Mark Hamill on The Force Awakens: BB-8 is not CGI and he hates his beard

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

It will be just a year from now that we get to see Mark Hamill return to movie theaters and to the world of STAR WARS. The busy actor of course has other projects lined up before then including being a part of the voice cast of NBC’s stop-motion animated musical Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas. The show is based on the 2003’s ELF starring Will Ferrell and Hamill, who has been doing steady voice work since the mid-90s, voices Walter (played by James Caan in the film), who’s surprised to learn that his long-lost son was raised as a Christmas elf.

That's all super, but what about STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS you ask? Well the actors sat down with Yahoo Movies and while talking about the Elf project, they obviously asked him a few questions about the upcoming STAR WARS film, here are the notable excerpts:

When it comes to the beard he grew for The Force Awakens:

That is what I call my contractually obligated beard. Listen: I think they look fine on other people. It’s just not me. I mean, I never got used to it. But face foliage is almost a part of the costume. And it does bring a gravitas, perhaps unearned, but nevertheless, it makes a statement that they wanted to make, and I’m more than happy to oblige them..

On not being in the first trailer:

This is about the new generation of characters; I think that’s the most important thing. It’s the opening act of a whole new approach to the storytelling. So I never thought that the stories would be – first of all, I never thought I’d be involved in it again, period. And then when George [Lucas] said that they wanted to do more, I rightly assumed that it wouldn’t be our story, because we had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This must be our offspring and the current generation, with us there lending the kind of support that Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness did in the original. So no, that didn’t surprise me.  And I mean, I’m one of those people where I just think, “Keep me out of it. I’ll ruin it, I’m sure!” [Laughs] I’ll show up and just ruin the whole thing.

The focus of this new movie:

This is about the new generation of characters; I think that’s the most important thing. It’s the opening act of a whole new approach to the storytelling. So I never thought that the stories would be – first of all, I never thought I’d be involved in it again, period. And then when George [Lucas] said that they wanted to do more, I rightly assumed that it wouldn’t be our story, because we had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This must be our offspring and the current generation, with us there lending the kind of support that Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness did in the original. So no, [the trailer focusing on new characters] didn’t surprise me.  And I mean, I’m one of those people where I just think, “Keep me out of it. I’ll ruin it, I’m sure!” [Laughs] I’ll show up and just ruin the whole thing.

On Harrison Ford coming back:

Well, you know, he was someone that was unpredictable. I hadn’t seen him in years; I didn’t know what his feelings were. I know he’s sometimes grown impatient with people that don’t want to focus on what he’s doing currently and want to go stroll down memory lane. God knows, I’m used to that sort of thing. But who knew? And for him to jump back in so enthusiastically, I was delighted. It’s a wonderful character. Everybody loves Han Solo.

On the the Ball Droid, now revealed to be called BB-8:

They never cease to amaze me with what they’re able to come up with, you know? I said, “How are you ever gonna top R2-D2, the most adorable droid in movie history?” And then they have this new one. I can’t even tell you his name, but you saw it in the trailer. And when they were demonstrating how they did this thing, live on set — because it’s not CGI, that’s a live prop — I was just amazed. They let me play around with it. [Laughs] I was running it all around at the creature shop up in Pinewood. I’m telling you, it’s an absolute delight. And not having thought that I’d ever go back there, to go back into that world, is just – I get the chills. It’s just so much fun.

That’s just awesome. Unless it’s old news that I should have been aware of, I had no idea that BB-8 was a practical effect. We could be looking at 2015’s hottest Christmas toy folks! It’s great to hear Mark Hamill open up; I look forward to hearing more from the cast over the next year.

What do you think about his responses?

Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas premieres Tuesday December 16, 2015 on NBC and that other project STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens on December 18, 2015 if you're interested.