Mark Hamill Said Carrie Fisher Took His ‘Breath Away’
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are two of Star Wars fans’ most beloved actors. Viewers watched the adventures of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia for multiple decades. Off-screen, Hamill and Fisher shared a tight bond that consisted of both criticism and comedy.
When Fisher died days after falling ill on her way to London, Hamill was one of her co-stars who spoke about her.
Mark Hamill said Carrie Fisher felt comfortable around him immediately after they met
Hamill met Fisher for the first time while shooting Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. In a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, Hamill remembered being awed by Fisher’s maturity. Although the 19-year-old was five years younger than him, Hamill said Fisher was more experienced. As the daughter of legendary stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Hamill said Fisher often shared stories about growing up in Hollywood.
“She had a way of just being so brutally candid,” he said of Fisher. “I’d just met her, but it was like talking to a person you’d known for 10 years. She was telling me stuff about her stepfather, about her mom, about Eddie Fisher — it was just harrowing in its detail.”
The actor also recalled feeling as if Fisher shared too much during their first encounter.
“I kept thinking, ‘Should I know this?’ I mean, I wouldn’t have shared that with somebody that I had trusted for years and years and years,” Hamill wrote. “But she was the opposite. She just sucked you into her world.”
Mark Hamill released a heartfelt statement about Carrie Fisher after she died
After their initial meeting, Hamill and Fisher became almost inseparable on set. Throughout the early installments of Star Wars, Hamill recalled going to great lengths to make Fisher laugh. While they had lunch together during filming, Hamill said he tried on Fisher’s iconic Princess Leia jumpsuit. Additionally, Hamill said Fisher made him wear glasses and “Bozo hair” as she walked him around the film’s studio lot.
Hamill and Fisher’s last time working together happened in 2015. Both actors agreed to appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as their original characters. Shortly after filming wrapped, Fisher had a heart attack while on her way to Los Angeles from London. Several days later, Fisher died at an LA hospital. Her mother, Reynolds, died the following day.
In December 2016, Hamill released a statement about Fisher to Entertainment Tonight. Hamill opened up about Fisher’s magnetic energy, as well as how much he loved her.
“It’s never easy to lose such a vital, irreplaceable member of the family, but this is downright heartbreaking. Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all- whether she liked it or not,” Hamill wrote. “She was OUR Princess, damn it, & the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent & ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away.”
Mark Hamill said Carrie Fisher frequently ‘made you root for her’
Hamill continued to say that Fisher’s personality resonated with Star Wars fans and beyond. In his statement, he described Fisher as “determined and tough” when she wanted. He also shared that the star had a softer side to her.
“Determined & tough, but with a vulnerability that made you root for her & want her to succeed & be happy,” Hamill said. “She played such a crucial role in my professional & personal life, & both would have been far emptier without her.”
“I am grateful for the laughter, the wisdom, the kindness & even the bratty, self-indulgent crap my beloved space-twin gave me through the years,” Hamill concluded. “Thanks, Carrie. I love you.”
