Mark Hamill landed his The Long Walk role thanks to the Star Wars sequels, Francis Lawrence reveals
Mark Hamill landed his antagonistic role as The Major in The Long Walk thanks to his portrayal as a disgruntled Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, director Francis Lawrence has revealed.
Mark Hamill landed his role in The Long Walk thanks to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
The 73-year-old actor stars as the villain known as The Major in the upcoming thriller, and director Francis Lawrence has now revealed that it was Hamill's portrayal as a disgruntled Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars sequels that helped him get the part.
Speaking with Screen Rant, the 54-year-old filmmaker said: “I was putting a lot of thought into the role of, and I was trying to stay away from the archetype that one might think of ... Look, he's a great actor and a great military consultant, but I was trying to stay away from the Dale Dyes of the world - like in Platoon, and you've seen him in Spielberg movies and all that stuff.
“I was trying to come up with somebody different, and then I thought of Mark, I think because of his work in the more recent Star Wars movies.
“There was a sort of weariness to him that I really liked for The Major, and he had a gravitas that I really liked.
“I also knew that he had done a ton of amazing voice work, so he had this real command over the kind of characters that he could play and the way he could sound.”
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire director added Hamill “totally got” the role after being pitched it, mostly thanks to having spent his teenage years living in Japan, where his school was next to a U.S. military base.
Lawrence continued: “We had a Zoom, and it was great because I told him these things. He totally got it, but he had also moved around as a kid on military bases, so he was like, ‘I know this guy!’
“He had the voice, and he had the weariness, which we gave an arc to. He actually sounds a little stronger at the beginning and a little weaker at the end and a little wearier. But he was great.”
The Long Walk - which is an adaptation of author Stephen King’s 1979 horror novel of the same name - follows 100 teenage boys as they are forced to participate in a relentless walking contest where falling below a set pace means death.
As the gruelling journey unfolds, the competitors face both physical torment and psychological collapse in a fight for survival.
In the film, Hamill's Major oversees the walk, pushing the boys to their limits.
Reflecting on his role as The Major, Hamill said playing the “sadistic” character was “unlike anything [he’s] ever done before”.
Speaking with Discussing Film about the antagonist, The Life of Chuck star said: “Well, he’s amoral. I mean, for you to be able to do what he does … he’s got to be some kind of sociopath.
“There’s no sort of backstory for him, but you know he’s a really troubled person. And sadistic and … just all those terrible things.”
