By Christopher Walken has spoken about the time he auditioned opposite Jodie Foster for George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” film.
The pair were among the many actors vying for roles in the project back in the day with Foster going for the part of Princess Leia and Walken up for Han Solo.
They lost the roles to Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford respectively, but the pair did a screen test together. Speaking with Vanity Fair, Walken says:
“I’m not sure we did a scene. Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras. We might have just sat there and did the name, rank and serial number type of thing. I would say that, yes, I did audition for Star Wars, but so did about 500 other actors. It was lots of people doing that.”
The comments follow on from Foster revealing on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” back in January that she auditioned for “Star Wars” and in fact was offered the part. Foster was only 13-14 at the time, far younger than Fisher who was 19:
“They were going for a younger Princess Leia, but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie, and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract.
They did an amazing job. I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple [hairstyle, instead of Fisher’s iconic Danish pastry style for Leia].”
Walken offered his quote whilst he’s currently in cinemas playing Emperor Shaddam IV in “Dune: Part Two” – a return to screens after a four-year hiatus from big-screen roles. He had seen Villeneuve’s first “Dune” multiple times:
“To be with all those terrific actors – Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Stellan Skarsgard – and to go to Budapest, which is a beautiful city. And of course, that’s what I do for a living. It was only, I think, three weeks. So, everything about it was attractive.”
“Dune: Part Two” is out in cinemas everywhere.
The post Walken Reflects On His “Star Wars” Audition appeared first on Dark Horizons.
