Star Wars: Close Casting Calls
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, over the next several weeks leading up to May 25 (the original's release date) we're going to look at everything from the science behind the Star Wars saga to how they pulled off those ground-breaking effects with low-tech tools. First, we're marvelling how close we came to seeing other well-known actors in the iconic roles of the Star Wars heroes. Can you picture...
1 Christopher Walken as Han Solo... or Count Dooku? - It's widely known that Walken was considered for the role of Han Solo in the original Star Wars Episode IV, but did you know he was also in the running for the role of Count Dooku for Episodes V and VI, which ultimately went to Christopher Lee?
2. Sissy Spacek as Princess Leia? Director George Lucas shared casting sessions with pal Brian DePalma, who was recruiting his cast for Carrie at the same time. One story describes Spacek focusing on the Leia role, but Carrie Fisher on Carrie, but after Fisher objected to nudity in Carrie, she and Spacek swapped rehearsal scripts.
3. William Katt as Luke Skywalker? Another result of the joint Star Wars / Carrie casting sessions... Katt (who went on to appear in Carrie and, more famously, in the TV show The Greatest American Hero) was considered for Luke Skywalker before Lucas settled on Mark Hamill.
4. Bruce Boxleitner as Luke Skywalker? The star of the film Tron and later, television's Babylon 5, told an interviewer he had read for the Luke Skywalker part.
5. Kurt Russell as Luke Skywalker... or Han Solo? Russell read for both roles, but it was the Han Solo part that apparently had Lucas the most interested, as Russell read for it on multiple occasions before losing out to Harrison Ford (who also was originally envisioned for the Luke role).
6. Burt Reynolds as Han Solo? Legend has it that the studio chiefs wanted big names like Reynolds in the major roles, but the Smokey and the Bandit star saw the project as too risky for his rising career.
7. Nick Nolte as Han Solo? Not only was Nolte up for the Han Solo role, but years later he also reportedly took himself out of the running for the part of Indiana Jones.
8. Richard Dreyfuss as Han Solo? Dreyfuss was already a big star after Jaws, and he was a hot property when Lucas had him read for the Han Solo role at the same time the actor had much on his plate... too much for him to consider the role, and he was forced to bow out.
9. Gabriel Byrne as Count Dooku? The Usual Suspects actor, like Walken, was reportedly on Lucas' shortlist for the Count Dooku part.
10. Jodie Foster as Princess Leia Organa? Foster had been considered for Leia, but perhaps due to Lucas' intention to cast unknowns in the major roles (Foster had been a child actress and recently landed a major role in Taxi Driver), the director ultimately went with the new actress Carrie Fisher.
Sources: Wikipedia, www.blueharvest.net; www.timewarptv.com
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