USA TODAY International Edition
Stars collide as Hamill, Gadot meet cute
Mark Hamill is having an awesome month, from presenting at the Oscars with his Star Wars: The Last Jedi costars (including BB-8!) to being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with pals Harrison Ford and George Lucas in attendance.
Getting the old band back together wasn’t even the nerdiest moment, though. Instead, it was Luke Skywalker hanging out with Wonder Woman for the first time.
For a comedy bit during the Academy Awards, host Jimmy Kimmel took a random batch of celebrities to a nearby movie theater to hand out snacks. While Ansel Elgort and Armie Hammer were busy being outfitted with hot dog cannons, Hamill and Gal Gadot had a meetcute.
“You’ve got to take your opportunities,” Hamill tells us. “I was standing right behind her and I had not met her, so I just introduced myself. I said, ‘My kids will be thrilled. Heck, I’m thrilled!’ She couldn’t have been more gracious and lovely, and it’s so wonderful to see strong women crushing it at the box office.”
The Star Wars star references the late Carrie Fisher, a wonder woman from way back in the day: “When girls say, ‘Isn’t Star Wars a boy thing?,’ I say, ‘You know, Princess Leia took over her own rescue. She made Han Solo and me look like chumps. She was certainly no shrinking violet or damsel in distress.’ I hope we had something to do with the trend of empowering females in Hollywood.”
Still, getting a star on the Walk of Fame was pretty cool, too, Hamill says, though he doesn’t feel any different now having an extra piece of L.A. real estate. As a little kid, “I never dreamed of getting a Hollywood star, but I’d watch The Beverly Hillbillies and dream of being a millionaire. When you make money, you think, ‘Why hasn’t my life changed immediately for the better?’ But it was surreal. It’s like you’re watching a movie of someone else getting honored in that way.”
Hamill was just glad to have Ford and Lucas there, along with R2-D2 and a bunch of Stormtroopers. (Ford even got a little quippy during his remarks: “There were a lot more people that showed up for my star. A lot more.”)
“It was so meaningful for me to have George and Harrison there,” Hamill says. “They were my two top picks, but I said to my wife, ‘They’re never going to do it. They can’t stand the crowds and the hoopla and the paparazzi, but I should at least ask.’ And to my great surprise, George flew down just for that. My gosh, I’m so grateful.”