Mark Hamill Reveals The Heartbreaking Impact His Near-Fatal Accident Had On His Career

January 11, 1977: the day Mark Hamill's career — and life — nearly ended. Though he'd bounce back to become one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, the impact of the incident went beyond just physical pain, leaving Mark scarred in more ways than one. But after years of dodging rumors and denying the truth, the Star Wars star has finally come clean about what really happened that day, and how the course of his career changed forever.

Fateful Drive

"What happened was that I was on the wrong freeway," Mark told Gossip Magazine. "I was way out in the sticks somewhere and there were no cars and no traffic, thank God. I was going about 65-70 mph... I was speeding, going too fast..." It was then that he realized he was just about to miss his exit.

Frightening Crash

But instead of slowing down, Mark swerved his car across four lanes — and lost control of the vehicle. The car flipped and tumbled, sending the whole thing hurtling off the road where paramedics later pulled the unconscious actor from the crumpled wreck. The consequences were immediate.

Hamill Who?

At the time of his brush with death, the name "Mark Hamill" hardly rang a bell. Star Wars was still in its final leg of filming when George Lucas got the call about the accident, meaning the world had yet to fall in love with the legendary Luke Skywalker, let alone the man behind the lightsaber. The production had problems to sort out.

Making Do

There was no telling what shape Mark would be in once he recovered, leaving Lucas with no choice but to condense his reshoots and finish most of Luke's scenes with a body double. Fortunately, a good portion of these remaining shots were distant pick-ups that didn't show Luke's face, though the entire production was still anxious when the film's May 25 premiere date finally arrived.