No Star Wars aficionado could ever forget the momentous scene (possibly one of the most gripping in the history of cinema) when Darth Vader tells a skeptical Luke, “No, I am your father.” Through the years, it has been used as a punchline, meme, or a comeback during casual chats and tête-à-têtes. Strangely, behind the scenes of this moment, a real-world father-son controversy took place between Mark Hamill – who portrayed Luke Skywalker – and his son Nathan.
According to the buzz, the child was born while the actor was filming the Empire Strikes Back, and now Hamill has taken to the Twitterverse to correct the hearsay and disclose how it really went down. He wrote:
“Actually it was a green-screen shot of me firing up at an AT-AT-then diving headfirst into "snow"-Originally given the day off-they called 9hrs after his birth asking for this 1 shot-during which I sprained my thumb-postponing that week's filming of the lightsaber duel #TrueStory”
Mark Hamill must have chanced upon the unverified version of the story about his son’s birth on The Jedi Council online page, which then prompted him to set the record straight. According to the actor, Nathan Hamill wasn’t born in the morning before he filmed the “I am your father” scene. It was, as fans noted, obvious that his character looked worn out. However, it seems this was the result of good acting, not delivery room exhaustion!
Intent on mending the miscalculation and setting the record straight, Hamill used Twitter to correct the wild fan theory. Beginning his clarification with the word “Actually,” Hammill went on to narrate the true sequence of events. Since George Lucas isn’t a Darth Vader-esque tyrant, Hammill was allowed a day off for the birth of Nathan. However, he was asked to come back nine hours after his son’s birth to shoot a single, time-sensitive scene (the aforementioned fight scene between the Battle of Hoth and AT-AT). The actor was performing in front of a green screen and was tasked with plunging into a pile of fake snow.
So, life and art weren’t lining up as symmetrically as fans clearly hoped. The Skywalker-Vader father-son scene had no connection to the birth of Hammill’s son. However, the actor did temporarily have to leave his newborn (and the mother of his child), to play in the snow!
While the production got the shot on Hoth, Hamill reportedly hurt his thumb, which slowed down shooting the lightsaber fight. As you can imagine, perfectly working thumbs are requisite for pulling off the choreography of armed fight scenes and for being able to wield your weapon properly.
While the actor corrected the erroneous theory, disappointing those who thought it was true, he made up for it by revealing new information that took place behind the scenes of what most fans agree was the greatest Star Wars film.
Hamill’s part in the film was so iconic the industry has barely allowed him to stray from the role. In December of 2019, he’ll be making his return as the Jedi Master in the forthcoming movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Here’s a bonus tidbit you likely didn’t know: straying from Star Wars, Hamill gave voice to one of the most feared horror characters of the ‘80s: Chucky from Child’s Play.