You'd think most actors would jump at the opportunity to feature in the galaxy far, far away,
what with the franchise's uncanny ability to make stars at the drop of a hat.
However, sometimes a dream come true can turn into an unbearable nightmare,
as proven by these 6 Star Wars actors who hated their roles!
Number 06. Peter Serafinowicz
When the opportunity arose for Peter Serafinowicz to voice the saga's next iconic villain,
the Shaun of the Dead star must have jumped for joy.
Unfortunately, he soon realised why well-established actors such as Benicio Del Toro turned down the role.
Firstly, with brief and baffling notes, such as “sound more evil”,
Peter found it extremely difficult to work with George Lucas.
This relationship only worsened when much of his dialogue was cut from the final edit.
To add the unsavoury icing on the cake,
Serafinowicz wasn't even invited to The Phantom Menace's premiere party in New York,
forcing him to buy a ticket like everyone else.
And when he finally saw the finished product,
Peter felt uncomfortable with the racial tone, and found Jar Jar Binks completely unfunny.
Number 05. Terence Stamp
Having acted in over sixty movies throughout a stellar, award-winning career,
British icon Terence Stamp seemed like the perfect choice for grizzled Supreme Chancellor Valorum.
Yet, during an interview with Empire Magazine,
Terence revealed that the perfect role wasn't so fitting after all.
To begin with, only accepting the role at the behest of his agent,
Terence was baffled by George Lucas' 'incompetent' directing and overuse of CGI.
And while he looked forward to working with Natalie Portman,
who he described as “absolutely entrancing”,
he was shocked to discover what Lucas had in store for their scene:
Lucas tried to make amends by gifting Stamp a 'Phantom Menace' stencil set.
You can only how imagine how that exchange went.
Number 04. Harrison Ford
I'm sure most Star Wars fans have at some point dreamt of being Han Solo.
After all, he is one of coolest, most badass characters in the history of cinema.
But it seems like Harrison Ford never quite got the memo.
Ever since landing the dream role,
Ford has famously criticised scripts, jokingly called his character 'Ham Yoyo', and refused to answer fan questions.
He also requested to have Solo killed off in Return of the Jedi, to no avail.
Overall, Ford couldn't wait to move onto other projects,
though the prospect of $20 million was enough to draw him back in for one final showcase.
Number 03. David Prowse
It's difficult not to feel sorry for David Prowse.
Sure, he got to portray the saga's most iconic villain.
But he expected to be so much more than the physical embodiment of Darth Vader.
In fact, it wasn't until the release of Star Wars that Prowse realised his voice had been dubbed over by James Earl Jones.
This, of course, deeply hurt him;
Then, to make matter worse,
Prowse was usurped by Sebastian Shaw when it came time to reveal the Dark Lord's face in Return of the Jedi.
Prowse tried to get his own back in 2010 by appearing in the critical documentary: The People vs. George Lucas.
Unfortunately, this act of defiance resulted in his prohibition from all official Star Wars conventions.
Number 02. Jake Lloyd
Jake Lloyd must have felt like he had won the Golden Ticket upon landing the role of young Anakin Skywalker.
Little did he know that his life would become a “living hell”.
Unlike the aforementioned actors,
Lloyd was bullied and tormented for his performance in The Phantom Menace,
to the point where he quit acting altogether.
But the stress and pain did not end there.
As recent as June 2015,
Lloyd was arrested following a high-speed, 100 mph police pursuit in South Carolina,
which led to a spell of ten months in prison.
However, to better deal with his schizophrenia,
Jake was moved to a psychiatric center where he remains to this day.
It's safe to say that Star Wars forever changed Lloyd's life, and not for the better.
Number 01. Alec Guinness
As far as Star Wars actors hating their roles go, Alec Guinness was the pioneer.
Having famously won an Oscar in 1957 for The Bridge Over the River Kwai,
let's just say some upstart Yank's weird space opera was not something he was used to.
From the get-go, Guinness was baffled by the entire concept of the franchise,
labeling it as “fairy tale rubbish”.
Furthermore, the classically-trained actor didn't understand his dialogue,
nor did he like his new-found legacy as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
He even told a young, autograph-seeking fan,
who boasted about watching Star Wars over 100 times, to never watch the film again.
Thankfully, there was a silver-lining.
By negotiating a contract worth two-and-a-quarter percent of the profits,
Guinness had earned around $70 million from the franchise by the time of his death in 2000.
So, there we have it; 6 Star Wars actors who hated their roles.
Were there any that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
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