Star Wars - 1977 (1975) Original Cast Auditions

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Original Star Wars (1977) cast audition recordings from 1975, featuring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Kurt Russell, Robbie Benson and more.
#StarWars

[@TheDukeMitchell]

thedukemitchell.uk/ for more weird videos plus strange film nights in London.

[@jovinabea]

the thing is... harrison wasnt even auditioning for the role-- he was simply fillin in a spot that cancelled last minute. crew made it clear that he will not be auditioning but just going to be reading the script for this group of autioners. harrison being bitter about not really getting a shot, unaware of his attitute and reading the lines-- little did he know he was already portraying a character named HAN SOLO. long story short; he made it to hollywood. outstanding actor.

[@historex54tamiya]

What a job Harrison did, he bounced of every actor in tone and gave them all a chance, not surprisingly that he became Han Solo and rightfully so.

[@pashvang4113]

You should watch Mr. Ballen. He had to read lines with each person auditioning with the knowledge that in the end they were not going to hire him for any of the roles. So that’s why Harrison acted like Himself with no care in the world. In the end, the director liked him and wanted him for the lead role.

[@FenrirEX]

I think part of why Carrie’s works so well is she’s fully willing to engage with such strange material as if it was completely serious. Some of the others seem to trip over the ideas of robots and planet-destroying stations, but she’s just there from the word go.

[@imnothingbutastreetcat7996]

So satisfying to watch, mr ballen brought me here.

[@Spoketlabolina]

Me too!

[@lukejorgensen4903]

Same!!

[@nickwood1062]

Samezees!

[@benjaminloo1625]

Me three

[@sochitlreyes3259]

I also came here after a video of Mr Ballen, however I already knew about Harrison Ford and his "reading lines only" part in the casting auditions.

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Carrie was regal and beautiful Ford was rustic and suave Mark was calm and intuitive

[@hopbup7401]

This is amazing to watch all the auditions. Hamill has the boyish innocence yet a hungry hero vibe which is perfect. And Ford’s older brother chemistry with a dark brooding vibe is an interesting contrast. Both extremely charismatic.

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

Perfect chemistry too!

[@DougWIngate]

Carrie read the lines with so much more authority and conviction. She made the previous auditioners look like little girls. Carrie actually has that royal vibe

[@Kaboomboo]

Was just about to comment this. The first girl sounds like she's trying to convince her parents to let her stay out past curfew. Leia is in a position of authority at only 19, and must portray a confidence beyond her years. She's so masterful.

[@indianajonesnerd]

After listening to a few other people I found hers and got chills!

[@2degucitas]

She's Hollywood royalty, a princess.

[@jedijones]

Carrie had the gravitas to stand up to Solo's boasting. The other girls look like he would've eaten them alive.

[@Primitarian]

Except that whoever is at 1:06-08 (looks vaguely like Carrie but I think it's someone else) appears to have been a little too intense for George.

[@zippymufo9765]

Ford really brought "gravitas" to these readings. He feels like a real person, a cynical "man of the world" bouncing off these younger energetic actors.

[@TokyoXtreme]

4:28 after failing his audition for Luke Skywalker, Ben Burtt was given a second chance: doing the movie’s sound effects.

[@fanssolperez3430]

one of the best casts in the history of cinema without them the story of star wars would not have succeeded these actors showed true human emotions.

[@sarahlawson1695]

What’s great about this is Harrison Ford wasn’t filmed because he wasn’t supposed to be auditioning at all and they weren’t looking to cast him at all but fell in love with him and ended up casting him as Han

[@oliverlu442]

That grumpy face in the thumbnail tells it all

[@Theakker3B]

Yeah, he nails it so much better than everyone else who auditioned for Han.

[@cult_of_odin]

And he hated it.

[@monancheta3450]

You’re right Sarah, he was only there to fill in for somebody who didn’t show up and hated doing it. He was told by one producer months before this so called audition that he would never be an actor because he did not have the “ X Factor” to be a Hollywood movie star. After the success of star wars, this mean producer was in the same restaurant w Harry and he sent a note on a tray making an apology.

[@LeeLee-pk4ss]

Carrie had the magic, leaning in and cocking her head like that and her tone was quiet authority beyond her years.

[@deelite5176]

Carrie’s voice was so unique… Mark and Harrison were so natural along with Carrie. i was 14 when Star Wars came to the theaters and have been a fan ever since..

[@harrisonfordGOAT]

Harrison Ford was just perfect from the beginning

[@haydencooper_]

Wow 3:20 Hamill was firing from the start, he's really good.

[@birdoffire983]

The Hamill/Ford audition is superior to all the Disney Sequels put together and then some.

[@donnamoon8769]

Casting the right actors really does matter as well having chemistry. The right actors were chosen.

[@theorangutan1914]

Carrie just lights up the room, perfect casting. Iconic since day 1

[@celd8772]

It’s interesting to see who gets repeat auditions. You can sorta see who they’re favoring atm. (Also interesting is who they pair with who.) And you can tell when Harrison goes from helping to actually auditioning himself.

[@MerJo91]

I love that part where they start zooming in on him and not the other person. I'm assuming they told him because he get's more enthusiastic instead of grump and just reading lol

[@infinightsky]

Kurt Russell definitely could have pulled this off

[@thoughtsurferzone5012]

Kurt's destiny was with Carpenter.

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

Russell is a great actor, but Ford was more overbearing

[@inkthinker]

He was too young! You can see the hints of the rugged guy he'll be in a few years, but he was born just a few years too late for Han Solo.

[@mws755]

Yes

[@scott7521]

William Kat, Cindy Williams and Kurt Russell would have been interesting but George definitely made the right call.

[@CARoseGuy]

William Katt knew his stuff. He was impressive. He easily could have been Luke. I'm sad that he is only really known for "Greatest American Hero" and not much more.

[@jedijones]

Yeah, those felt like solid runners-up. I think Kurt was so dashing that they risked having the audience lose all interest in Luke being the lead of the movie with him. Harrison had that reluctant quality that made you realize you still needed Luke to be there to make an adventure happen in the movie.

[@allenhamilton6688]

I recognized a few of the other people that tried out for the part. That was good. Thanks for the upload!

[@hardsixteenyeah1]

I wish there were more moments with Harrison Mark and Carrie together. I didn't anything about them 'til several years later, and recently I've discovered that Carry and Mark, were and are respectively pretty nice and funny persons. Kurt Russel and William Katt, did good auditions too. Thanks A LOT for sharing this stuff ("weirds" videos .., that we are enjoying)

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

Oh yeah! Harrison was the man. From the beginning, he was the very character he ended up hating, but in the movie that launched his career

[@rockisheaven]

19:19 the future voice of the Beast! God, these are fascinating! But it’s immediately clear that Mark, Carrie and Harrison were always the right choices.

[@antesmolcic4354]

Katt's performances were fantastic.

[@claudiaweidenthal8141]

Amazing, simply amazing!! George definitely decided on the perfect 3 😁

[@DoroteoVilla]

Yeah, Harrison Ford had more charisma than any other one of the actors auditioning.

[@mws755]

Katt and Russell are both good and have chemistry but it's obvious they are close in age. Actually the same age lol

[@mortytheorgre1500]

It's strange to see kurt Russell auditioning for han solo, but im glad instead of being a smuggler fighting the empire in a galaxy far far away, he plays a helicopter pilot in Antarctica fighting a creature from another world in john Carpenter's The Thing

[@historex54tamiya]

It’s great to see, to me this is the equivalent of the artist doing a sketch or sculpt, things change but the best bits stay and then refined :-)

[@eclectic_gamer]

thank god they cut out a lot of the exposition crap its rough going, feel sorry for the actors having to remember all that guff

[@cult_of_odin]

Acting in a movie isnt like a play where you need to memorize every line. Different scenes, different lines.

[@zombiehunter675]

feel like Harrison kinda knew that he was gonna get the role seeing as he was the main han solo during the entire hour and a half, i heard that george likes to match specific groups up so was nice to see harrison take the han role for 70 percent of everyones auditions and kinda start to see harrison start to care about the acting rather than just being a grump the whole time.

[@hannahlynch8278]

Thanks for this! I especially liked watching the William Katt/Kurt Russell audtions. You can tell Katt wanted the role bad. On the flipside, I wonder what happened to Frederic Forrest...he looks wrecked!

[@ccsuny2000]

I was like “Is that the Greatest American Hero?”

[@adventurekitty101]

After learning about Harrisons story of how he ended up as Han Solo, it occurred to me that I have never actually watched any of the auditions for Star Wars. I can 100% see that genuine annoyed, cynical bitterness that Harrison Ford brought in because he was told he wasn’t auditioning, and was just acting as a stand in, and him being angry that still wasn’t getting that chance to be an actor. Well little did he know, this was his chance, and he succeeded, all because he was just being himself, and just didn’t care at this point in his life.

[@emmapeel38]

Lisa Eilbacher and Andrew Stevens both played in "10 to Midnight" together. I'm surprised Michael Biehn didn't audition for Luke.

[@jedijones]

Not sure how active Biehn was at the time. I guess this was 1975. His credits don't start until 1977 TV appearances. One of his first credits was the September 1977 pilot of Logan's Run, so those producers might've been using him to remind people of Hamill. His hair in the episode is almost a direct copy of Luke's ANH hairstyle.

[@jedijones]

Lisa told David Letterman she also auditioned for Short Circuit and lost that one. She had bad luck with friendly robot movies.

[@TruthnautBegins]

@@jedijones She just wasn't good enough.

[@gregoritavaughn4009]

Excellent

[@canuck21]

Even Kelsey Grammer audition for Star Wars. Since he was a bit older, he auditioned for Han Solo.

[@franjaime200]

Harrison, Carrie and Mark were the perfect choice. No one came even close.

[@sam_apollo1187]

it scares me to think that in another universe they casted different people and the show wasn't the same as it is now, i can't even fathom the idea that someone other than Harrison Ford would play Han Solo or Carrie fisher not playing Leia

[@Johnny6666]

William Katt made a very good Skywalker: less naive, less callow and perhaps more 'actorly' in terms of pronunciation of the lines (compared to Mark Hamill), but certainly a very strong presence on camera. Easy to see why Lucas held him as the primary alternate for Skywalker.

[@mws755]

Katt is good and the second best choice. Probably a little bit too mature but still good

[@MiguelCruz-oz7km]

It's probably not an accident that he was cast by DePalma for Carrie out of these sessions.

[@PeachLover94]

But this is back when there was little difference between then-Luke Starkiller and Ben Kenobi. Luke having some of what would be Ben/Obi-Wan's lines makes the Third Draft!Luke come across as Luke would in _Return of the Jedi_ while the Revised Fourth Draft!Luke is closer to what we would see in the final film nowadays called _Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope_ (1977).

[@RedOlympus]

the duo at 50:00 was the only other option. Thank god we got the trio we got

[@ofb-jq5lc]

4:16 - That's Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt.

[@qwahaxahn]

1:10:45 and nearby they were auditioning for CARRIE, where she got the role of Sue Snell!

[@derekseven1647]

I could see Robby Benson As Luke.

[@RhondaA]

Me too.

[@celticjewel913]

I THOUGHT ROBBY BENSON WAS TERRIFIC--AND...HE DEFINITELY CAME ACROSS AS A TEENAGER. SO MANY GREAT CHOICES IN THIS AUDITION(S) TAPE. I ALSO THINK WILLIAM KATT IS FANTASTIC. I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH BENSON AS SKYWALKER AND KATT AS SOLO. KATT HAD GREAT RANGE: HE WAS CAPABLE OF PLAYING BOTH THE YOUNGER SKYWALER...AND THE MORE SOPHISTICATED SOLO. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY INTERESTING TO SEE KATT SWAGGER AROUND AS SOLO.

[@donnaclayton8644]

Andrew Stevens! I had a huge crush on him when I was a pre-teen. William Katt was pretty good.

[@thoughtsurferzone5012]

This about the time he made The Fury.

[@wordman3624]

I like William Katt and Kurt Russell's audition. If Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford hadn't worked out for whatever reasons, I could see them doing a good job playing Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Kurt was too young & boyent, 1985 Kurt yes he was older and more rustic and cyncal in the 80s, but not 1975 Kurt. Katt was really good too and was actully Lucas's alt Luke if things went south with Mark. They did not obviously.

[@094340]

100% agree, Katt was solid, and Russell would have been a decent Solo.

[@094340]

@@HVLLOWS1999 Disagree about Russell, his younger more brash Solo would have been just fine.

[@RedOlympus]

Carrie was the only choice. She was amazing

[@StrodtmanPercussion]

Harrison Ford was never han solo. Han Solo just became Harrison Ford

[@jrollins68]

Carrie, Mark and Harrison were awesome! However, these tests are fascinating and the " what if" game is always fun to play. Amy Irving would have done a great job -- excellent actress. Kurt Russell is one of my faves but (ironically) he still looks like a Disney refugee here. No real swagger.....yet. Perry King would have been great. Robby Benson would have been interesting. The right people got hired, to be sure. Search KZbin for Cindy Williams discussing her audition. Fascinating!

[@jimzamerski]

Woooow this is so good and I’m four minutes in ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ … edit: @1:01:35 … Harrison delivers humor in an interesting place. It’s subtle. “Who’s gonna pay me?” It’s about context

[@ItsMeKelso]

Who else is here because of Mr.Ballen ?

[@HeyReia]

me lol

[@DoroteoVilla]

Are you interested in the strange, dark and mysterious in story form?

[@TopazDelta]

Han Solo isn’t supposed to have no emotion in the film.

[@asayeah844]

One thing I found subtle, but wonder if it's maybe because its one of the first times those two worked together. Right at the beginning Harrison Ford leaned in and asked if by moving in would he block "him?" I imagine now, if they ever worked together it would be different. Harrison Ford would probably ask if by moving in would he be blocking "Mark?"

[@rickbennett2158]

They were having joint auditions for Star Wars and Carrie. William Katt got Carrie instead.

[@jedijones]

But Carrie got Star Wars. 😆

[@Primitarian]

This audition scene adds a fascinating dimension to the story. Too bad it didn't make the cut.

[@k.t.5405]

Lucas offered Jodie Foster the role of Leia lock stock n barrel (no auditions)...Turned it down for Scorsese's Taxi Driver.

[@sparkplugpeggy4910]

Who else is old enough to remember all these actors? I'm guessing you're at least 50, like me :)

[@donnaclayton8644]

Yup 51 here

[@cult_of_odin]

Yeah no im in my 30s.

[@saradostal3076]

I'm 39 years old. I definitely remember. 😀

[@grandmagisteroforderofjedy]

What the young and beautiful Mark Hamill here! He is a ONE REAL LUKE SKYWALKER,NO ONE ANOTHER! AGREED?🤔

[@godiswithme14]

Acting wise, I think the role of Luke ultimately should've been a tie breaker between William and Mark. Mark being the best choice. (Besides, had William Katt played Luke, he wouldn't have been Tommy in Carrie. And I loved his role in that.) But based on the youth, naivety, and the personality of Luke altogether, I think it could've been Robby Benson or Mark Hamill. But Mark nailed his audition the best. Barely made a mistake too. Although the actor who auditioned for Luke at the end was also good. And I think Amy Irving and Cindy Williams could've been good alternatives for Leia. And Harrison was meant to be Han. Even while auditioning. Kurt was alright, but no one did that portrayal better than Harrison.

[@pashvang4113]

Mr. Ballen brought me here.

[@merlin8046]

Mr Ballen made me come here

[@arthurfonzarelli9331]

Around 1 Hour 15 minutes is Frederic Forest, who played the Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down with Michael Douglas. Great actor, but playing it way too unstable for Han Solo.

[@ethericboy]

54 minutes in;is that Kurt Russel ?!?! The guy from "New York 1999"?

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

I think you mean Escape from New York..and yes....that IS a young Snake Plisken.

[@corky842]

@@Fatherofheroesandheroines it was "New York 1997" in a few countries

[@willpoweramv]

Carrie was always just flawless

[@adamc1966]

Been looking for this for years. Terri Nunn was a cutie 👍Lisa E. was nice too ❤️

[@educateyourself3872]

In Carrie’s audition you can see a nice balance of urgency and calmness with a just little bit of don’t you get it you doofus?

[@gohanrebelde9888]

La cara de Harrison de "que estoy haciendo con mi vida" en la miniatura es clave

[@okitasan]

lol imagine star wars with Kurt Russel as Han and this dude as Luke 37:12

[@sammcbride2149]

If they only knew what hell they were about to unleash on the world.

[@lizawake614]

THIS IS INTERESTING..SDALY THEY ALL GREW OLD AND DRAGGED ME WITH THEM...I FOUND THIS BY ACCIDENT, BUT I WAIT FOR MR BALLEN TO TELL ANOTHER STORY.

[@AmaraEmme]

Everyone was good, but Carrie was the most regal

[@TruthnautBegins]

She was so psychotic that she got into the crazy dialog easier than the more level headed women.

[@mws755]

Andrew Stevens as Luke Skywalker seems more like Han Solo's little brother. Han Solo Junior hahaha

[@educateyourself3872]

Maybe IF AI gets advanced enough we’ll get to put these other actors in the movies and see what it would have been like!

[@texluh]

Can anyone do a list. For example is that Sissy Spakec at 6 mins?

[@cbockiii2514]

Is that the guy from Greatest American Hero at 46:30?

[@adamc1966]

Yes.

[@lehah4333]

Harrison Ford will always be Han but I love Perry King at 1:08:00. He later voiced the character in all 3 NPR radio dramas

[@batcoolstudios4236]

24:00 She could honestly have played Mon Mothma.

[@GeneticHumanX]

You'd think those female actors weren't actually auditioning but just reading the lines. The only viable choice was Carrie Fisher. If I'd known that was the competition I'd have followed that career path decades ago. No wonder Hollywood was full of out of work actresses if this was the cream of the crop. Did they not even try get the gist of the exchange before auditioning? The girl smiling and laughing... because that's your frame of mind when a maniac is trying to destroy the galaxy and you're on a wing and a prayer, trying to convince someone to do something they don't want to do. It's obviously a pivotal point in the script. Are they on sedatives?

[@jedijones]

Jamie Lee Curtis should've auditioned. Unfortunately, sounds like she didn't decide to pursue acting until 1976.

[@briantimko3225]

The girl with the wierd lookin nose did a great job even tho she was reading from the paper. she did very well

[@JRFrancisco20088]

It's Linda Purl, who guest stared in several "Happy Days" episodes. She had the voice and tone, but her nose was distracting.

[@dannydougin3925]

Not sure who the actress is at the 7:20 mark (Lisa?), but she is pretty good too. Carrie nailed it and while I like Cindy Williams she would have been the wrong choice. I also like Robbie, but he would have also been wrong. They cast the right actors.

[@2degucitas]

They chose actors without an established image and it paid off.

[@jedijones]

She said her name is Lisa Eilbacher. She ended up being in An Officer and a Gentleman and Beverly Hills Cop. Looks like she stopped acting in 1995.

[@emdee7744]

Who were the actors that were the alternate ensemble trio of Leia, Lule, and Han that George Lucas considered casting for A New Hope?

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

Will Seltzer, Terri Nunn and Christopher Walken is what I've always heard

[@2degucitas]

@@anthonydileonardo8156 Christopher Walken as Han Solo?! I just can't see it.

[@kramalerav]

@@2degucitas The opposite of Christopher Reeve was Christopher Walken..

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

Who's the blond guy at the 58 minute mark?

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

Lisa Eilbacher, who played Jenny Somers in Beverly Hills Cop!

[@kramalerav]

I remember her mostly as the candidate who was struggling with the obstacle course in An Officer and a Gentleman.

[@nekitamol1k242]

How did the first actress even get a shot at auditioning, that was godawful lol

[@mws755]

Kurt Russell is pretty good but just a little but too youthful lol He's not Ford but there's no doubt he could of done it

[@michaelkrolewski7406]

God, William Katt here reminds me of Val Kilmer

[@tomaszsadowski1515]

Was Kurt Russel rival for Harrison Ford? ;-)

[@kramalerav]

Robbie Benson was a bit too Dirk Diggler-ish for the Luke role.

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

who was the scruffy guy reading for Hans at 1:23....was that Ed O'Ross? don' recognize him

[@arthurfonzarelli9331]

It's Frederic Forrest. The guy who played the Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down with Michael Douglas. You can even hear George Lucas say "Thanks Fred" at the end of the clip.

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

@@arthurfonzarelli9331 I saw his audition.....looked like he was hitting it hard the night before

[@HarantheBlue]

The dude at 30:10 would make a good Paul Atreides.

[@danpatrick9080]

I think 1:23 is psycho from stripes

[@keyshawnbess572]

30:17 too serious. 34:44 too goofy. 45:56. Too serious. 57:54. Not bad.

[@annettearrow8824]

Harry Styles rather looks like a young Luke.

[@ccryan363]

Personally, I think William Katt had better energy than Mark Hamill

[@canuck21]

Maybe energy was not what they were looking for.

[@2degucitas]

He lacks the fresh faced innocence of Hamill. They needed a little brother to play against Han's big brother.

[@WeCareAlot4693]

HANS???? HANS SOLO lmaoooo

[@dknelson]

Robbie Benson should’ve been cast. Biggest mistake in Hollywood history!

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

There can be only one...Princess Leia. Also can someone get the other actresses a soda or something they look like they are bored.

[@michaelclentworth1283]

It's a good thing that Terri Nunn never got the role of Leia. She sounded too much like a bimbo.

[@lisaknell1809]

Terri was only 16 when she auditioned. They made the right choice, Carrie was truly Princess Leia. Terri is a singer, and had she gotten the role, she might not have fronted Berlin. ❤

[@TruthnautBegins]

@@lisaknell1809 Carrie Fisher was right for the part until she became a coke head. Like Margot Kidder as Lois, Fisher aged out of the role fast. In ROTJ, she looked and sounded post menopausal but she was in her mid 20s. In the Disney movies, she was a mess.

[@TruthnautBegins]

@1:22 that actor did a great job. Acted better than Ford but Ford had a better & more marketable presentation of Han.

[@TokyoXtreme]

That is Ford though. Did you get the time stamp wrong?