Movie star Mark Hamill has relished his recent resurgence.
Mark Hamill has been surprised by his recent career resurgence.
The 73-year-old actor – who is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film franchise – admits that he didn’t expect to be so sought-after at this stage of his career.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I certainly didn’t expect to have this sudden burst of life so late in the game.
“I should be spending time wandering the beaches with a metal detector. I can’t explain why, all of a sudden, I have five features this year.”
Mark considers his role in The Fall of the House of Usher, the 2023 horror movie, to be a turning point in his career.
He explained: “There was a point about five years ago where I thought that it’s not easy getting older, and it’s even harder when you’re doing it on camera. So I thought that I’ve had enough on-camera. I’m going to continue working but in voiceover only. Then Mike Flanagan and his producer, Trevor Macy, contacted me to do The Fall of the House of Usher.
“I was playing the family lawyer to a really evil family — a soulless, truly evil guy. And I loved it. It was minimalist. It was unlike anything I had ever done, and it sort of rekindled my satisfaction of doing things on camera.
“Then, with The Life of Chuck, I’ve seen it now three times. My wife has seen it like six times. She says, ‘It’s my favourite thing you’ve ever done.'”
Mark has enjoyed huge success in Hollywood. But the veteran actor also acknowledges that he’s made some mistakes.
Asked what lesson he wishes he learned earlier in his career, Mark replied: “Don’t sweat the smallest stuff.
“The older you get, the less you care — but I don’t mean that you don’t care about the work or your values. It’s the things that you would obsess about before: ‘Why did they write that about me?’ People are going to say what they’re going to say regardless. So focus on the work and less about the image.”
Mark’s association with the Star Wars franchise has often overshadowed his other work. But the actor has still exceeded his own expectations in the film business.
He reflected: “It was disappointing. 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. I didn’t want to be Tom Cruise. And, by those standards, I succeeded far beyond my expectations.”
Mark Hamill ‘didn’t expect’ his career resurgence
