Carrie Fisher Dishes On Hairdos And Her Return To Star Wars After 30 Years
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When Disney and Lucasfilm finally announced the cast for J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, there were some new additions, a few surprises, and a handful of familiar faces retiring to the franchise after 30 years. Chief among those in the last category are stars of the original trilogy Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford, who will all be back to reprise their roles as Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo, respectively. All three of these actors have all had long and varied careers, but with the exception of Ford, the Star Wars saga was the highest peak. Fisher recently opened up about what it means to return to that galaxy far, far away, and shared some of her favorite stories from set.
Talking to a live audience at the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, Fisher refused to share any details on Episode VII, which, considering the shroud of secrecy surrounding the picture, isn’t a surprise. She did, however, joke that they’re doing another film so she can “get Princess Leia right this time,” correct some mistakes, and maybe play her as “less British.” She also claims to have lobbied for the return of her iconic bun hairdo. She said, “I’ve begged them to put the hair back on in grey and just catch me cooking with the hair, like Granny Leia.”
Though details on the new film were absent, she had plenty to say on the earlier films. Despite her affection for her role, she wasn’t shy in saying she would initially have preferred to play a different part, namely Han Solo. She said, “When I first read the script I thought that’s the part to be, always wry and sardonic. He’s always that. I feel like a lot of the time Leia’s either worried or pissed or, thank God, sort of snarky. But I’m much more worried and pissed than Han Solo ever was, and those aren’t fun things to play.”
Leia has plenty of legendary moments, but the ones that stand out in minds of fans of a certain age definitely involve that gold bikini. It’s hard to be that badass running around in a crowd in a glorified bathing suit, but she pulls it off, and it didn’t stop her from getting in on the action and enjoying herself. When asked what she thought her best moment in Star Wars was she said, “I had a lot of fun killing Jabba the Hutt…They asked me on the day if I wanted to have a stunt double kill Jabba. No! That’s the best time I ever had as an actor. And the only reason to go into acting is if you can kill a giant monster.” How could you turn down the opportunity to strangle a giant puppet?
Star Wars: Episode VII is currently filming in Abu Dhabi, and hits theaters everywhere next year on December 18, 2015.
