Mark Hamill Quotes

Quotes by and about Mark Hamill

(Continued from his main entry on the site.)

Hamill: "[I see myself as] more of a character actor. I never thought of myself as a traditional leading man. I usually played comedic sidekicks. I always thought Othello was an interesting part, but Iago was more interesting. The play doesn't have to be about me. I love ensemble pieces, I love being a part of the entire tapestry of a piece, but I think character actors do have a lot more fun, and there's a versatility involved that's challenging and fun, to come up to speed and do what's required of you."

Hamill: "I'm in a really trivial business. I have a brother who's a doctor, and to me that's ... a really tangible skill that helps people. But he was saying to me, you know, that entertainment and diversion is really important for people's well-being overall. They need that escape mechanism from how harsh life can be."

[On his collection of memorabilia:]
Hamill: "Part of the fun of [collecting things] is escaping the drudgery of real life. ... Whether you're having a difficult time at work or you're not achieving career goals – there's things that make you personally happy. And collecting is a way to sort of express your personality. To show appreciation for the things that you value."

Hamill: "I don't need the spotlight, you know, and the bows and all that. I was just grateful to get the opportunities."

Hamill: "[Carrie Fisher] was all about having fun all the time."

Hamill: "Look, [Carrie Fisher and I] may be space twins, but in many ways, we're the exact opposite. She was so brutally candid and forthcoming. I used to call her on it, too. I said, 'Look, I'm just as crazy as you are. But ... you write about 'bipolar' as an excuse to get away with horrible behavior, and you're always late!' I was sort of the square stick-in-the-mud brother, and she was the wild madcap Auntie Mame. Truly."

The Guardian: "He would occasionally accuse [Carrie Fisher] of being self-centered ('Although, come on, what actor isn't,' he concedes), while she sometimes thought he could be a bit of a stick-in-the-mud."

The Guardian: "In his 70s youth, Hamill was bright-eyed and blond, like Björn Borgs earnest younger brother. ... Where he once looked callow, he now looks kind. Which he is, urging me to have the comfortable armchair while he takes the desk chair and sweetly encouraging my hackneyed Star Wars analogies about Donald Trump and Darth Vader, all of which he must have heard a million times before."

The Guardian: "As time has passed, it has become only more apparent how much Hamill, Fisher and Ford resemble their Star Wars characters. 'George [Lucas] casts people who are so close to what he wants so he doesn't have to go in and do a lot of backstory and motivation,' Hamill says. 'Carrie was Hollywood royalty, Harrison had been around and was' - he now breaks off to do a bang-on imitation of a grumpy and mumbling Ford - 'an excellent eye-roller. And I was bright and bouncy, and fairly clueless.'"

The Guardian: "'I look at how Star Wars has become a part of the pop culture and it is just astonishing to me. People tell me stories about getting through their mother's terminal illness or naming their kids Luke and Leia and I'm just taken aback at how it's inspired people,' he says with so much wide-eyed sweetness that I actually believe him."