hamill's face in esb- injured in real life?

What I've read on the topic:

The car accident was very bad. Mark may have broken his nose as he admits, but he also did a lot more damage to his face. I have read that Lucas was frantic with worry about Hamill after the accident, not just because Mark could have died, but because his Luke Skywalker actor might not be able to continue on. Thankfully, Mark got reconstructive surgery and dental work done to repair the damages done, and yes, he met his wife at the dental office, as she worked there.

 

He was injured shortly before ESB began shooting. That was why GL inserted the scene of the Wampa scratching Luke's face, and him having scars afterward. Originally, Luke was just supposed to be knocked out by the Wampa, because being clawed was too graphic, but now GL had no choice.

A lot of Luke's face injuries on Hoth were real!

 

Actually, Hamill was injured before ANH even came out he was scheduled for some re-shoots in Death Valley (they had finally fixed Luke's speeder and were going to re-shoot some scenes).

"At 5 a.m. on the morning of the shoot Lucas' phone rang. Gary Kurtz broke the news that Mark Hamill had been involved in a serious car accident...Hamill woke up that morning amid a scene from an episode of M*A*S*H*. "There's a guy moaning next to me, and some intern says 'We're gonna take him next because he's in worse shape than you are, and you're in pretty bad shape,'" Hammill recalled. "And he holds a mirror up to my face and it looks like a rasberry pie. My nose was off". Hamill recalled nothing of the accident. He later discovered that his new BMW had catapulted off the road and rolled thirty feet down a steep incline before hitting the ground. Eventually his nose would be rebuilt using cartilage from his ear."

Empire Building by Gary Jenkins (page 135)

 

That is really sad. I am glad he is still alive and OK because no one should go through that except evil people like Mr. Bin Laden.

 

The deal is this:

The wampa scene was always in Empire. It wasn't added because of Mark's accident.

Stories of Mark's accident are way overblown. He was in a car crash and he broke his nose. As an actor, he needed reconstructive surgery. So, they rebuilt his nose.

That's all.

 

From A&E's Biography series:

"Mark Hamill is a victim of his own success. Though he remains a steadily working actor, he will always be known as Luke Skywalker. BIOGRAPHY® looks at the incidents that shaped Hamill's career, revealing how contractual obligations to Eight is Enough almost kept him from appearing in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. But a devastating car accident forced the producers of Eight to recast Hamill's part, and the actor was free to continue his movie career. While recuperating from the accident--and enduring multiple surgeries to rebuild his face--Hamill met his wife, dental hygienist Marilou York. Today, they have three children and Hamill spreads his talents among stage, screen and voice-over work.

Behind-the-scenes footage from Star Wars, rare home movies and interviews with his family, friends and co-stars help tell Hamill's complete story."

http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=18496

 

I think he looks better in Empire and Jedi then he does in ANH. More of a man then a boy.

 

WookieDroppings: Well if a car accident is what is attributed to Hamill's "ugly" appearance now, tell me what Greyhound bus hit Carrie Fisher in the face?? Blech!

Harabec: Tell me about it. She looked like hell on "Empire of Dreams" tonight.

Don't make me come over there!

Handmaiden: Thankfully, Mark got reconstructive surgery and dental work done to repair the damages done, and yes, he met his wife at the dental office, as she worked there.

Destiny works in strange ways. It was meant to be.

"There's a guy moaning next to me, and some intern says 'We're gonna take him next because he's in worse shape than you are, and you're in pretty bad shape,'" Hammill recalled. "And he holds a mirror up to my face and it looks like a rasberry pie. My nose was off". Hamill recalled nothing of the accident. He later discovered that his new BMW had catapulted off the road and rolled thirty feet down a steep incline before hitting the ground. Eventually his nose would be rebuilt using cartilage from his ear."

Empire Building by Gary Jenkins (page 135)

Wouldn't 'Nose Building' be more appropriate? Kidding.

Stories of Mark's accident are way overblown. He was in a car crash and he broke his nose. As an actor, he needed reconstructive surgery. So, they rebuilt his nose.

That's all.

Hamill says his nose was "off". Are you saying he only needed a nose because he was an actor?

Without his nose, how would he smell?

Answer: Terrible.

Seriously, do all the 'beautiful people' here really think that Hammill was a bad-looking guy before or after his accident?

Come on. He was a good-looking guy before, and I think he was still good-looking after, just different.

And what we saw on A&E is something that is going to happen to EVERY ONE OF US.

It's called...getting older.

 

Hamill says his nose was "off". Are you saying he only needed a nose because he was an actor?

His nose was broken and a bit misshaped. Getting a nose job for something like that wouldn't be vital for most people unless their job is something that tends to be in the public eye.

 

Yes, but Hammill says his nose was "off", as in...

...packed in ice...

...in another room.

 

From Hamill himself: "I had the accident way before Star Wars came out, but what really happened has been terribly distorted. I broke my nose, that's it! But I've read accounts about how my face has been reconstructed with plastic surgery and how I was pulling myself along the highway with one arm looking for help. I even heard that I drove off a cliff! That's the best one of all."

pwn3d!

 

Well, who are you gonna believe?

Mark Hammill or...


...Mark Hammill?

Seriously, he's told the story differently over the years. But as a portrait artist who studies faces, I can tell you that post-accident, his right eye has a slightly different shape, as if the skin under his right eye was pulled down.

Don't get me wrong. Nothing against the guy. He looks fine. I just think he downplays the accident now...

...just as other people in the same boat might be tempted to play it up.

 

I am sorry but I think Harrison Ford is the ugly one of the three. Sure Carrie and Mark aren't as attractive as they were in the 80s but they still look good for their age. Harrison Ford looks like he's 80!!! And Leia's Love Slave I totally agree he still was attractive in ESB and ROTJ.

Ciao all!

 

I am having trouble finding pictures, and a side by side comparison, of Hamil pre-ESB and post ESB to really be for certain.

Yeah, I see plenty of shots on Google, but nothing that is conclusive that his face is TOTALLY different. He just looks older to me...

Madine out

 

I hate to be one of these people that re-play a shot frame by frame but I did with VHS release of ROTJ.

I'm not a doctor but as someone who was once 9 years old and thought Mark Hamill was HOT(Blue eyes,Blond hair-still have a thing for that) I noticed that the scene when he leaves DSII and the screen has explosives going you can IMO see the difference in his face---still looks damn good though, sorry guys I'm female and I'm allowed an opinion

 

It was a Motorcycle accident...

 

I think we're picking knat crap out of pepper here. To answer the question posed in this post, Mark Hamill's face was injured in a car accident before principle photography began on ESB, it did require "some" degree of reconstructive surgery, it had nothing to do with the movie "Corvette Summer". The wampa scene would provide a explanation for any lingering scar tissue.
As to weather it was added for that reason may not be known. I don't belive his face was so bad it had to be totally reconstructed, I also don't belive it was just a "run of the mill" broken nose like you'd get in a pickup game of basketball. And it was NOT a motorcycle accident.

 

I still could not find a side by side comparison.

Has anyone else?


Madine out

 

My half-brother was a young teenager when Star Wars and ESB came out and he told me he remembers the news reports saying that Mark Hamill had been badly injured in a car accident, and that his nose was the only thing broken. However, due to the severity of the broken nose, which pushed back his facial bones, he needed reconstructive surgery. Plus, there were numerous cuts and scrapes thatw ere still visible when filming started on ESB, therefore the ice creature scene was added.

Don't know if this is true or not. My brother swears he remembers it, but it was a long time ago.

 

In the Holiday Special his face is nowhere near as bad as his hair:
[image=http://img86.exs.cx/img86/8205/MARKHAMILL.jpg]