“Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all- whether she liked it or not”
Just in case you had any doubt, Mark Hamill is one of the good guys. After Carrie Fisher was rushed to the hospital last week following a massive heart attack, her Star Wars co-star has been quick to post hopes for a speedy recovery on his Twitter account. And when the tragic news of her death hit on Tuesday, he summed up all of our feelings by simply describing himself as “devastated.”
But a few hours later, Hamill elaborated on his thoughts regarding the late acting, writing and mental health awareness icon with whom he shared nearly a lifetime worth of friendship. In a moving Facebook post, the 65-year-old Hamill wrote:
“It’s never easy to lose such a vital, irreplaceable member of the family, but this is downright heartbreaking. Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all- whether she liked it or not. She was OUR Princess, damn it, & the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent & ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away. Determined & tough, but with a vulnerability that made you root for her & want her to succeed & be happy. She played such a crucial role in my professional & personal life, & both would have been far emptier without her. I am grateful for the laughter, the wisdom, the kindness & even the bratty, self-indulgent crap my beloved space-twin gave me through the years. Thanks Carrie. I love you.”
The Star Wars icon and voice actor extraordinaire never let early fame and fortune go to his head, upholding a strong reputation over the years, even as his Hollywood status faded in the years after the original Star Wars trilogy completed its run in 1983. And with his return to the forefront of culture with the new Star Wars trilogy, Hamill has been a class act leading example in humility, humor and now, sadly, grace.
As Fisher herself put it in her most recent book “The Princess Diarist,” when discussing her brief affair with co-star Harrison Ford:
“I'm sorry it's not Mark [Hamill] — it could have been. It should have been. It might've meant something. Maybe not much, but certainly more.”