Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 6 Reasons Mark Hamill Could Ruin It
5. His Best Work Was On Broadway
With the fear of being typecast hanging over his head in the wake of the original Star Wars trilogy coming to an end, Hamill decided to make the move into Broadway and try his hand at acting on the stage. His first major role came in Bernard Pomerances tragic drama The Elephant Man in which he took on the part of John Merrick, a Victorian era man with severe bodily deformations, a part also played by David Bowie and Bradley Cooper in different incarnations of the play. Hamill went on to star in productions of Amadeus, Room Service, Nerd and Harrigan N Hart, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination. When a casting call was announced for a new film version of Amadeus, Hamill auditioned to reprise his role on screen, but lost out to Tom Hulce. It's said the studio executive was very clear on why he intervened and put the blocks on Hamill getting the part: "I don't want Luke Skywalker in this film". Some of Hamill's most comfortable performances are said to have taken place on Broadway. While you like to think that he shouldnt have any trouble sliding back into his Jedi robes, Star Wars fans will remain hopeful that his time on the stage wont influence his performance in an all action, big budget space opera.
