Mark Hamill starred in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Now he just wants to make America normal again

Mark Hamill was astatine a constituent successful his beingness wherever helium felt acceptable to commercialized the Force for a excavation interval and a quiescent crossword successful the shade.

After 5 decades arsenic the look of 1 of popular culture’s astir enduring myths — Luke Skywalker, the wide-eyed Tatooine workplace boy-turned-Jedi knight successful “Star Wars” — Hamill had recovered a comfy country of the postulation to telephone his own. He had a location helium cherished, a household that kept him grounded and nary pressing request to beryllium successful beforehand of a camera again.

“I said, ‘This is cleanable — they killed maine off,’” Hamill, 73, says with a motion connected a lukewarm May day successful Los Angeles, referring to Skywalker’s decease successful 2017’s “The Last Jedi.” “I didn’t person the thrust oregon the information anymore. If you suffer the occurrence successful your belly, it’s casual to conscionable bent astir the excavation each day, playing Yahtzee oregon whatever. I don’t privation to beryllium connected camera astatine my property anymore. The lone ones who kick are my cause and my wife. He wants the committee and she wants maine retired of the house.”

That was the plan, anyhow — until the satellite caught fire.

The histrion sits connected a sofa successful a rented location successful Los Feliz, his shoes kicked disconnected to uncover socks patterned with the gloomy look of Edgar Allan Poe. His Malibu location — the 1 helium bought with his “Star Wars” wealth successful 1978, wherever helium joined his wife, Marilou, successful the backyard and raised their 3 kids — remains uninhabitable aft the January fires that tore done ample swaths of the city, destroying astir of his neighborhood. Hamill and his woman evacuated the Palisades occurrence arsenic flames roseate connected either broadside of the road. “Every location that touches our property, but for one, burnt to the ground,” helium says. “Two 100 and seventy houses — 60 survived.”

Four months later, the hills astir his location are inactive blackened and toxic. And it’s not conscionable his vicinity that feels scorched. To Hamill — 1 of Hollywood’s astir outspoken and sharp-tongued Trump critics — the state itself feels battered, conscionable months into a 2nd word helium sees arsenic a unsafe backslide. For a antheral who embodied the triumph of bully implicit evil astir fractional a period ago, it’s not ever casual to find a caller hope.

“I mean what a satellite — you had the pandemic and past you person what happened successful politics, past you person this ghastly event,” helium says. “It’s hard to say, ‘Oh, yay. I’m truthful blessed our location survived’ erstwhile you recognize each your friends mislaid everything.”

That consciousness of quiescent disorientation — of a satellite dilatory unraveling — pulses done “The Life of Chuck,” manager Mike Flanagan’s unusual and tender adaptation of a 2020 Stephen King novella. Following a warmly received premiere astatine past year’s Toronto International Film Festival, wherever it won the People’s Choice award, the Neon movie hits theaters Friday arsenic an unexpected — and somewhat risky — portion of summertime counterprogramming: a hushed, reflective quality survey that begins with the extremity of the satellite and moves backward into a life-affirming meditation connected memory, mortality and legacy.

Starring other Tom Hiddleston and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Hamill plays Albie, a widowed, math-loving Jewish gramps facing the extremity of his beingness with quiescent grace and stubborn decency — a relation that, successful an earlier era, mightiness person gone to the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Falk oregon Judd Hirsch. It’s hardly the benignant of portion astir radical subordinate with Hamill, who has spent overmuch of his post-”Star Wars” vocation down the mic arsenic a versatile and in-demand dependable actor, astir famously arsenic the Joker successful “Batman: The Animated Series” and galore different TV and video crippled projects. But erstwhile Flanagan, who had antecedently formed him arsenic a ruthless lawyer successful the Netflix fearfulness miniseries “The Fall of the House of Usher,” offered him the role, Hamill didn’t hesitate, astatine slightest not outwardly.

“Mark said thing nary histrion has ever said to me: ‘I don’t cognize if I tin bash this, but you deliberation I tin bash this, truthful I should,’ ” Flanagan says by phone. “That knocked maine out. I felt similar I had to emergence to that level of trust.”

Mark Hamill successful the movie “The Life of Chuck”

(Neon)

On set, Hamill afloat inhabited the role. Albie doesn’t amusement up until much than an hr into the movie and appears successful lone a fewer scenes, but helium anchors the movie arsenic a quiet, dependable beingness who finds comfortableness successful routine, ritual and his lifelong emotion of numbers. To physique his character’s look, Hamill asked the hairsbreadth and constitution squad to bleach retired each the colour from his hairsbreadth and mustache, past tried connected a fewer pairs of glasses. When helium saw the effect successful the mirror, helium cracked up: “Oh my God, I’m Geppetto. I look conscionable similar the Disney version.”

Hamill was drawn to however understated the relation was — a acold outcry from the larger-than-life oregon eccentric characters helium has often played successful animation and genre fare. “He’s conscionable benignant of an amiable grandpa,” Hamill says. “You know, loves his wife, loves his grandchild, but you archer him you deliberation mathematics is boring, boy, it sets him off. You recovered his sore spot. I emotion the information that helium conscionable loves being an accountant, loves math, which, for me, is simply a quality part, judge me.”

The film’s affectional centerpiece is simply a agelong monologue Albie delivers unsocial astatine a desk: a quiescent meditation connected the hidden quality of mathematics and, by extension, life. Hamill, who hasn’t often had the accidental to present this benignant of grounded, melodramatic enactment connected screen, approached it with immoderate trepidation.

“First of all, speeches are notorious — they spell connected for similar 3 pages,” helium says. “Luckily, I had it 5 oregon six weeks earlier we were going to sprout and I worked connected it each azygous day.”

The grandfatherly on-screen relation is simply a acold outcry from the 1 Hamill has played off-screen successful caller years, wherever he’s go 1 of Hollywood’s astir vocal and scathing critics of Trump. On X, wherever helium has 4.7 cardinal followers, helium has channeled his pop-culture savvy and governmental outrage into a satirical sideshow, firing disconnected punchlines similar proton torpedoes.

On May 4, Star Wars Day, helium mocked a White House station featuring an AI-generated representation of Trump holding a reddish lightsaber, the canonical limb of the franchise’s villains. “Proof this feline is afloat of SITH,” Hamill wrote connected Bluesky, triggering a meme tempest of Sith-Trump mashups.

Hamill is good alert his governmental outspokenness tin easy bargain the spotlight, but helium can’t assistance himself, adjacent during this interview. “I didn’t privation to speech astir authorities — I cognize erstwhile I speech astir it, that’s the headline,” helium says close earlier launching into a full-throated excoriation of Trump. “I don’t deliberation of myself arsenic an activist,” helium says. “But erstwhile they started utilizing that phrase, ‘the Resistance,’ I thought, Jesus, I did that successful a fictional mode each those years ago. Now it’s the existent thing.”

The impulse, helium says, is some affectional and tactical. “I work a publication that had, like, 37 psychiatrists talking astir Trump’s malignant narcissism and they said radical similar that, their kryptonite is being laughed at,” says Hamill, a lifelong comic-book instrumentality who often speaks successful superhero metaphors. “So that informs my position. He’s truthful manipulative, I cognize if I tweeted thing successful praise of him, I’d person an invitation to Mar-a-Lago. But no, convey you.” (Hamill has visited the White House 3 times, nether Carter, Obama and Biden.)

Hamill knows his online habits aren’t ever healthy. He tracks his follower number obsessively, noting it dropped by astir 70,000 aft Elon Musk took implicit Twitter, and present spends astir of his clip connected Bluesky. “I ne'er artifact radical due to the fact that I don’t privation to springiness them the satisfaction,” helium says. “But I mute similar a mofo — mute, mute, mute. One clip I looked astatine the timepiece and thought, ’Oh, my God, I’ve been muting radical for 45 minutes.’” He sighs, past laughs dryly. “Harrison Ford is astute — he’s not connected societal media.”

Hamill arsenic Luke Skywalker successful 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope”

(Lucasfilm / Fox / Kobal / Shutterstock)

Hamill, who has described his ain begetter arsenic a “Nixon Republican,” knows “Star Wars” was meant to beryllium universal, a mythic communicative of bully and evil that fans crossed the governmental spectrum could embrace. Now, with galore viewing him arsenic a real-world subordinate of the Resistance, helium finds himself successful a delicate spot.

“I’m definite I conscionable MAGA radical each the time,” says Hamill, who jokes that helium supports “MANA: Make America Normal Again.” “Even if they had a MAGA button, I wouldn’t beryllium successful conflict. A fan’s a fan. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t beryllium wherever I am.”

Politics whitethorn predominate his societal media provender but “The Life of Chuck” helped punctual Hamill that acting inactive feeds thing deeper. Now helium is carrying that momentum into a fistful of caller projects. In September, helium co-stars successful different King adaptation, “The Long Walk,” a dystopian thriller acceptable successful a near-future America, wherever 50 teenage boys are forced into a harrowing nationally televised endurance contest: support walking without rest, oregon beryllium changeable connected show — until lone 1 remains.

“When I work the premise, I told [director] Francis [Lawrence], it’s similar a reasoning man’s snuff film,” helium said. “It’s truthful horrific, I didn’t cognize if I could adjacent spot it, hide astir being successful it.” But Hamill has ever relished a juicy villain and, with its authoritarian themes, the relation of the Major acceptable the bill: “The State is the dense and I correspond the State.”

In December, returning to his beloved dependable work, helium volition bring the Flying Dutchman to beingness successful the animated sequel “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.”

Flanagan, for one, hopes “The Life of Chuck” marks the opening of a caller section successful Hamill’s on-screen career. “I’m gladsome I got to beryllium successful the beforehand enactment for this 1 — not conscionable arsenic the manager but besides arsenic a kid who grew up with my lightsaber,” helium says. “Mark is simply a blessed guy. He’s perfectly comfy with his legacy. But I wonder, if he’d had much opportunities to truly plumb those depths, what would we person seen? He’s not done. I can’t hold to spot what he’s going to bash next.”

Hamill with Mia Sara and Cody Flanagan successful a country from “The Life of Chuck.”

(Neon)

Still, Hamill tin ideate stepping distant connected his ain terms. “As overmuch arsenic I admit a bully entrance, a bully exit is besides thing — thing with dignity. Something wherever you’re not successful the latest ‘Human Centipede’ sequel.” (Yes, helium claims, that was a existent offer.)

“I wouldn’t denote it,” helium continues. “I mean, who cares? I’ll beryllium a ‘Jeopardy!’ answer: ‘Who is Mark Hamill?’”

For now, his absorption is connected thing person to home: rebuilding. His Malibu location was spared, acknowledgment successful ample portion to a retired firefighter person who stayed successful the guesthouse during the evacuation and managed to extinguish embers that had ignited the woody floorboards. But the occurrence near the spot uninhabitable. He and his woman — who person made their rented spot consciousness a spot much similar location with a fewer household photos — are hoping to instrumentality sometime adjacent year, though helium knows the betterment volition beryllium painfully dilatory and immoderate neighbors whitethorn ne'er travel back.

“I went backmost the time earlier yesterday and I saw each the destruction,” helium says. “We didn’t spell connected to the spot due to the fact that you person to person a hazmat suit. It forces you to see your ain mortality. Well, if I’m truly lucky, I’ve got 10 years.” He shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know. I utilized to fume and I loved accelerated nutrient until Marilou banned McDonald’s successful the ’90s. That’s each gone now. But, you know, priorities. As atrocious arsenic it was, everybody was harmless and that should beryllium enough.”

Hamill hopes to instrumentality to his Malibu location adjacent year.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In the days since the fires, Hamill has tried to enactment philosophical astir what was mislaid and what inactive matters. He’s not peculiarly sentimental astir memorabilia. But erstwhile the fires came, helium realized determination were inactive things helium wasn’t acceptable to lose.

“I person the helmet I wore erstwhile I rescued Carrie,” helium says, with a premix of wistfulness and a fan’s genuine awe, referring to the Stormtrooper disguise Luke donned to escaped Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, from the Death Star. “It’s taped up, the rubber’s falling apart. I was fortunate capable to beryllium determination astatine the precise humble opening of what George [Lucas] called ‘the astir costly low-budget movie ever made.’ But it has nostalgia value. Just this pitiful hunk of integrative that utilized to beryllium thing important.”

For the record, it inactive is.