Mark Hamill And Carrie Fisher Didn't Consider Themselves The 'Stars' Of Star Wars
When you think of the first "Star Wars" trilogy, you immediately think of Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, and Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. These characters and these actors have been known all over the world for decades. The whole original trilogy was the story of the Skywalkers, the children of Anakin Skywalker, hidden from the man their father would become. It's impossible to separate these characters and these actors from the films.
However, despite all that, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill didn't consider themselves the stars of the first "Star Wars" trilogy, according to the 1983 book "The Making of The Return of the Jedi" by John Phillip Peecher. Of course, the world was years away from the prequel series when the book was published, and decades away from the sequels, single films, and Disney+ TV series, but those first three titles set the world on fire.
' ... famous by association'
In the book, both Fisher and Hamill were speaking about what it was like to be saying goodbye to the films. (The book calls the film "their last appearances as Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker," which is funny to think about now.) Fisher said that the film was really the star instead of the actors. She explained, "The film being the star — I'm used to that. Being sort of not guilty by association — but famous by association. If the film wasn't the star, then no one would know who the hell we were!"
Of course, the films would have been vastly different if some of the other actors who were up for the roles ended up getting it. Imagine these films with Terri Nunn (the lead singer of Berlin who auditioned for the part) and Kurt Russell as Leia and Luke. However, Hamill and Fisher got their names because of "Star Wars." (Not that Fisher's family wasn't already famous.) The original draw was really the epic fairy tale set in space.
'It's really kind of an odd situation'
Hamill agreed with Fisher. He said, "It's really kind of an odd situation. If the audience cheers when I do this or that, it's really for Luke, not me. On stage I know it's for me." (Hamill did theater through the films, playing the lead role in "The Elephant Man" in 1981 and in "Amadeus" in the national tour and at the Broadhurst Theatre from 1982-1983.)
While it may be the case that the "Star Wars" films are what helped make Hamill and Fisher famous in the first place, the two actors certainly used their fame to do other projects after the trilogy was over and before the recent sequel trilogy. Hamill has done some of the absolute best voicework out there playing the Joker in many DC animated series, and Fisher became a script doctor, and an author, and did films like "The Blues Brothers," "When Harry Met Sally...," and "Soapdish."
All the Star Wars films and series are currently streaming on Disney+.