Playing A Pilot In The First Star Wars Was A Sweaty, Explosive Job
There are dangerous jobs in the "Star Wars" universe, but piloting an X-wing in the battle against the first Death Star in "Star Wars: Episode I — A New Hope" is sure to be one of the most dangerous. You're in a small starfighter, flying through tiny trenches to get a shot into the exhaust port with the enemy on your tail. You've got a helmet on, sure, but what is that really going to do other than keep you from a bump on the head if you ... I don't know, stop short while driving the thing back into the hanger or something and bump your head on the glass. It's not easy, and you're probably not getting paid a ton from the Rebellion. Anyone who does that for a job is pretty awesome. That includes poor, doomed Jek Tono Porkins, aka Red 6 (the late William Hootkins), who didn't make it out of that battle.
As it turns out, it's not just being an X-wing pilot that's difficult. Playing one in a movie wasn't much better, according to Hootkins' interview in "Star Wars Insider" issue 32 from 1997. Not only was he given a name that is in questionable taste, but he wasn't even sure if he was human when he was cast. Shooting his death scene was no picnic on Naboo either.
'Half an airplane controlled by four sweaty men in T-shirts'
First off, Hootkins' death scene in the explosion wasn't when the heat started. It was really warm the day they shot. In fact, he said it was 106-degrees Fahrenheit at Wimbledon, and even hotter where they did the scenes. He said, "The only concession made to the heat was the change of the Rebel pilot helmet visors from clear to yellow, to help hide makeup streaming down the actors' faces." As a former makeup artist, I have to say that's a great idea in theory, but it really only covered their eyes. Hootkins was already dealing with that when he found out about his character's name. He explained:
"I saw the word 'Porkins: I thought because I'm a heavy guy, what's this word Porkins? I saw all the amazing creature effects they were doing and I thought wait a minute, if they are giving me a name like Porkins, is somebody going to come over and stick ears and a snout on my face?"
In fact, Hootkins had to follow George Lucas around to get an answer about whether or not he was playing a human, though he did say it didn't matter to him in the end. He just wanted to know, which is understandable. The crew members were sweating, but at least they were wearing t-shirts. All the Rebel pilots had to be in that pilot jumpsuit costume, which didn't even fit correctly and needed to be split down the back. Add in the fact that this was a tiny space, which he referred to as "half an airplane," and once you got in, you couldn't get out unless you dropped down through the bottom. Oh, and to add to all this heat, there were also going to be pyrotechnics.
'What do these guys know that I don't?'
They warned Hootkins about what was happening, but to be honest, it doesn't sound that reassuring. He explained that the special effects supervisor said, "Just before we blow you up, I want you to understand what is going to happen. It's nothing to worry about; we are going to put some gun powder under your seat, a couple of magnesium squibs here, a 4-stick dynamite charge over here." Oh, sure. Nothing to worry about, indeed!
Hootkins said he wasn't worried at first, though how that is possible after hearing about gun powder under your seat is beyond me. Then he saw the funnels of fire extinguishers next to him. While that seems like a good idea, he thought, "What do these guys know that I don't?" Probably a lot, but that wouldn't fill anyone with confidence, seeing those. He warned the crew that if there was an issue, he was bailing no matter who was in his way.
It ended up going well for Hootkins (not so for poor Porkins), but it sounds absolutely miserable to shoot. Ah, Porkins, the galaxy far, far away didn't deserve you.
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