In case you didn't know, Mark Hamill — aka Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Frickin' Rebellion — is on Twitter, and he's amazing. He interacts with fans, cracks jokes, and drops the occasional bit of Star Wars behind-the-scenes trivia.
Here are some of the most interesting little Star Wars facts that Mark has tweeted out over the years:
1. According to Mark, the original title for A New Hope was: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller As Taken From the Journal of the Whills Saga Number One: The Star Wars.
Copied almost exactly from title-page of 1st script w/ Luke's original surname: #Starkiller-#LongestAutographEverLOL https://t.co/WgIrFmVqFv
2. Sir Alec Guinness didn't like it when people addressed him with his title, and even gave Mark a "fairly firm" slap in the face after he called him "Sir Alec" too many times.
I always called him "Sir" Alec until one day he tapped me twice on the cheek, followed by a fairly firm slap! Him: "I want to be known by my name, NOT my accolade!" Me: "Can I call you "Big Al?" Both of us: 🤣😂 (a LOT) #TrueStory https://t.co/uv3jM45YYs
3. Mark would tease Carrie Fisher about how Luke should be considered royalty as well...which Carrie VEHEMENTLY disagreed with.
Me: Wait a minute...If Luke is Princess Leia's brother, does that make me royalty? Carrie: (immediately w/ no hesitation) NO!!! Me: OK-relax! Just asking... (So began a yrs-long tease of mine) You sure? LORD Vader-QUEEN Amidala & I'm the only commoner? Carrie:😠 Me:🤣 #TrueStory https://t.co/mQEiMiORt3
4. The reveals concerning Vader/Luke and Luke/Leia weren't written in the script in order to keep them a secret. The cast (including Mark) were told just a few days before filming those scenes.
@CreativePaintUK In both cases it wasn't in the script to try to keep it a secret. I was told at the last moment just days before filming each scene.
5. In fact, during filming, the line in The Empire Strikes Back was "Obi Wan killed your father." Mark, George Lucas, and director Irvin Kershner were the only ones who knew what the real line would be when James Earl Jones recorded it later on.
During filming line was "Obi Wan killed your father" Besides George & Irvin- I was the ONLY one who knew what that line would eventually be. https://t.co/RVJzDztvAh
6. George Lucas reportedly claimed "there's no underwear in space" to explain Mark's wardrobe.
That was the t-shirt I wore under my #EmpireStrikesBack uniform. It was strategically torn to match the damaged jacket so you would see skin & not the t-shirt. These pictures were suppressed for years because George said: "There's no underwear in space." Seriously.🤣#TrueStory https://t.co/3pl1VzN2ib
7. Mark once made a pun so terrible that George pushed him into the trash compactor water.
"Pardon me George, could this be Dia Noga poo-poo?"🎶 #TrueStory https://t.co/mSAWCQ0fMd
8. Mark idolized Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) and would hang out on set even when he wasn't on the call sheet.
I was single, living in a 1-room flat in London during the original movie. I'm in street-clothes since I wasn't working, but would come to the studio anyway, to watch them film, hang-out w/ friends & on this day in particular-have lunch w/ 1 of my idols: Peter Cushing! #TrueStory https://t.co/oMzUiJIHf7
9. Mark had to provide his actual face for this shot from ESB because the prop head they made wasn't convincing enough.
It was my head protruding through an opening in the set floor as I stood below-My prop head was tested but rejected. https://t.co/10mUunERWB
Here's a photo of that prop head, in case you're curious:
Unused dummy head-rejected in favor of using my real head pushed up from beneath the set. Hard to keep my eyes open w/ all that smoke! #SW https://t.co/2p7izWjQql
10. The blue milk in ANH was so gross it made Mark gag.
Blue milk was "Long Life" milk (used by campers because no refrigeration is needed) w/ blue food coloring. Oily, warm & slightly sweet, it literally made me gag, but I was determined to drink it on-camera. It was an acting challenge to appear as though I enjoyed it. 🤢 #TrueStory https://t.co/L9XNJXxsU7
11. However, the green milk in The Last Jedi was just delicious coconut water!
The green milk was just regular coconut water dyed green in post-production. #TrueStory #Yum 😋 https://t.co/1ZHd4Q3HMS
12. Mark wore an earpiece in order to properly hear Frank Oz's lines during his scenes with Yoda. According to Mark, his earpiece would sometimes pick up radio signals.
I wore a small ear-piece to hear @TheFrankOzJam speaking. Occasionally I'd pickup radio signals & instead of his dialogue I'd hear The Rolling Stones' Fool To Cry🎶or other pop singles. I learned to ignore that & wait for Yoda's lips to stop moving to cue my next line. #TrueStory https://t.co/8bbUV9uTXx
13. Speaking of Frank Oz, he was not a fan of the cast and crew doing Yoda impressions (which apparently they did often), as he was afraid it would influence his version of the voice.
.@TheFrankOzJam did NOT. When shooting #EmpireStrikesBack-we all were doing Yoda impressions ("Hungry are you? To lunch we must go!")-Frank finally asked us to please stop because our goofy versions were influencing him & a distraction from the only one that mattered.😆#TrueStory https://t.co/BAjESnDkcI
14. Most of the actors playing X-wing pilots in the Death Star attack in ANH were wearing shorts to keep cool.
Because of a record heatwave in England when we filmed the original #StarWars, most of the pilots wore only the top-half of their costume, attacking the Death Star wearing shorts. #TrueStory https://t.co/RSgZRneft9
15. Mark didn't get to read the full script for A New Hope until after he was cast, and had a little regret that he couldn't play Darth Vader.
@TitusNation I didn't get to read the whole script until AFTER I got the job. When I finished reading it, I wished I was taller because Vader was my favorite character. Scary AND cool. Why do we always want things we can't have?
16. George Lucas would say "it's only a movie" to quell arguments among the actors about scene choices.
Whenever Harrison, Carrie & I would argue about something in a scene, George would tell us: "It's only a movie." Watching this man's reaction reminds me that to countless fans around the world, it's much, much more than we ever dreamed it was. #UltraPassionateFan 😍 https://t.co/0pfilI1nRl
17. Mark popped a blood vessel in his eye while shooting the trash compactor scene.
I purposely made myself red-faced for a strangulated look, causing a blood vessel in my eye to burst. Afterwards-they had to shoot carefully to hide it until I healed. George told me I should've asked him 1st because w/ the lighting & red-filters it made no difference. #TrueStory https://t.co/877pbC6AWP
18. Mark once flunked a Star Wars trivia quiz.
He asked: "How did Luke Skywalker lose his green lightsaber?" He seemed so informed, sincere & innocent. How was I supposed to know he was setting me up with a trick question? FUN FACT: I once flunked a #StarWars trivia quiz. #TrueStory https://t.co/3A2EbrZmxj
19. Mark's son, Nathan, was born the same day Mark shot the AT-AT scene in ESB. He also sprained his thumb that day, which delayed shooting the big lightsaber duel with Vader.
Actually it was a green-screen shot of me firing up at an AT-AT-then diving headfirst into "snow"-Originally given the day off-they called 9hrs after his birth asking for this 1 shot-during which I sprained my thumb-postponing that week's filming of the lightsaber duel #TrueStory
20. Mark had to take scuba lessons at a nearby all-girls school to prepare for the Bacta tank scene.
I visited an all-girls school for scuba-diving lessons preparing for the Bacta Tank scenes in #EmpireStrikesBack. The pool for was closed to students that day, but after a few hours underwater, I surfaced & was surrounded by countless girls... all laughing at me. 😳 #TrueStory https://t.co/RCy7Sxwqqs
21. Carrie Fisher loved her iconic Hoth jacket.
No sound stages in Norway. Carrie just came to hang out, have fun & keep us all laughing. (Plus, she really, really wanted that jacket) #CarrieOnForever https://t.co/mmoOSlhMGf
22. And she had a floral-print robe to wear over her metal bikini that she forced Mark to wear.
It was Carrie's robe. She REALLY wanted me to wear it & I thought-who cares? No one will ever see it. This pic was snapped as she pointed to the photographer with the long-lens camera & I thought-who cares? No one will ever see it. #ThanksInternet 😳 https://t.co/r0cZaRr9hs
23. Carrie rented Monty Python star Eric Idle's house while filming ESB, and the gang got to hang out with Idle. Mark claims he'd never seen Harrison Ford laugh as hard before or since.
Not sure-but I think we were spoofing Awards Shows w/ me presenting Eric a gold Monty Python record-I AM sure Carrie took that picture & that I've never seen Harrison laugh that hard-before or since (I like your idea though-We could call it Scooby Don't) https://t.co/E5L7AZu7O5
24. Mark still remembers his lines from the screen test (part of the audition process)...even the lines that got cut from the final script.
That line (cut from final script) is burned into my brain 4EVER! Oh well..I prefer "I have a very bad feeling about this" anyway #ISaidIt1st https://t.co/iu3I1ZwBJ7
25. Mark has spoken out about animal rights and wildlife conservation, and was upset to see that Luke injured the Wampa in ESB. During filming, he thought he was just scaring it off!
When filming scene I was assured my lightsaber swipe toward camera (creature not on set) would simply singe fur 2 scare him off-Horrified to later see amputation & unnecessary cruelty-Wampa was HUNGRY (not EVIL)-Luke would never do this! #StillAngry2017 https://t.co/QhIkOILZmw
26. And finally, Luke's kiss on Leia's forehead in their final scene together in The Last Jedi was unscripted and just happened in the moment ❤️.
An emotionally charged day on set filming this because, knowing he was about to sacrifice his life for the greater good, Luke was saying goodbye... forever. The kiss was unscripted & spontaneous in the moment, summarizing his/my feelings in a way words could never have conveyed. https://t.co/l6Ap50WO8U