Quotes

I have a sneaking suspicion that if there were a way to make movies without actors, George (Lucas) would do it.

Acting in "Star Wars", I felt like a raisin in a giant fruit salad, and I didn't even know who the cantaloupes were.

"I had the accident way before Star Wars came out, but what really happened has been terribly distorted. I broke my nose, that's it! But I've read accounts about how my face has been reconstructed with plastic surgery and how I was pulling myself along the highway with one arm looking for help. I even heard that I drove off a cliff! That's the best one of all." - Mark Hamill on his auto accident.

The idea of The Force is basically "Religion's Greatest Hits".

You know how there are some stars out there who know how to market themselves? I don't have that.

You know where [the pride] comes from? It's not so much from the industry ... but the 9-year-old kid who looks at you like a cross between Superman and Santa Claus. And you'd have to be a really, really hardened cynic not to be moved by that. Not only that, but just doing the interviews for this animation series, I can't tell you how many people have said, 'I got into the business because of that movie.' ... I totally understand that because I remember walking out of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and saying, 'I don't know how they got those skeletons to fight, but someday I want that to be my job. To make skeletons fight.'

I never saw myself so much as an actor. I wanted to be a cartoonist like Charles M. Schulz and create my own world and be able to have a studio at home and not commute and be able to be with my family. I just didn't have the skills to pull that off and so I've gravitated toward theater because I like all of it.

I think theater has given me the opportunity to show what a character actor I can be.

I've learned that the movies [Star Wars] will never finally end. It just goes on and on and on and on. I mean, it's going to be in 3D, then it's going to be smellivision, then it's going to be a ride in an amusement park, then they'll come to your house and perform it with puppets on your lawn ... it'll never end! I accepted that a long time ago.

I can't tell you how much we laughed on the set to have Alec Guinness in a scene with a big, furry dog that's flying a space ship.

I love comic books.

I'm waiting for my body to catch up with my age.

I've been married to a dental hygienist for years and if you think I haven't heard "Use the Floss" you'd be mistaken.

[When asked by Kevin Smith on Dinner for Five (2001) if he's tired of talking about Star Wars] To be honest with you, sure. I'm human. I mean, I like ice cream, but I don't eat it three times a day. And I've forgotten a lot of it. If I was still working on it, it might be different, but I've put it in perspective. I want to be supportive without being critical, but it's not mine anymore.

[Talking about Star Wars co-stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher]: Actually, Harrison and I never fought in either picture. It was Carrie and I who had the screaming matches from time to time, though afterward neither of us could remember what they were about.

If you don't vote for Barack Obama, you're insane. 'Cause without him, I think the middle class will completely disappear. (Mid-July 2012 at Comic-Con)

[on completing filming on Skellig Michael, a remote island off the coast of Ireland's County Kerry, for a scene in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)] Ireland you are wonderful! Love the country, love the people!

[on The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)] When I saw The Dark Knight (2008) I just was amazed at what an original take that it was. I mean, he was joyless and was all but a heroin addict. It was tremendous. I mean, what an accomplishment! I've never seen such a Tom-centric performance since Hannibal Lecter where he creeped you out with that slithery tongue. I thought it was so original. Whether it was the screenwriter or Heath Ledger or Christopher Nolan or all three combined. It's like an alternate reality and that's as valid a Joker as anything that has ever been done. Mine is sort of old school comic book and that's fine but I just have to take my hat off to all of them. I thought they were fantastic.

[on Luke Skywalker turning evil] As an actor that would be more fun to play. I just thought that's the way it was going from when we finished. I figured that's what will be the pivotal moment. I'll have to come back, but it will be I have Han Solo in my crosshairs and I'll be about to kill him or about to kill the Princess or about to kill somebody that we care about. It's an old cornball movie, like World War II movies.

[on being cast as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series (1992)] But to make a long story short, after doing that one episode, they called a few months later and said, "Would you be interested in auditioning for The Joker." And I thought, "Of course. I'll do that. I'll never get it, because my association with Luke Skywalker is going to preclude me from being considered." I remember the controversy when they cast Michael Keaton as Batman, just because he was a more comedic actor. So anyway, without having any fear that I was getting it, I went in and just let it rip. And I had been on the road and on Broadway doing Amadeus so long that I had an arsenal of giggles and laughs that I used for Mozart. That was one of the requirements of that role: It startled Salieri in the Viennese court that this man that was capable of writing this celestial music had a donkey bray of a laugh that was just so unsettling. It just didn't fit with who they thought he was. And I had to play around with that laugh a lot. When you do eight a week, just to keep it interesting I had a huge palette of different kinds of laughs. And the only reason I say all this is because later I said, "What got me the part, by the way?" And they said, "Oh, it was your laugh. It was your maniacal laugh that really sealed the deal."

(On the death of Carrie Fisher) It's never easy to lose such a vital, irreplaceable member of the family, but this is downright heartbreaking. Carrie was a one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all-whether she liked it or not. She was OUR Princess, damn it, and the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent and ferociously funny take-charge woman took our collective breath away. Determined and tough, but with a vulnerability that made you root for her and want her to succeed and be happy. She played such a crucial role in my professional and personal life, and both would have been far emptier without her. I am grateful for the laughter, the wisdom, the kindness and even the bratty self-indulgent crap my beloved space-twin gave me through the years. Thanks, Carrie. I love you.

(his eulogy for Carrie Fisher) We occupied a unique area in each other's lives. It was like we were in a garage band together that somehow hit it huge. We had no idea the impact Star Wars would have on the world. I remember we were out on tour right before the movie opened. By the time, we got to Chicago, there was a crowd at the airport. I said, hey look, you guys, there must be somebody famous on the plane. I was looking around to see who it might be. And then in the crowd I saw a kid dressed in a Han Solo vest. Then I saw girl dressed like Princess Leia. I said, oh my God, look, Carrie, there's somebody dressed just like you. She's got the buns on her head! The first time I met Carrie was at dinner in London before we started filming together. I had been the first one to go over to Africa with Sir Alec Guinness and the robots, to film all the desert planet stuff, then I came back to London and then Harrison Ford came over. Carrie was the last piece in the puzzle to come to London. So, I said to the production office, I'd like to meet her before we work together. They worked out that we'd meet for dinner. You know, she was 19 years old at the time. I was a worldly 24 years old. So, I was thinking, oh my God what it'll be like working with a high school kid. But I was just bowled over. I mean she was just so instantly ingratiating and funny and outspoken. She had a way of just being so brutally candid. I had just met her but it was like talking to a person you'd known for ten years. She was telling me stuff about her stepfather, about her mom, about Eddie Fisher, it was just harrowing in its detail. I kept thinking, Should I know this? I mean, I wouldn't have shared that with somebody that I had trusted for years and years and years. But she was the opposite. She just sucked you into her world. I was so middle class. Growing up, the closest thing to a celebrity we had was our next-door neighbor, who was a baggage handler who returned Jerry Lewis' wallet that fell on the tarmac in San Diego. But she was something completely different. She dropped out of high school to be in the chorus of Irene on Broadway. I was just in awe of her. She was so committed to joy and fun and embracing life. She had an Auntie Mame quality to her. I would do crazy things to amuse her on the set. Making her laugh was always a badge of honor. I remember during Empire we were split up story wise; it was a difficult film to shoot and there was a lot of tension on the set. I was off in the swampland with the puppets and robots, but at least Carrie and Harrison got to work with human beings. Once at lunchtime she said, you should try on my jumpsuit. I said, The one-piece white jumpsuit? You're what, five foot two inches? I'll never get in! She said, just try it. I put on that Princess Leia zipper jump suit and it was so tight I looked like a Vegas lounge singer. If that wasn't ridiculous enough, she had me put on one of those bald cap masks with the Bozo hair and glasses and nose and then she walked me around the back lot. The lengths I would go to hear her laugh, there were no limits. I loved her and loved making her laugh. She would do these crazy things and make me do these crazy things, but I really don't think they were crazy after all. In a way, it was a defense mechanism for her. She was so off the wall, she could use it as protection. Part of what was so poignant about her was that she was vulnerable, that there was this glimmer of a little girl that was so appealing and it roused the protective nature in my personality. I'm grateful that we stayed friends and got to have this second act with the new movies. I think it was reassuring to her that I was there, the same person, that she could trust me, as critical as we could sometimes be with each other. We ran the gamut over the years, where we were in love with each other, where we hated each other's guts. I'm not speaking to you, you're such a judgmental, royal brat! We went through it all. It's like we were a family. When you were in her good graces, you couldn't have more fun with any person on the planet. She was able to make you feel like you were the most important thing in her life. I think that's a really rare quality. And then you could go 180 degrees opposite, where you were furious with one another and wouldn't speak for weeks and weeks. But that's all part of what makes a relationship complete. It's not all one sided. Like I say, she was a handful. She was high maintenance. But my life would have been so much drabber and less interesting if she hadn't been the friend that she was.

[on Billie Lourd] So much like her mother in so many ways- it was almost as if we were cuddling our Princess again!

Ginny McSwain is quite simply a master of her. Her empathy with actors, her easy going humor and her complete understanding of subtle shading and nuance brings out the best in every performer. You couldn't be in more able hands.

(Concerning Luke Skywalker's self-imposed isolation in Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)) Even if I was traumatised by something, I might take a year of meditation, but he would double down and come back harder. Jedis don't give up! But it's not my story any more and I just have to accept that. And I then bonded very deeply with Rian, but I had to let him know how I felt.

[on voicing skekTek] My puppeteer was Olly Taylor. The first couple of sessions, I said, "Who's the guy going the Scientist?" It was Olly Taylor, and I loved his vocal performance. "Why are you voicing this guy? He's great!"

[on the prequel trilogy and Jake Lloyd] I couldn't believe some of the things they wrote about the prequels, you know. I mean really, beyond 'I didn't like it.' I'm still angry about the way they treated Jake Lloyd. He was only ten years old, that boy, and he did exactly what George wanted him to do. Believe me, I understand clunky dialog.

[on the actor playing young Luke Skywalker in the 'Kenobi' series]: Grant Feely looks like a perfect Luke Skywalker and I am wishing him all the very best!

[on the death of 'Batman' voice actor Kevin Conroy] Stunned by the loss of this brilliant actor. Words can't express my admiration and respect for the man. I loved him like a brother.

[on the disputed pronunciations of Star Wars names]: When we would ask George (Lucas) 'Is it Chew-bah-ah or Chew-Back-a'. 'Is it lay-a or lee-a?'/'Is it Hahn or Han (as in hand)?' -he would just shrug and didn't really care. He told us it would be pronounced in various ways in different parts of the galaxy.

[on rejecting to participate in the documentary The People vs. George Lucas (2010)]: They weren't calling it that (the final title) at the time. But I could tell from the questions they were asking me that it was an open invitation to trash George. And I have issues with George, but I love that man. I would never talk outside the family.

[on his knowledge of the Star Wars universe, though he played the hero]: I have failed 'Star Wars' trivia tests. People come up to me at conventions and use terms that I've never heard of.

[on his identification with the Luke Skywalker character]: People think being remembered most for one character is a negative thing, but I don't. I never expected to be remembered for anything!

[2023, on the future of his Luke Skywalker character]: Well, you never say never, but I just don't see any reason to. Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don't need Luke anymore. I had my time, and that's good. But that's enough.

Walt Disney's TV program pulled back the curtain on how movies were made, probably more than any single entity in the 60's, and they'd show you the making of this, the making of that and you'd see the camera crew and the carpenters and the wardrobe department. There was one that had a particular impact on me, Clarence Nash, this distinguished looking man in a suit doing the voice of Donald Duck.

When I was involved with 'Star Wars,' I was very interested in all the backstories, and I used to pepper George with all kinds of questions about anything that crossed my mind, because I was very, very into it. But when the job came to an end, I had to move on.

[on being informed and keeping the famous 'I am your Father' line a secret]: (Irvin) Kershner said, 'I'm going to tell you something. I know it. George knows it. And when I tell you, you'll know it. But that means, that's only three people. So if it leaks, we'll know it's you.' So the burden of keeping that a secret for over a year, maybe a year and a half, it was enormous. It was immense. Like I say, there was no social media and I wouldn't leak it anyway, but I talk in my sleep. I was terrified having that knowledge.

[on the 'original' twist of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)]: In the script that everyone got, the line was, 'You don't know the truth. Obi-Wan killed your father.' I thought, 'That's a major twist!' If Alec Guinness is the ultimate bad guy, I didn't see that coming.

[on meeting Peter Cushing on the set of 'Star Wars'] That time when one of the kindest and considerate of gentlemen I've ever met played one of the most heartless and evil villains in the galaxy.

[on first reading the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) and finding out his role was limited]:} You should have seen me. What are the very first words in the crawl? 'Luke Skywalker has vanished,'. I said, 'Hoo, this is gonna be good!' I'll tell you where I thought I came in - in the forest, when the lightsaber [wiggles] like this, and flies off, I thought, 'Oh, what a great entrance!' GAH! Rey caught it...? She hasn't even been to Dagobah for training! What's the deal?

I always thought, when I read (Star Wars), I thought this is much more a fairytale than it is traditional science fiction. Because there's a princess and a farm boy and a pirate and a wizard....We're lucky that George was able to imbue it with such humor.