Mark Hamill said reputation as Luke Skywalker cost him this iconic movie role
The leading role in the original “Star Wars” film was a doubled-edged lightsaber for Mark Hamill as it launched him into stardom but stopped his movie career from soaring any further.
In a interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Sept. 11, the 73-year-old actor said he believes his breakthrough role also cost him movie roles outside the franchise.
He recalled an interaction with the late director Milos Forman who told Hamill he wasn’t right for leading part in the 1984 musical adaptation “Amadeus.”
“I said, ‘Milos, I played Amadeus on Broadway and in the national tour, and I was wondering if there was a chance you’d consider me for the part.’ And he laughed. ‘No-no-no, because no one is to be believing that the Luke Spacewalker is the Mozart!'” Hamill told THR.
Mark Hamill arrives at a screening of Lionsgate’s “The Long Walk” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sept. 8, 2025.
His iconic role as the farm boy turned Jedi hero ultimately left him typecast in Hollywood, prompting him to pursue voice-over work in animated projects from TV shows like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to video games including the “Batman: Arkham” series.
Despite expressing a fondness for his voice-acting career, Hamill called his inability to land live-action movie roles “disappointing,” THR reported.
“But everyone has their own trajectory. I had my challenges, and other people have different challenges. I don’t have to be a leading man. I’m happy just to be a working stiff, and that’s what I was for the longest time. All I wanted to do when I started out was make a living doing what I love to do,” he said. “I didn’t want to be Tom Cruise. And, by those standards, I succeeded far beyond my expectations.”
Hamill returned to the big screen and the staple franchise with the 2017 release of the “The Last Jedi” reprising his role as Luke Skywalker.
Currently amid a long overdue career resurgence, Hamill has recently taken roles in Netflix’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the 2023 comedy “The Machine” and the upcoming Stephen King adaptation by Lionsgate “The Long Walk,” which releases in theaters Friday, Sept. 12.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Hamill says ‘Star Wars’ typecasting cost him this 80s movie role
