Mark Hamill explains howAlec Guinnesshelped him play a practical joke on a Jawa in a recently found clip. Guinness, who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi, was the Academy Award-Winning actor that the cast and crew looked up, bringing professionalism to the set and the movie as a whole. While Guinness wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting himself into, he did say at times that he enjoyed the script in public, while reportedly telling friends that it was “fairy tale rubbish”, and later telling interviewers that it was his idea to kill off the character of Obi-Wan so he wouldn’t have to go on “speaking those bloody awful, banal lines.”
Alec Guinness wasn’t really known for having a practical joke sense of comedy; he obviously had a more dry and darker sense of humor, which is odd for somebody preaching the use of the Force. While promotingStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,Mark Hamillappeared on theTonight Show with Johnny Carsonand shared a story about Guinness helping him play a joke on a trash-talking Jawa. The video comes to us viaThe Hollywood Reporterand it features Hamill relaying the story to Carson.
According to Hamill, there was a hilarious insult comedian known as Jack who played one of the manyJawason set. Apparently Jack was so funny that he always had an insult ready. Hamill said, “He would always insult you. You couldn’t get a joke in because he was just too funny.” Jack confessed to Hamill that he was a huge fan of Alec Guinness and claimed that they had a speaking relationship. Jack then told Hamill of a story where he and Guinness were once on a plane and Guinness told the Jawa to “get out of the way.” Get it? Hamill took the comedian Jawa’s story and then relayed it to Guinness. Hamill’s on a storytelling roll at this point in the clip, getting ready to lay the punch line on an impatient Johnny Carson. Hamill explains.
“Two weeks later, we’re in the desert again. It’s complete wilderness. You could walk with your eyes closed and never fall down. And Jack is on his rock, reading a book, and Guinness started very slowly towards Jack. Guinness had the hood on… he then pulled the hood back and said “Get out of my way! Get out!””
Hamill had finally gotten the Jawa insult comedian and all was balanced in the universe once more thanks to hilarious deeds ofObi-Wan Kenobiand Luke Skywalker. Jack took the practical joke in stride and admitted to Hamill that it was indeed, a good one.
It’s tough to say which is better, the story itself or watching a young Mark Hamill retell the story to Johnny Carson. The video is definitely worth a watch just to see Hamill tell a story that he has obviously told a lot more than once. 1977 was a time before the internet and interviews weren’t spread like wildfire back then, so it was ok to share the same stories over and over. Plus theStar Wars gangdid a ton of press for those movies, visibly tired of answering questions about the movies at times or physically shuddering at the very mention ofStar Warslike Alec Guinness would do later in life. Check out Hamill’s practical joke with “the best talented people” in the video below.
