Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill enjoyed global success as Luke Skywalker, cementing his reputation as an international superstar. However, the role came at a cost. The now 73-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter director Milos Forman rejected him for a part in the award-winning 1984 musical Amadeus, despite Hamill’s prior experience on the Broadway version. “I said, ‘Milos, I played Amadeus on Broadway and in the national tour, and I was wondering if there was a chance you’d consider me for the part,’ ” Hamill said. “And he laughed. ‘No, no, no, because no one is to be believing that THE Luke Spacewalker is THE Mozart!’” While Hamill said he understood, he admitted he was disappointed. “But everyone has their own trajectory. I had my challenges, and other people have different challenges,” he said. Tom Hulce was cast as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which earned him an Oscar nomination, however he lost to his co-star, F. Murray Abraham. The film, Amadeus, did win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Reflecting on his career, Hamill shared that he was happy to be a “working stiff” rather than a “Tom Cruise.” “I don’t have to be a leading man... All I wanted to do when I started out was make a living doing what I love to do. I didn’t want to be Tom Cruise. And, by those standards, I succeeded far beyond my expectations,” he said.
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