Mark Hamill Burst A Blood Vessel Filming One Star Wars: A New Hope Scene
It's hard to imagine a time before "Star Wars" existed. Heck, many fans weren't even born when "A New Hope" (just called "Star Wars" back then) was released in 1977. The tale of a young man named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in a galaxy far, far away who sets off on an adventure in the stars has captured the imagination of generations. Skywalker may have become a Jedi and saved the galaxy (with the help of a few friends and some talkative droids) more than once, but the initial rescue of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Along with Harrison Ford's Han Solo and Peter Mayhew's Chewbacca, they get into a few scrapes with Stormtroopers and barely escape with their lives.
It's always fascinating to hear what the set of the film that started it all was like, and Hamill will sometimes answer fan questions on social media about that time. In 2019, he was asked a question on Twitter about a rumored injury during one major scene and confirmed that it did, in fact, happen. The eagle-eyed among you may even be able to see the aftermath in other scenes.
'I purposely made myself red-faced for a strangulated look'
The Twitter question was asked by photojournalist @CharlestonBrian who mentioned that he'd heard that Mark Hamill had blown a blood vessel in his eye while attempting to hold his breath during the trash compactor scene. For the handful of you who somehow stumbled onto this story and haven't seen the film, Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca must dive into a trash chute to escape their pursuers on the Death Star. It's full of liquid, bits of scrap metal, and an "incredible smell," as Han so charmingly puts it. It's also got a snake-like monster called a Dianoga that grabs Luke around the neck and drags him under the water.
Hamill responded to the tweet:
"I purposely made myself red-faced for a strangulated look, causing a blood vessel in my eye to burst. Afterwards-they had to shoot carefully to hide it until I healed. George told me I should've asked him 1st because w/ the lighting & red-filters it made no difference.
Ah, hindsight. This wasn't the only time Hamill blowing out a blood vessel in his eye has been mentioned. The late Carrie Fisher spoke about it in her 2008 book "Wishful Drinking" (shared in a 2017 Yahoo Sports article). She said, " ... during one of the takes, Mark was so intent on making his strangulation look realistic that he ended up bursting a blood vessel in his eye, which in turn left this bright red dot." The Yahoo Sports article explained that they had to delay a few scenes with Hamill in the X-wing and links to a Reddit thread where someone found a shot with the broken blood vessel visible.
'Your eyes can deceive you — don't trust them'
The 2015 Reddit thread from chriswrightmusic has a really clear link to a shot from the Rebellion attack on the Death Star where the broken blood vessel is visible. While I couldn't find the exact shot that this Redditor did, I found a screenshot that sort of shows it. I lightened it up a little so you can see it in his left eye (right side of the screen).
Lucasfilm
Hey, the show must go on! If you rewatch the scene, some shots show the reddish spot, and some don't, but as you likely know, things aren't always filmed in chronological order. Of course, you, like me, may never be able to unsee it during your 150th viewing. May the Force be with you either way.
"Star Wars: Episode I — A New Hope" is currently streaming on Disney+.