Mark Hamill Confirms Rumor About His Life Before Star Wars
He's finally confirmed it!
This article is more than 2 years old
As humans, we share life stories as a means to connect with others. Admittedly, reminiscing on old antiquated stories can bend the truth to our liking, as with the crazy, but somewhat true story concerning one of Hollywood’s most recognized faces. In today’s capricious Hollywood news, Star Wars‘ own Mark Hamill finally confirmed a long-standing rumor regarding his career before Star Wars. See the tweet below.
While the initial details surrounding the said rumor waned a bit from the true story, it was still fulfilling to fans of the iconic actor, who tend to know every trivial detail surrounding the Star Wars franchise and its beloved origin cast. It all started when Dan Sewell, The Associated Press’ Cincinnati correspondent shared a reminiscent story to his personal Twitter account. On Valentine’s day, Sewell wrote the following: “Former LA @AP bureau chief John Brewer recalls a struggling actor moonlighting as night news assistant – filing, changing ribbons, loading paper – in the ‘70s. He informed Brewer in ‘75 he had been cast in “a sci-fi movie.” And so ended @HamillHimself ‘s AP career!” The very next day, Twitter King himself, Mark Hamill, fact-checked Sewell’s post, resharing it with the following caption, “FACT CHECK: Mostly TRUE. I WAS a copy-boy at the LA @AP bureau in the 70’s & I DID inform John Brewer I was leaving because I’d been cast in, not a “sci-fi movie”, but an episode of “The Partridge Family.” And so ended my AP career. I like Mr Brewer’s version much better.”
While we all would like to believe Sewell’s version in favor of an epic conversation starter, the events in question happened nearly 40 years ago and were likely just the mishap of remembering an unforgettable moment. As Mark Hamill revealed, the young prospering actor did in fact nearly land a career in journalism, but not necessarily in the manner others are imagining. Adding on to the revelation, Hamill admitted that his job with the Associated Press realistically included cutting copy, sweeping up, and taking real journalists’ lunch orders.
Mark Hamill did in fact get a small Hollywood push playing guest roles in shows like Bill Cosby and The Patridge Family, in which Hamill appeared in one episode. Hamill continued to land small television roles in other series like General Hospital and The Magician before landing his breakthrough role as Luke Skywalker in 1977. Hamill remains most recognizable as Luke even at 70 years old. He is also widely revered for lending his voice as the Joker in various DC comics projects, starting with 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series.
With a plethora of source material since Star War’s launch in the ‘70s, Mark Hamill is once again at the center of attention in the expanding franchise. As Disney and Lucasfilm set their eyes on creating new material focused on the time period right after the ending of Return of the Jedi, they have once again commissioned Mark Hamill in a galaxy far far away. He was involved in the Disney+ hit series The Mandalorian, which introduced Hamill once again as a young Skywalker, thanks to technology advancements in CGI, and fans are expecting the actor to remain active in the franchise in some form.
It’s hard to imagine Mark Hamill as a journalist or even Harrison Ford as a carpenter. The legacy these actors built around the popular science fiction trope is everlasting, but fans also realize that time is catching up with the beloved actors, as many fans call for the studio to cast their replacements. Falcon and the Winter Soldier leading man Sebastian Stan has been praised by fans for years for his dead-on resemblance to Hamill in Star Wars. Hamill himself, who jokingly calls Stan “son” has on many occasions voiced his approval of casting Stan as a young Skywalker. Luckily, fans may still get to live out that dream, as recent news suggests a Luke Skywalker Jedi Academy series is in the works.
