CT Does Sir Alec Guinness really hate SW?

He gave quite a few negative comments in his later years, I guess it's because many people, mostly the new generation only remember him for his Obi Wan role? Or he was never interested in it?

 

Guinness needed the money, so he took the role in "some stupid science fiction film". The thing that bothered him the most was because that is how he was best remembered. Not for his excellent roles in earlier films like Lawrence of Arabia, but for this low budget schlock that frankly he felt was beneath him.

 

Interesting that, though he disliked it, he still played the part so brilliantly.

Still, it was pretty overkill when he raged on that kid that wanted his autograph because he played Obi Wan.

 

This is not quite correct,

I've seen an old interview with Alec, done just after filming of ANH had stopped but before it had been released.
And here he was quite positive about the film and he liked the role and really wanted to play him.
I never got the sense that he did this "Just for the money" and the budget of ANH wasn't huge so I doubt he got paid a fortune.

Why he later became less enamoured with SW was that people started writing to him, thinking he was Obi-Wan, and wanting advice on how to live their life. This kind of attention did not sit well with him and after this, all people would ask him was about SW and not about many of the other great roles he played.
In short, he didn't care for the SW fandom but liked the film.

Bye for now.
Old Stoneface

 

That's not entirely true, either. Some kid asked him for his autograph, claiming he'd seen SW about 130 times (or similar), to which Guinness replied gently that yes, he could have his autograph, but only if he promised never to watch SW again. The kid burst into tears. He hardly 'raged' on the kid, he just found such fandom a bit unhealthy.

Alec Guinness never had a problem with the films themselves, for every supposedly negative comment there's a positive one - he's particularly praiseworthy towards George Lucas - but no one expected them to be so successful, and the ensuing lunacy was just a bit much for him. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher & Harrison Ford all harbour such mixed feelings towards the OT.

I don't think he was paid a fortune upfront, but he had enough faith in the film to take a few points of the gross instead - which did make him rich.

 

Yeah didn't Ford tell a kid to go force yourself when he said May the force be with you to him.

As for Sir Alec

Watch films like Bridge on the River Kwi/ The Lady Killers and TV series like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to understand why he probably got annoyed for only playing Obi bloody Wan Kenobi as he said it

 

Bwahaha! That story is news to me. Because of Ford's mumbling nature the kid might have probably heard the other f-word on top of that, too.

You should never take what negative aspects actors have to say about your favourite franchise too close to heart.
I mean, Daniels and Baker apparently hated each others' company. Ironically it kinda fit the relationship between the characters, though.

 

To the point where he's willing to make children cry by telling them not to watch them again.

It really makes it painful to watch him in the OT now.

 

Plenty of "it's for your own good" things could make kids cry.

I'm guessing he figured watching it that many times is not healthy, and kids should be told to stop if they do.

 

_ _ _ _

It must have been difficult for Sir Alec. He'd done some brilliant work over the years, including those that you mentioned. For all of that to, essentially, be forgotten because of being in Star Wars probably was rather irritating for such a brilliant actor. I imagine it is similar to bands getting tired of always being asked to play that big hit from years ago rather than the music they have made more recently.

 

Imagine Mozart being confronted by thousands of people who thank him only for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

 

He would've liked me--sometimes I actually forget he played so large a role in ANH. For whatever reason I mostly associate his Star Wars work as force ghost guy who chats for a few minutes on Dagobah.

 

I liked him in his earlier films such as The Ladykillers and Bridge Over the River Kwai.

 

He's been dead for over ten years, I doubt he hates anything.

 

Give me a break. He would be just as annoyed by some people's inability to get a dry, sarcastic joke, I think.

At any rate, here's my experience. I've shared this here before but it's good to share again.

When I was a kid, my parents and I lived in England for a few years. The second house we lived in was in a small rural town, just down the street from Alec Guinness and his wife. This was in 1980 to 1982, so just after TESB, and I was six years old in 1980. They were very quiet and kept to themselves, but also very nice. All the neighbors liked them and appreciated that they valued their privacy. But every time I met him, I was still a little awestruck to be talking to Obi-Wan. He knew this and it didn't bother him at all. On one of the first occasions, we were sitting behind him in church (I was raised Catholic). There's a part of the mass where everyone shakes the hands of those around them and says "peace be with you". He turned and shook my hand and we said that to each other, but after he turned back around I whispered to my mom, "I should have said 'may the Force be with you'". He heard me, looked back at me, and gave me a classic "Obi-Wan" smile.

 

That was in the 80s; that was before he got curmudgeony and sick of SW.

 

I recall reading somewhere that Alec Guinness didn't like it because it was so morally black and white. That's probably one of the best reasons to dislike Star Wars, IMO.

 

I suppose it's understandable that he would want to be treated as a normal person rather than being called Obi-Wan by a lot of people.

 

There are people that don't even know his name - they only know Obi-Wan.

And quite frankly he was much better in Lawrence of Arabia

 

Alec's personality was about the only thing that held the production of ANH together, per one of the documentaries about it. He did hate being only associated with Obi-Wan, but the films themselves? Find it rather odd to keep appearing in something you detest

 

Hey. I am a huge SW fan and only watch the movie each about ten times.

 

Sure. 130-odd times however, I could see someone like Guinness being shocked by.

 

But that was a small role. Bridge on the River Kwai is where he shines.

 

I think we was just mad that he was killed off

 

_ _ _ _

That's a nice story and I know just the smile that you mean.