When Star Wars debuted in 1977, no one could have predicted it would become the most popular
and influential film franchise in history.
The cast of Star Wars is beloved by fans, but behind the scenes, they didn't always
love each other nearly so much, battling with fellow cast members as well as creator George
Lucas.
From epic feuds to secret affairs to that infamous gold bikini, here's a look at some
dark secrets the cast of Star Wars tried to hide.
C-3PO and R2-D2 hated each other
The bickering robotic odd couple C-3PO and R2-D2 are fan favorites.
But behind the scenes, actors Anthony Daniels and the late Kenny Baker actually loathed
each other.
Before his death in 2016, Baker told Metro, "We could make a fortune touring around making
personal appearances.
I've asked him four times now but, the last time, he looked down his nose at me like I
was a piece of sh*t.
He said: 'I don't do many of these conventions — go away little man.'"
For his part, Daniels simply dismissed Baker out of hand in an interview about The Force
Awakens.
Daniels told The Mirror, "He's not actually on the set.
I haven't seen him for years.
His name is on the credits as a sort of…
I don't know, a good luck charm, a courtesy.
He's a talisman."
Ouch.
Alec Guinness loathed Star Wars
When Oscar-winning actor Sir Alec Guinness agreed to play Obi-Wan Kenobi, he just thought
it would be a quick paycheck.
Instead, it became a worldwide phenomenon that Guinness couldn't escape.
He tried though, reportedly begging George Lucas to truly kill off Kenobi.
He also would return Star Wars fan mail unopened, and wasn't shy about telling fans what he
thought.
According to Entertainment Weekly, "Guinness was approached by a young boy who begged for
his autograph, claiming to have seen 'Star Wars' countless times.
Sir Alec agreed, on one condition — that the boy never, ever watch the film again.
The kid burst into tears."
Harrison Ford tried to destroy the Millennium Falcon
Star Wars turned Harrison Ford from a struggling part-time carpenter into one of the biggest
movie stars in the world.
But he famously thought the character of Han Solo was poorly written, screaming at Lucas,
"George, you can type this sh*t, but you sure as hell can't say it!"
According to co-star Mark Hamill, Ford was so upset about the writing that he tried to
use his carpentry skills to destroy the Millennium Falcon.
Hamill told Empire, "You heard about Harrison taking a saw to the Millennium Falcon because
he got so mad?
People were coming up to me going, 'You gotta stop Harrison, he's sawing up the Falcon.'
It was made of wood and he just took a saw to it."
Ford and Fisher had an affair
In her 2016 book The Princess Diarist, the late Carrie Fisher revealed that she had an
affair with Harrison Ford — that started when she got drunk at a party.
Not only was he married with children, but Fisher, who wrote that the affair did long-lasting
damage to her self-worth, was only a teenager at the time.
Marcia Lucas was erased from history
Shortly after wrapping Star Wars, Lucas showed a rough cut of the movie to a group of fellow
directors.
It was a disaster.
So how did Star Wars end up becoming the classic it is today?
Well, much of the credit goes to Lucas's then-wife Marcia, who fixed the film in editing, completely
re-working the epic Death Star trench attack by Luke.
She and her co-editors did such a great job, she ended up winning an Oscar for her work.
However, after the two divorced in 1983, Lucas and LucasFilm tried to erase her.
She's barely mentioned at all in official histories and documentaries despite the major
contributions she made the franchise.
In the book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, she told Peter Biskind that Lucas, quote, "never
felt I had any talent, he never felt I was very smart and he never gave me much credit.
When we were finishing Jedi, George told me he thought I was a pretty good editor.
In the sixteen years of our being together I think that was the only time he complimented
me."
But her importance to the series might be best illustrated by what happened to the franchise
after she left.
Mark Hamill told Film Freak Central that her absence is why prequel trilogy sucked so much.
"You can see a huge difference in the films that [George] does now and the films that
he did when he was married…
She was really the warmth and the heart of those films."
Fisher's coca habit
In 2012, eagle-eyed internet users noticed that one of Fisher's fingernails was noticeably
longer than the others in a scene from Return of the Jedi, and a screencap immediately made
the rounds claiming it was Fisher's "coke nail."
Fisher responded with her usual humor, tweeting "I never used my fingernail for drugs.
I used dollars or tiny spoons like any other respectable former drug addict."
And when The Daily Beast asked her if she had a "difficult time" because of her battle
with addiction while filming The Empire Strikes Back, Fisher laughed it off.
"Actually, no, I didn't go through a difficult time!
I said I did blow a couple of times.
That's not a difficult time!
…Oh god, that will be fun for Disney!"
That bikini
The gold bikini Fisher wore during her scenes as Jabba the Hutt's prisoner in Return of
the Jedi has become controversial enough that Disney reportedly no longer produces any toys
featuring the look.
And it caused a lot of problems for Fisher.
Besides being physically uncomfortable, Fisher told The Daily Beast that being forced to
lose weight to fit into the bikini contributed to "serious body dysmorphia issues"
Still, she maintained a sense of humor while describing the costume's particular... challenges.
"'I always thought that if Boba Fett were of a mind, he could see all the way to Florida.'"
Fisher was probably used to the weirdness by that point, considering that — according
to her book Wishful Drinking — Lucas had a lengthy explanation during the filming of
A New Hope as to why Leia wasn't allowed to wear a bra.
"What happens is you go to space and you become weightless.
So far so good, right?
But then your body expands?
But your bra doesn't — so you get strangled by your own bra.
Now I think that this would make for a fantastic obit — so I tell my younger friends that
no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own
bra."
Carrie Fisher: pretty much cooler than anyone else in Star Wars ever.
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