Robert Englund was auditioning for a part in Apocalypse Now when he walked across the hall where auditions were taking place for George Lucas' Star Wars. After watching the auditions for awhile, he realized that his friend, aspiring actor Mark Hamill, would be perfect for the role of Luke Skywalker. He suggested to Hamill that he audition for the part; Hamill did, and won the role.
Released in the summer of 1977, Star Wars was an enormous, unexpected success and made a huge impact on the film industry. Hamill also appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and later starred in the successful Star Wars sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Hamill was twice honored with the Saturn Award for Best Actor (given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films), for his performance in both sequels. The actor also reprised the role for the radio dramatizations of both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, but did not participate in the Return of the Jedi radio drama due to budgetary concerns. With the acquisition of Lucasfilm by the Walt Disney Company, it has been announced that there will be more Star Wars films starting with Episode VII which will be released in 2015. It is rumored that Hamill will reprise his role as Luke Skywalker for the next Star Wars trilogy.
Reprints of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (which influenced Lucas as he was developing the films) issued after the release of Star Wars in 1977 used the image of Hamill as Luke Skywalker on the cover.
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