Star Wars made Luke Skywalker and Han Solo household names in the galaxy far, far away, and it made Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford huge stars here on Earth. Their shared adventure, both against the Empire and as beloved performers in one of the most successful film franchises ever, all started with a screen test they did together the very first time they met, video of which was newly shared on Twitter by NBC reporter Carl Quintanilla. Neither Hamill or Ford knew much about the film or what they were reading that day, and their characters would change over time, but you can still see the foundation of their performances and why they were both chosen.
What a gem here from @larwoolf. Can you share any color on this, @HamillHimself! ? #StarWars (cc: @frankpallotta) pic.twitter.com/O2lcUKTrBH
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) July 27, 2019
As you can see, the footage included some very different dialogue following the discovery that Alderaan had been destroyed. Ford’s Solo still has some bite to him, but he’s more even-keeled and not quite than the smuggler he’d become. Hamill’s Luke is less animated than the teenager we met in the movie, though Luke’s angst and forlorn attitude was there from the start.
Hamill also shared some background on Twitter about this moment, including how George Lucas didn’t bother explaining what the movie was about despite neither of the actors having read the script.
My screen-test for @starwars w/ Harrison on the 1st day I ever met him. Neither 1 of us had read the script at this point, only this 1 scene. I asked George what kind of movie it was-“Let’s just do it, we’ll talk about that later” We never did talk about it later-we just did it. https://t.co/e7cHWoLmJk
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) July 28, 2019
Imagine having to audition for a role via one of the jargon-heavy scenes from Star Wars, all without knowing anything about it. No wonder these two became Luke and Han. If this is what they could do without any guidance, George Lucas knew he could direct them into something great.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm