Appearing in the sixth episode of the fantastic Carrie adaptation from Mike Flanagan, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Mark Hamill has managed to create a trio of Carrie-related connections. Almost a part of the 1976 Brian De Palma original, only to instead take the lead role in A New Hope opposite Carrie Fisher, he finally appears in the Stephen King classic and discusses that and other memorable performances with Star Wars Icons: Vader author Anthony Breznican.
Hamill was almost part of a different Carrie universe himself. Back in 1976, George Lucas and Brian De Palma were closer friends, and they joined together to interview the best of Hollywood’s up-and-coming actors for the two films they were about to make.
Lucas was casting for the lead roles in Star Wars, and De Palma was casting the students of Carrie, the very first King adaptation ever made. Most of the actors at the casting call read for both parts, so there’s an alternate history in which William Katt becomes Luke Skywalker and Mark Hamill plays Tommy Ross, the kindhearted but doomed king of the prom.
“On the cattle call for both Luke and Han, I went in and sat down, and basically Brian did the talking,” Hamill says. “He said, ‘Tell us a little about yourself,’ which I did for maybe two minutes. They said, ‘Thank you very much.’ When I walked out, I said to people that were managing the room, ‘Who’s that little guy with Brian De Palma who doesn’t talk? Is that his assistant?’ They said, ‘No, moron, that was George Lucas.’ ”
Hamill shrugs. “I could have been up for the part that William Katt played. Who knows? I think he tested for Star Wars. What struck me was each one of them was perfectly credible had they gotten that part.”