Star Wars' Princess Leia Runner-Up Wound Up Becoming A Famous Musician
In 1977, "Star Wars" created a powerful fandom. Suddenly the world was invested in a space princess who directed her own rescue, a farm boy with big dreams, and a rogue pilot who charmed his way into our hearts and bags of smuggled goods. For many people, this marked the beginning of their love of genre films, and there are very few places on the planet where the names Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia aren't recognized.
When we think about Leia Organa, the Princess/Senator/General that inspired a generation, it's almost impossible to imagine anyone but the late, great Carrie Fisher playing the role. However, that part went through auditions like any other. During a 2002 interview between Fisher and creator George Lucas on Fisher's show "Conversations from the Edge with Carrie Fisher" (via Comic Book Resources), Lucas revealed that the runner-up for her role ended up as a famous musician.
'Your runner-up? She became a rockstar'
Lucas said, "Your runner-up? She became a rockstar." That runner-up was Terri Nunn, the lead singer of the band Berlin, who brought us songs like "Take My Breath Away" and "Metro." In fact, Nunn's audition with Harrison Ford is out there (via WishItWas1984) on YouTube. Nunn brought a softness to the part that is very different than Fisher's interpretation. Frankly, I'm in awe of both of them for making what, at the time, was space gibberish sound compelling.
Nunn spoke about the audition in a 2022 interview with Rave It Up. She said, "I'm sitting there with Harrison Ford, and we're reading these lines, and I had no idea what the hell is an R2-D2. I don't know what that is. But I was trying to make it happen." Nunn would go on to act in projects like "T.J. Hooker," "Lou Grant," and "Vega$," but Fisher just nailed that audition.
In the interview on "Conversations from the Edge," Lucas told Fisher, "I hired you because there was this very mature streak that ran through you, and then on the other side, there was this very vulnerable kind of young girlish streak that ran through you." He said that she, Ford, and Mark Hamill all had qualities that fit the characters really well. Nunn was great and gave more of a naturalistic performance (which seemed to fit the sides they were reading). Still, knowing what we know about Princess Leia, Fisher was just the best choice. Plus, if Nunn had gotten the role, we might have missed out on her beautiful voice. (Well, maybe we still would have gotten a singing Leia in the "Star Wars Holiday Special," but that's neither here nor there.)
All the "Star Wars" films are streaming on Disney+.