MARK HAMILL

The Star Wars star on marriage, music, old movies, his iconic role of Luke Skywalker and his beloved co-star Carrie Fisher.

Mark Hamill has been working steadily as an actor since he was 17. The native of Oakland, Calif., landed the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars—which celebrates its 40th anniversary May 25—when he was 25, and the long list of his other acting credits includes stints on Broadway (The Elephant Man, Amadeus) and voice work, most notably as the Joker on Batman: The Animated

Series. Now 65, he’s passionate about his family (wife Marilou is his business manager, and children Nathan, 37, Griffin, 34, and Chelsea, 28, all live nearby) and his lifelong interests, including being the family chef. “I was the middle of seven kids,” he says. “One year I asked for a chemistry set. My dad told me to go into the kitchen and help my mom with dinner instead. I really took to it.”

You’ve been married almost 40 years.That’s a great accomplishment. I’m very lucky. Forty years is almost a century in Hollywood years. If something works, you stay with it. When I met my wife, she was a dental hygienist. She was familiar with showbiz without being bowled over by it. I remember we went to a movie and Robert Duvall came onscreen. She leaned over and said, “He’s such a nice guy.” I said, “You know Robert Duvall?” She said, “I cleaned his teeth.”

What’s a typical Sunday like

for you? Sundays are very special. Usually it’s a more elaborate breakfast, because I’m always on these smoothies and protein drinks. Sunday I go the extra mile—potatoes O’Brien, maybe a little crispy bacon, freshsqueezed orange juice. I TiVo old movies. It’s a day for family and relishing the last few hours of freedom before you go back to the routine of Monday through Friday. Usually we try to find a TV series that everybody enjoys. This season we’ve been watching Timeless.

What question are you asked most often about Star Wars? “Did you ever expect it to be such a success?” The answer is, “Not of this magnitude.” When I first read the script I thought, It’s not traditional sci-fi; it’s

more a Wizard of Oz fantasy. It had a princess, an earnest young farm boy, comical robots and a mysterious and scary dark overlord. But it also had this great comic sensibility. I thought it had “cult hit” written all over it. Did I think we would be talking about it all these years later? Of course not.

What does Luke Skywalker

represent to fans? Young people can relate to Luke, because he’s nothing special: He’s sort of this farm boy who yearns to leave home and search for his destiny in the stars. What are some of your favorite memories of Carrie Fisher? Carrie’s death was so hard. Even now I still think of her in the present tense. When we first found out she was my space twin, they took us aside to tell us the secret; it wasn’t in the script. I remember thinking, She’s a princess—she’s my sister. I said, “Does that mean I’m royalty?” And Carrie immediately snapped, “No!” When we were filming

The Force Awakens, Prince William and Prince Harry came to the set. I put it to them. I said, “My mother was Queen Amidala. My father is Lord Vader. My sister is Princess Leia. Don’t you think that makes me royalty?” William immediately said, “Absolutely.” Harry said, “I’d have to think about it a little more.” Carrie was happy they were split [on the vote]. She was this wild Auntie Mame, wonderfully eccentric, charismatic, hilarious person. I loved her.