7. He Could Have Been Played By Ralph Hinkley Or Charles Martin Smith
It's hard to imagine anyone other than Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker nowadays, of course, but he very nearly came close to losing the part. Lucas took interest in a number of actors for the role of Luke - the most notable of which were William Kitt and Charles Martin Smith. Kitt went on to play the character of Ralph Hinkley in the popular TV series The Greatest American, whilst Charles Martin Smith had been an actor in Lucas' own American Graffiti, playing Terry "The Toad" Fields. Charles Martin Smith is now best known, perhaps, for his role in film The Untouchables. Ultimately, Hamill's naive charm won Lucas around; as an actor, he was deemed to be more in line what what the writer/director had envisioned for the young farm boy.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
