Mark Hamill doesn’t think being Luke Skywalker "dominates" his career.
The 66-year-old actor won’t let himself be defined by his role in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and insists he isn’t "bothered" by it as he never expected to be remembered for anything he’s done in his career.
He said: "I don’t see Luke dominating my career. It just doesn’t bother me, because I didn’t expect to be remembered for anything. I wanted to be a character actor, and about all the best character actors, people say, ‘Oh, that guy, I can’t remember his name.’
"Look at Richard Riehle. He is as solid as it gets, always word-perfect. He knows his lines and he knows yours. He is the most incredibly versatile actor. Those are the people I really admire."
However, the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ actor did recall one time where he was refused a role because of his Star Wars success.
He added: "I could have done Amadeus the film. Milos Forman had me over to his suite. He was interviewing people to play Constanze, Mozart’s wife, and I was in his suite from nine in the morning until six at night.
"At lunch, I asked him flat out, ‘Milos, why can’t you consider me to play Mozart – because I’ve done it on Broadway?’ He said, ‘Oh, Mark, no one is going to believe that Luke Skywalker is Mozart.’"
Mark is thrilled with how well the science fiction franchise has been received over the years and thinks that is due to the fact that people are looking for "escapism".
He told The Sunday Times’ Culture magazine: "People need escapism. They need to be able to get to a happy place, whether it’s Oz or Middle-earth or Hogwarts – or a galaxy far, far away. It’s an escape from the dreary reality of life. I totally understand it."
Mark Hamill won’t be defined by Star Wars role
