ‘Well, it could be worse. I could be, like, known as being the best actor who ever played Adolf Hitler, you know?’ At least Luke is an admirable fellow!”
Superhero fans will, however, wonder what the Luke Skywalker fuss is all about. To them, Mark Hamill will always be the Joker. Has anyone else ever laughed so manically on screen? In addition to his role inBatman: The Animated Series,the actor voiced The Hobgoblin in the ‘90sSpider-Mananimated series, Maximus inFantastic Four, Gargoyle in the animated seriesThe Incredible Hulk,Klaw inThe Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Solomon Grundy and Trickster in the twoJustice Leagueshows, Tony Zucco inThe Batman, Spectre inBatman: The Brave and the Bold, and Kavaxas inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
One thing’s for sure, there’s clearly so much more to Hamill than Tatooine and lightsabers.
