Mark Hamill has been the savior of the galaxy, the cackling prince of Gotham, and once, apparently, a dead ringer for Disney’s Geppetto — but now he’s tackling something “unshootable.” The Life of Chuck, Mike Flanagan’s new adaptation of a Stephen King novella that isn’t remotely what you expect from Stephen King, has Hamill looking back at five decades of showbiz illusions and revelations — and apparently a lot of white hair dye.
“I read the novella and just went, ‘Wait, this is Stephen King?’” Hamill tells me. “It’s such an affirmation of life and hope — not exactly Pennywise popping out of a sewer.” When Flanagan called to pitch him the gig, Hamill says he ordered the book that same day. “I was unprepared for the humanity of it. It’s about how one little insignificant moment can be pivotal. You’d never think it, but it just… is. And I wondered, how the hell do you shoot that?”
Spoiler: you cast Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillan, Kate Siegel, and a cast so stacked that Hamill says it felt like a revelation watching it back. “I didn’t work with them directly, but I got to act near them — and honestly, that’s an honor too.”
If you’re hoping for plot spoilers, look elsewhere. Even Hamill doesn’t want to ruin the movie’s best scenes. “I’m resistant to describing specific moments. Part of the magic is the discovery. Just trust me: go see it. You’ll thank me later.” Bring tissues. And maybe a white wig if you want to cosplay as Hamill’s character Albi.
Speaking of the hair, it’s all him. “That’s my own hair. It’s not a wig!” he brags, before admitting he didn’t realize he looked like Geppetto until he caught himself in the mirror. “I said, ‘Oh my god, I’m Geppetto.’ But maybe don’t put that in people’s minds. I don’t want to be a distraction.”
The role pairs him with a 12-year-old first-timer named Jacob Tremblay, who apparently sings, dances, and — wait for it — knits. “One day on set he’s just knitting! What 12-year-old does that? He’s extraordinary. This kid has a huge career ahead of him.” Hamill sounds genuinely proud — like a mentor who’s been around long enough to know when to steer clear of the Cosbys of the world.
Because yes, Hamill’s got stories. “My first job was the Bill Cosby Show. I idolized him. I collected his albums. And he just came out with the big cigar, didn’t say hello, did his lines, and left. It was devastating. I didn’t want to tell my family the truth, so I said, ‘Oh, he was great!’ Years later I told them. It’s a real lesson: people’s public images aren’t always real.”
And yet, he’s still doing the work. Still sweating the three-page speeches about math and time that glue this wild cosmic tale together. “That speech terrified me. I hate math! But it told me everything about the character. So every day I’d get up, read it out loud, try to find links. It was terrifying. But I didn’t want a teleprompter. I’d rather bomb than cheat.”
In the end, he didn’t bomb. He got a standing ovation at the Toronto premiere, saw people leaving the theater with tears in their eyes, and realized The Life of Chuck might be the perfect tonic for an angry, divided world. “You’ve got to believe in the inherent goodness of people, or what’s the point?” he says. “This movie reassures you that everything’s going to be okay — but it lets you find that out for yourself.”
Then, almost like clockwork, he ties it back to the galaxy far, far away that made him a household name. “It’s like the Force. People accept it on their own terms. It’s spiritual, but it doesn’t make you uncomfortable. Chuck does that too — you can’t explain it, you just feel it.”
If there’s anyone you can trust to know the value of faith in a story bigger than all of us, it’s Luke Skywalker. And he’s telling you: just go see it. You’ll thank him later.
Watch the full interview above and then check out the trailer below.
