Mark Hamill had his Reddit Ask Me Anything this afternoon. Despite a late start and a brief troll issue, it seemed to go swimmingly.
He didn’t say much about Episode VII – sorry, no announcements! This was to promote the Make-A-Wish contest. Though of course he was asked about the Fisher report from the other day:
The only character I know for sure is returning is my friend R2-D2. He hasn’t stopped beeping about it.
And when pressed…
Haha. I’m not being coy, really. When I find something out, I’ll let everybody know. But nothing has been decided yet.
I don’t know if anyone actually believes that, but hey, it’s not like we can blame the guy for playing it cool. Below the cut, power convertors, facial hair, keeping secrets and much, much more.
Of course, there were power converters:
I get ribbed for that line because it was so whiney. And I remember at the time, I had to make it as juvenile as possible so that I can show how Luke matures later. So it should be embarrassing. It should be whiney and childish. But boy, has it come back to haunt me. I don’t think I ever got the chance to finally pick them up.
Would an older Luke have a beard?
Well based on what has gone before, I have a feeling it’s beard, but I have no confirmation of that. My wife said if you grow a beard, you’ll cover up your cleft chin. That’s not something that occurred to me. But I can only guess. I’ve never read any of the novelizations or anything but someone said to me, ‘you’re married, you have children.’ Based on Obi-Wan I would have guessed I’d be living in an igloo or something. He was more spiritual, he didn’t have a wife or children. And when you find out one of the only eligible women in the galaxy is your sister, it really cuts down on your odds of hooking up with anyone. But that’s not what these movies are about. The charm of the trilogy is it appeals to the child in all of us. It goes back to playing in your backyard. It’s very primal, it’s good versus evil, a high sense of adventure.
On keeping the father scene a secret and not spilling things:
Irvin Kirshner brought me aside, and said “I know this, George knows this, and you’ll be the third person who knows. If it goes out we’ll know you leaked it.” So i was terrified of being the one to ruin it. I remember when they screened it, Harrison turned around and said “I didn’t know that! Why the f*&^ didn’t you tell me?!”
Im good at keeping secrets. Especially when the goal it to maximize the enjoyment of the audience. That’s why I’m worried about episode 7, they’re going after casting sheets! I’m someone who doesn’t want to know what I’m getting for my birthday. My sisters would go through the closets at xmas, and i hated that.
Im trying to keep the surprises for the movies, not for the internet. I hate spoilers, I like being surprised. There’s a natural curiosity, and a competition to see who can reveal the most. I beg people, please lets keep it a surprise! Don’t you want to be surprised? I know I do.
He was also asked how he feels about playing such an iconic character, which scene he would change, his favorite lightsaber color, the Holiday Special, meeting Harrison Ford, Yoda, blue milk, the inside of a taun taun, Wookiees or droids, being a Jedi school dropout and what he kept from the set. And he exchanged greetings with Peter Mayhew.
Of course there were questions about some of his voice roles, most notably the Joker and Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Other questions included working with Make-A-Wish, his childhood hero, and his favorite movie. He was asked about a plumber’s story, if he remembers picking up a hitchhiker in the mid-’70s and even the secret to a successful marriage.
Also, chips.