Mark Hamill thinks it would have been "much more fun" to play Darth Vader in ‘Star Wars’.
The 66-year-old actor plays Luke Skywalker in the science fiction franchise and whilst he thinks it may have been more fun to play Darth Vader or C-3PO, he likes playing "bland" Luke because he is the "one centred character" to be a contrast to all the other characters.
He said: "When I first read the screenplay of ‘A New Hope’, I felt it would be much more fun to play the cynical pirate who’s always making wisecracks or Darth Vader, who has such an interesting role, or C-3PO, who is hilarious. Luke is so bland! He doesn’t have as much colour as the other characters.
"But it’s like Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – there has to be one centred character to provide contrast to all the other characters around them, even if I would rather play the Cowardly Lion or the Tin Man or even The Wizard than Dorothy. And Luke makes people feel at ease. He’s not scary like a pirate. He’s not spectacularly talented or super intelligent, he is just an average farm boy. And that is a nice thing."
And the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ actor loves how ‘Star Wars’ fans have such a "personal investment" in his character.
He added to the Metro newspaper: "People have such a personal investment in Luke and it’s very moving, in a way, because people feel like you are a part of their family. Over the years, I’ve been taken aback and astonished by how much these films have impacted on people’s lives. People will say how they have overcome adversity they had with physical disabilities thanks to these films, or ‘I met my wife standing in the line for ‘Star Wars’ and we named our son Luke.’"
Mark Hamill wanted to play Star Wars
