Mark Hamill has said that his Star Wars movie co-star Harrison Ford would be a great director, if it weren’t for one major flaw. Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford co-starred in the original Star Wars trilogy of science fiction movies, which are still regarded as some of the best movies around today.
The pair starred as Jedi Luke Skywalker and smuggler Han Solo respectively, while Carrie Fisher rounds out the trio as Princess Leia of the Rebellion. The three Star Wars characters fight against Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader‘s evil Galactic Empire, getting into plenty of life-threatening adventures along the way.
All three actors would go on to reprise their roles in the sequel trilogy, however their characters were each in different locations and separated from one another until each of their deaths. Hamill has also stepped into the world of Star Wars TV series, and provided some voice acting and performances for Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, behind de-aging technology.
Now, Hamill has said that Ford could have been an excellent director, except for one big flaw. Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2019, Hamill spoke about his friendship with Fisher and Ford, before making the reveal that Ford would never be able to make it as a director.
He said “George [Lucas] likes to cast people that are so close to what he wants that he doesn’t have to get in their and give you lots of direction. So, Harrison walks in and he’s just too cool for school. It was instant idolisation. Carrie was funny and witty and adorable. And we just immediately hit it off. It was perfect.
Hamill continued “And Harrison had a really firm grasp of the overview: I think he’d make a really good director if he weren’t so lazy!”
So there you have it: in Mark Hamill’s own words, Harrison Ford would could have been a great director if it wasn’t for his laziness. While Ford does often play more grounded characters, that laziness hasn’t come through in his acting and he’s still giving great performances now, having just been cast to star in the MCU movies as General Ross.
For more movie-mania, check out our guide to every upcoming new movie.