Mark Hamill And Carrie Fisher Were Too Fat When They Returned To Star Wars?
When J.J. Abrams was getting ready to prep the newest installment in the Star Wars Saga with Star Wars: Episode VII, we knew that some of the old cast would appear in the new sequel film. We had already heard that Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher would reprise their roles as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, respectively.
It appears the only “problem” surrounding their return to the Star Wars universe was that Disney and Lucasfilm believed time hasn’t been so kind to Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.
As reported in The Sun, Star Wars: Episode VII producers were supplying Mark Hamill (61 at the time) and Carrie Fisher (56 at the time) with top nutritionists and fitness trainers before they appeared in the film.
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher hadn’t appeared in a Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi in 1983, when they were 31 and 26 years old, respectively.
They had aged (as people tend to do) over the previous 30 years. As for Harrison Ford (then 70), Star Wars: Episode VII producers were apparently happy with the way he had wrinkled over the past 30 years, so they didn’t send him a top nutritionist or fitness trainer.
Apparently, the cajoling to get in better shape worked for both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher at the time. Mark Hamill revealed he had to lose around 50 pounds to return to his role as Luke Skywalker. He said he went on an extremely strict diet and basically had to eliminate many of the foods he’d been eating in the run up (mostly junk like potato chips and bagels).
Meanwhile, Carrie Fisher said she was asked to lose 35 pounds before filming and playing the older version of Princess Leia, who had become General Organa. Carrie Fisher had a hilarious quote about it saying, “They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters!”
Ultimately, despite the weight demands, both Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill did return to the Star Wars franchise in the sequel trilogy though it wasn’t necessarily the happiest of reunions. Hamill was particularly vocal about Luke Skywalker’s arc in these movies. And sadly, Carrie Fisher passed away before the trilogy was completed.
