Leading up to Celebration V, I made no secret of the fact that I desperately wanted to meet and interview Mark Hamill. For this child of the Original Trilogy, Mark's characterization of Luke Skywalker represents the very core of the Saga and what Star Wars means to me. George can say it's about Anakin all he wants, but for me it will always be Luke Skywalker's journey.

We interviewed Mark toward the end of the day on Sunday, the last day of the convention. The post-Celebration blues were starting to seep in as we already began saying goodbye to friends that had to leave early. Jimmy's voice was completely shot after giving it everything he had over the previous three days. However, that was all quickly forgotten once we started talking to Mark.

I suppose the best way to sum up my feelings about meeting Mark is to say that he was exactly what I had always hoped he would be: funny, friendly, engaging, interested. He never once downplayed his status in Star Wars fan culture or the fans' devotion to the Saga. Quite the opposite, Mark Hamill just plain "gets it."


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

You can listen to our interview with Mark here.