Before Mark Hamill was Luke Skywalker, he started out just like many of us did when we were younger — working at a fast food restaurant. Mark Hamill got a job at Jack in the Box when he was 18, but his employment with the company didn’t last very long.
“I always aspired to work the window, right? I wanted to be on the speaker, and instead I was always in the back,” Mark Hamill explained to People. “And when I got my chance at it, I blew it.” The actor said he used an exuberant clown voice to say, “Welcome to Jack in the Box! May I take your order?” which didn’t sit well with his manager. “Well, I thought it was clever. The manager thought otherwise,” Hamill said with a laugh. “I was probably really irritating. Anyway, he just told me to go home and never come back.” Most people don’t get to return to a job they were fired from, much less 50 years later, but Jack in the Box is bringing Mark Hamill back for a new campaign. Hamill finally got to work the drive-thru, much to the delight of the customers.
Mark Hamill obviously went on to bigger and better things following his brief career at Jack in the Box, so he’s certainly not holding a grudge against them. “When there’s a setback in your life you have to double down and go right back at it. It wasn’t like I was disillusioned like, ‘Oh no, I’ll never work again,’” Hamill said. “I just thought, ‘Okay, that happened. Now how can I go to the next job and make sure that doesn’t happen again?’ It’s all part of life experience that prepares you for whatever you’re aiming for.” Mark Hamill will next appear in Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher. The Netflix miniseries recently wrapped production but doesn’t have an official release date yet.