"Hey, get over yourself": Mark Hamill recalls how Carrie Fisher pushed him to "embrace" his legacy

Mark Hamill, who played the legendary Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, recently opened up about the emotional process of embracing the role that shaped his career. In a June 3, 2025, interview on NPR's Fresh Air, the veteran actor talked about his reluctance to fully embrace his Star Wars fame.

He also talked about how his late friend and co-star Carrie Fisher helped permanently change his outlook. She had stated:

"Hey, get over yourself."

When the original trilogy came to a grand total in 1983 with Return of the Jedi on Neath before anything takes, Hamill attempted to distance himself from the huge global shadow of the Star Wars series. In the 1980s, he moved to the theater and played difficult parts in shows including The Elephant Man, Amadeus, Room Service, Harrigan'n Hart, and The Nerd on Broadway.

However, Hamill minimized his status as a space opera star, even as his theatrical performances received great praise. He once described how, in his Playbill bio, he cheekily wrote that he was "also known for a series of popular space movies" rather than mentioning Star Wars.

The franchise's Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, was not having it.

By then, Hamill was established. After making his Broadway debut in 1981 with The Elephant Man, Hamill went on to star in Amadeus. He featured in The Nerd in 1987 after appearing in the musical Harrigan 'n Hart in 1985. Remembering about it, he said:

“She came to see a Broadway show of mine.

Hamill explained:

"And in the Playbill, in my bio, I listed all my theater credits and at the end said, he's also known for a series of popular space movies. And she goes, what's the deal? How come you don't mention Star Wars? And I said, well, I want ... to show that I have a résumé that includes extensive theater credits.”

She then went on to say:

“Hey, get over yourself. You're Luke Skywalker. I'm Princess Leia. Embrace it.”

Fisher's statement startled Hamill out of his self-consciousness, he acknowledged. He remarked:

“And I kind of saw what she meant, you know, because you say to yourself, what territory do I occupy that no one else does? So she was someone that sort of put it in perspective for me.”

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Mark Hamill suffered after Star Wars

Mark Hamill's battle was one of professional survival as much as pride. He had one of Hollywood's worst instances of typecasting following Star Wars. Casting directors were hesitant to cast him because they thought viewers wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the Jedi with lightsabers.

He was even turned down by directors as they thought viewers wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the Jedi with lightsabers. Mark Hamill was even turned down for a movie part that he had played on stage before.

Mark Hamill sought solace in voice acting as a result, most famously in his roles as The Joker in several Batman animated series. He also dabbled with independent movies, video games, and genre TV series-gradually building a diverse and respected portfolio.

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Hamill's reluctance to return to Star Wars

At first, Mark Hamill objected to Disney's announcement that it would bring back Star Wars with a trilogy of sequels. He said:

“You can never go home again. And I was sure, I said, Harrison [Ford]'s not gonna do it. He's got so much going on and he gets frustrated when those movies are brought up so often.”

Even though he was certain Harrison Ford wouldn't come back, Mark Hamill recognized the heat was on when he learned that Ford had signed on. He continued:

“But when I read in the press that he'd signed to do [it] I thought, Oh my God, I've just been drafted. Because if I say no and Harrison and Carrie come back. I'll be the most hated man in nerddom. So I thought, maybe it's fate. Maybe I should go back. So I did,”

He later reappeared in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), which also featured Fisher and Harrison.

Despite returning for the sequels, Mark Hamill still feels like he is disconnected from Star Wars fans. He revealed:

“For me, I had my time. And I appreciate it. And I'm always grateful for [director George Lucas] for letting me be a part of it. But it's over.”

Yet he remains grateful. He continued:

“So I always have to really make an adjustment when I'm talking to fans where it's very much in the present, it's very much about the future. I mean, if it weren't for the fans, I wouldn't be here. And so I'm grateful to them.”

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Mark Hamill was last seen in The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix and is now busy promoting The Life of Chuck, directed by Mike Flanagan and based on Stephen King's novel, which hits the cinemas on Friday, June 6, 2025, in the U.S.

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