‘Star Wars’: Mark Hamill Is Glad He Never Knew About Carrie Fisher And Harrison Ford’s Affair
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford became household names after starring in Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Hamill played Luke Skywalker, Fisher starred as Princess Leia Organa, and Ford played Han Solo, and the three went on to reprise their roles in multiple Star Wars films.
In 2016, Fisher published her memoir The Princess Diarist. The book was released five weeks before her death, and in the memoir, Fisher revealed she had an affair with Ford while filming Star Wars: A New Hope. Hamill was unaware the affair occurred, and looking back the Star Wars actor is glad he did not know.
Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford had an affair while filming ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’
The Princess Diarist is Fisher’s third memoir, and she decided to write the book after finding diaries she kept during the filming of Star Wars: A New Hope. Her affair with Ford is the main storyline in The Princess Diarist, and at the time it was a shocking revelation for fans of Star Wars.
According to The Princess Diarist, Ford and Fisher began an affair after George Lucas’ birthday party. The affair continued for three months and the two ended things when filming for Star Wars: A New Hope wrapped.
When Fisher took on the role of Leia in the famous franchise, she was only 19 years old. Ford was 33 years old at the time and he was married to Mary Marquardt. Ford and Marquardt had two children together and they divorced in 1979.
Mark Hamill is glad he did not know about Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford’s affair
After Star Wars: A New Hope, Ford, Fisher, and Hamill starred in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983. All three cast members reprised their characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015 and in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Fisher and Hamill both starred in Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017. Fisher’s appearances in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker occurred posthumously.
Despite starring in multiple movies together, Hamill did not learn about the affair between Fisher and Ford until Fisher released The Princess Diarist. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hamill joked that he most likely would not have noticed that his co-stars were having an affair.
“I was so self-involved at that point, they could’ve been doing it in front of me and I wouldn’t have noticed,” Hamill said. “I was single and had my own agenda.”
The actor is also thankful that he did not know about Ford and Fisher’s affair while filming Star Wars: A New Hope.
“But I was blissfully unaware, which was good for me. I think it might have been a distraction if I’d known what was going on,” Hamill told ET.
Mark Hamill thinks relationships between actors are ‘commonplace’
For decades, Hamill was unaware that Ford and Fisher were ever briefly together. While he did not know about the affair for some time, he does not think it is all that surprising an affair while filming Star Wars: A New Hope took place.
“On-set romances are always… they’re commonplace,” he told ET. “But it’s kind of tricky because if the relationship doesn’t last and you’re on a TV series and you got four more seasons to go, it can be really awkward.”
Hamill added, “It happened to me. I was with a girl who was playing my sister on a soap opera, General Hospital.”
