Where Are They Now? The 5 Strangest Post-'Star Wars' Careers
Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill is living proof that a man only has so much good fortune coming to him in a lifetime. Hamill used up all of his by 1983, and has spent every year since voicing cartoons and being accosted by Star Wars geeks on the street.
But Hamill's post-Star Wars life has been wildly-successful compared to some of the other greats who suffered the same fate. Here are five men who were integral to the Star Wars franchise but whose careers outside the trilogy were almost almost as sad as Hamill's:
Peter Cushing
The character:
Imperial Officer Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin
The actor:
Peter Cushing was so old-school, he actually appeared in a Laurel and Hardy movie (A Chump at Oxford). That was before George Lucas was even freaking born. Cushing was best known for his work in Hammer horror films, often opposite longtime friend Count Dooku-er, Christopher Lee. Cushing also played Dr. Who in two films and came very close to changing Star Wars history forever: he was originally considered for the role of Obi-Wan over Alec Guinness. Picture that.
Inestimable contribution to the films:
Tarkin was nothing less than the real badass of the first film. When Vader started air-choking a guy, it was Tarkin who told him to back it off and Vader did what he was told. Also, you thought it was scary when Anakin killed those kids in Episode III? Tarkin killed a whole planet's worth of them on Alderaan, and for even less reason.
Without Cushing's Tarkin next to him, Vader just looks silly with his mask and cape. Cushing's reptillian deathmask of a face made Tarkin look like a guy you could see on the news tonight, on trial for war crimes.
Most memorable line:
"You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry, we will deal with your rebel friends soon enough."
Best Youtube video featuring character:
Our vote goes to this bizarre still of Tarkin looking particularly skeletal while a deep-voiced Latino man narrates in Spanish about God know what. If you speak Spanish, feel free to post a full translation in the comments section, as we're actually quite curious about it.
Weirdest merchandise based on character:
This full-body Tarkin costume, complete with disturbing rubber death mask and a wig of what looks like steel wire.
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on character:
"In an incident that became known as the 'Ghorman Massacre,' Tarkin ordered his ship to land on a platform where a large group of protesters were protesting the Imperial taxation on the distant planet Ghorman. Hundreds of Imperial subjects were crushed by Tarkin's transport in the landing."
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on actor:
"In 1989 Cushing was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He retired to Whitestable, where he had bought a seafront house in 1959, and continued his hobby of birdwatching."
Where is he now?
Dead. But, between Star Wars and dying, he managed to appear in various films as a major, commissioner, commander and colonel, forever typecasting him and earning him a military funeral. He was also in a movie called Biggles: Adventures in Time which is apparently about a time-traveling WWI fighter pilot named Bigglesworth. We're guessing he didn't get knighted for that one.
Mark Hamill Career Sadness Rating: 15 (out of 100)
Cushing didn't have Hamill's high expectations, of course, because he wasn't the star. Also, he was knighted, though his knighting is one of those knightings (see Penelope Cruz) that could be seen more as a statement about how little it means to be knighted these days.
Peter Mayhew
The character:
Wookie smuggler Chewbacca
The actor:
He's tall. Peter Mayhew is a goddamned 7-foot-3 inches. That's two Tom Cruises. If we're going to be totally honest here, that was the main contributor to him landing the role of Chewie. OK, the only contributor. In Mayhew's own words, "All I had to do was stand up."
Before Star Wars, Mayhew worked primarily as a hospital orderly in London. Unconfirmed reports say he was dismissed after his height, bony stature, and penchant for bringing a sickle to work caused a number of elderly patients to rip out their IV solution bags and run screaming for the street.
Inestimable contribution to the films:
Try to imagine Chewbacca, only about two feet shorter. Mayhew's freakish height is the only thing separating Chewbacca from a damned Ewok. Seriously, picture short Chewie in your head. Mayhew was the only thing keeping that costume from being laugh-out-loud ridiculous.
Most memorable line:
"AAGGGRAAAHHRRGG!"
Best Youtube video featuring character:
It's technically only a reference to the character, but the following video of a man (possibly) afflicted with honest-to-goodness Tourette's syndrome invites you to imagine Chewie in a whole new light. It's about one minute in and, since we're talking about Tourette's here, you should not crank up the sound if you're at work:
Weirdest merchandise based on character:
This costume that will make your child look like a tiny, partially-shaved Chewbacca:
You have to make sure you kid doesn't charge around growling and breaking stuff after Halloween is over, or else you'll get a call from the school about some prescriptions you need to go pick up.
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on character:
"Chewbacca's voice is a combination of several animals, including bears, badgers, walruses, cats and camels."
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on actor:
"He received his first acting job in 1977 when the producers of the movie Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger discovered Mayhew from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and they cast him in the role of the minotaur. "
Where is he now?
Mayhew voiced the character Susha in Dragonball: GT and is all set to appear in Yesterday Was a Lie, a fantasy sci-fi noir movie about quantum physics, Jungian psychology, and whatever else they manage to cram in. Fans of Chewie who were disappointed to see him gypped out of a hero's medal at the end of Episode IV will also be glad to note that he was ceremoniously given one as part of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997.
Mark Hamill Career Sadness Rating: 35
Since most fans don't know his face, Mayhew actually has the advantage of getting to choose when he's mobbed by geeks (he wears the above Chewbacca T-shirt for those occasions) and when he's merely gawked at as a horribly tall freak. So, he has that.
On the other hand, his one claim to fame was playing an almost non-speaking role in a sweaty fur suit, which means he was only a few steps above a college football mascot.
Jeremy Bulloch
The character:
Mandalorian armor-clad bounty hunter Boba Fett
The actor:
Jeremy Bulloch wasn't the only Boba Fett, but appearing in both Empire and Jedi makes him the standard. You might also know his strikingly unthreatening face as Q's assistant from the James Bond film Octopussy, a movie that many audiences walked out on after realizing the title character did not have eight vaginas.
Inestimable contribution to the films:
What is it about Boba Fett? The guy is barely in the original trilogy and dies a ridiculous death when a blind Han Solo accidentally knocks him off a barge. Yet, the fans went nuts for him.
Bulloch had to be doing something right. The way he... stood there. Wearing that cool costume. And, you know, holding that gun thing. Maybe the guy just puts off a vibe.
Most memorable line:
"Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold."
Best Youtube video featuring character:
Behold nasal-voiced MC Chris' rap masterpiece, the only bit of detritus from Star Wars fandom to finally speak to the core of Fett's raison d'etre. Fett leads his cold life of solitary, ruthless pursuit simply as a means to finance his 'Vette.
Good luck getting that shit out of your head, by the way.
Weirdest merchandise based on character:
This Lego Fett, who is quite a bit more badass than the real Fett due to his steel claw hands and man-sized supergun.
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on character:
"Boba Fett is garbed in traditional Mandalorian armor with a cape, and several braids made of Wookiee pelts at his shoulder. His gauntlets also feature a wrist-mounted flame thrower, sonic beam weapons, dart shooter, several blades, and a fibercord whip with a grappling hook. Other weapons include a jetpack with a miniature concussion rocket launcher, rocket dart launchers, grenades, gas pellets, and a pulse cannon."
Best excerpt from Wikipedia entry on actor:
"In a career spanning almost half a century, he is perhaps most famous for his role as Boba Fett in the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi."
Perhaps?
Where is he now?
Bulloch appeared alongside fellow unsung Star Wars hero David Prowse in the Internet fan films Order of the Sith: Vengeance and its sequel Downfall. Like every second-tier member of the cast, he's no stranger to the convention circuit, but at least he scored a cameo in Episode III, as a ship's pilot. He also released a memoir called Flying Solo, which seems like the perfect title for a Harrison Ford memoir, if his memoir weren't already going to be titled Get Off my Plane: the James Marshall Story.
Mark Hamill Career Sadness Rating: 70
We're dangerously close to Mark Hammill territory, here. When we first heard the title of his memoir, we nearly burst out into tears. Pair that with the Internet fan films, and you've got the guy that even Hamill probably doesn't want to talk to at the Star Wars conventions.
Mark Hamill has had an incredible career. His voice as the joker is iconic for an entire generation, not to mention the hundreds of other voiceover jobs he's done. Sad is not a word to be used in conjunction with his work. Star Wars was just the beginning for him.
ReplyI hate Mark Hamill and his stupid Joker voice. I also hate comic book characters. Prowse is the f***ing man, and George Lucas can go screw himself. Someone needs to just remake the entire trilogy, because the acting is terrible (aside from a very select few) and all of the battle scenes were goddamn awful. Obviously I could go on and on about why it should just be remade, and if Jar Jar Binks, Ewoks, and that little s**t who played Anakin in Episode I aren't enough to convince you, then I don't know what is.
ReplyI read the last line and gave it an "Amen!" I was so pissed off when they messed with the ending of ROTJ. Stupid Hayden Christensen.
Replymark hamil has actually had a great career voice over acting is one of the best forms of acting and shows his skill he also has made a s**t load of voice over work which means he has made more money then he would have if he did a normal character
ReplyI was thinking the same. To everyone else in the world, Mark Hamill will forever be Luke Skywalker. To me, he's Joker. The only Joker.
If only mark would realize what we already know. Being the best joker, he'll always have steady work. But he decided Arkham City will be the last time he'll be the joker.
Why is Peter Cushing on the list?? You do know the man was a Icon of Hammer Horror, right??
ReplyPeter Cushing was one of the most respected actors of the 20th century--and would have been a much better Obi-Wan, since he didn't have the contempt for the movie that Guinness had. As for his career slowing down: His beloved wife died in 1971, at which point he entered a deep depression from which he never really recovered. He only returned to acting on the insistence of his very good friend, Christopher Lee. So his career didn't slow down because of this movie or lack of demand, but because his one real goal at that point was to be reunited with his beloved Helene. So, feel free to crap on the man.
ReplyWhat is your problem with Mark Hamill? As others have indicated, he's a working actor and a brilliant voice talent. While this site masturbates all over Ledger's "Joker", the REAL iconic characterization was done in the DCU animated series. By Mark Hamill.
This is the shittiest article ever written. Seriously. Hammill has been HUGELY successful as a voice actor, and makes more money in a day than the a*****e writer of this "article" makes in a year. He's the iconic voice of the Joker, and quite a few other characters. He's had a successful comic book as well. Cushing is one of the greatest actors to come out of England, period. I stopped reading at the first page due to the absolutely doucheyness of this shitstain of an article. Go f**k yourself, Swaim. Seanbaby farts funnier stuff than you write.
ReplyThe remark about Cushing's knighthood is absolute bullshit. ALso, a fun fact: Chewbacca had scripted dialogue every time he spoke, which Mayhew learned and delivered during filming. His Wookie voice was, of course, then over-dubbed in post. Great article otherwise.
Reply"Baseball", LOL Vader done lost it son...
ReplyThis article fails to mention why David Prowse was so sh*t upon by George Lucas; during post-production of Return Of The Jedi, some newspaper printed some spoiler about the ending, and George Lucas thought it was Prowse that told them (Prowse swears it wasn't). That's also the reason that Lucas didn't use Prowse's face at the end of that film when Vader's helmet comes off. They reshot the scene to cut Prowse out of it before the release.
ReplySo... has anyone posted the video's translation already?
ReplyI wanted to, but the video is deleted... Sorry!
mc chris*, not MC Chris. Hahaha, I'm a nerd.
ReplyIt seems to me that all of these guys actually have had pretty successful careers post-Star Wars. Does the writer think that the only measure of success for an actor is to become an A-list celebrity? You think Mark Hamill has some sort of "bad" career? He gets regular work, the measure of success for 95% of all professional actors, and not only that, his voice work means that he gets paid just as much as an on-set actor, but requires a LOT less physical work. As for the rest of these guys, plenty of people have mentioned Cushing, but the rest still fall into that "successful" category of "getting regular work." Is the only measure of success in this article to become a superstar like Harrison Ford?
ReplyThe reason Tarkin/Cushing could boss Vader around in Star Wars was because in the original Star Wars, Vader was nothing but a super powered General to combat the Jedi. Tarkin actually outranked him. A lot of the earlier drafts made it into the final movie. Earlier drafts had Vader as being nothing but a super powered cyborg general. Even Vader wasn't Luke's father in A New Hope. It wasn't until Empire did Lucas completely re-do Vader and make him the #2 guy. That was why in Star Wars, others often looked down on Vader, or in Tarkin's case, ordered Vader around.
ReplyWhy is Peter Cushing on this list? Star Wars was nothing more than a post script to an illustrious career as one of Britain's greatest Horror actors. you might as well put Harrison Ford or Alec Guiness on the list.
ReplyAmerica is not the World! You should be getting slightly more well informed people to write your articles.
Nice site otherwise aside from the odd Igno-Ameri-centric glitch.
I have to agree with this. Peter Cushing has had an amazing career. He's been in, like, everything.
Somebody still sounds pissed about the Revolutionary War.
Personally I think it is harsh to say Mark Hamill's career post Star Wars was sad. He eventually would go on to do some of the best animated character voice work since Mel Blanc said "What's up Doc?"
ReplyWedge Antilles deserves more credit considering what he contributed to the rebel cause.
ReplyCaptain Antilles was the commander of Leia's courier ship in the original Star Wars (I refuse to refer to it as "Episode IV"), was he not? In the ADF novelization of that movie (the only such book I've read), it was also implied that he and Wedge Antilles were father and son, or otherwise related, was it not?
ReplyWho was the actor who played Biggs, BTW? The scenes where he and Luke talked about joining the Rebellion were filmed, but ended up on the cutting room floor; he then appeared (just ... out of nowhere!) when Luke and the others finally arrived at the Rebel base, and was killed in the attack on the Death Star. (The scenes where he and Luke are reunited at the base were also filmed and then dropped; this was a pity, since they threw light on a great many things that went unexplained in the final cut of the movie.)
Quit picking on Mark Hamill. The films made him very, very well off. He was also in a horrific car which impeded his physical abilities for a long time and wasn't able to go after roles. He's well known for an iconic role and has continued a successful career in acting, even if not to the levels of Harrison Ford.
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesDid the door release mechanism break when he went for a pint of milk?
I suppose that would make it difficult to do jumping jacks and convincing improv'.
AND his voicing of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series is iconic and deserves serious respect.
@Digbeth Republican Army What kind of retarded as hell comment is that
He was in "a horrific car"? Jesus, that must have been some car to f**k him up that bad.
Crief is a town in central Scotland in an area called Perth and Kinross. About 20 miles away from me.
Replypssshht anyone could have googled that if they'd wanted to know, you shouldnt have killed the mystery and humour of it >:P