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I made a post ages ago about when I met Max von Sydow, which is here. At the time I made that I was under NDA so I didn't really want to say anymore, but that ran out ages ago so here are the stories about the times I met Luke, Leia and Han.
I met Mark Hamill first, when I was waiting for an initial meeting at Pinewood with the 1st AD, a gruff Scottish guy who I had emailed out of the blue asking for a job and who I had never met before. When I arrived they made me sign an NDA and told me that the 1st AD was in a meeting and would be with me when he was ready. I just sat there twiddling my thumbs, veering between pessimistic nervousness to optimistic determination for over an hour, until eventually I got out a book and just stopped trying to think about anything. Loads of people were coming and going and I had been waiting so long that I had stopped paying attention to them. Eventually, I notice two people moving towards me, and as I'm reading I see them stop in my field of vision, two pairs of legs standing in front of me above the page of my book. Then I hear a really familiar voice say my name, I look up, and Luke Skywalker is standing above me. My brain kind of stopped for a second, and halfway through the thought 'How does Luke Skywalker know my name?' he says it again. I guess my face was a picture because, Mark Hamill turns to the other guy, says 'That was fun!' and they both crack up. Then the 1st introduced himself, I shake hands with them both, and Mark takes his leave. So yeah, the one and only time I met Luke Skywalker he completely mindfucked me just before one of the most emotionally nervewracking moments of my life. Fucking Jedi.
Carrie Fisher was a similar experience. I didn't work on the Milton Keynes set, which is where all her scenes where shot, but a couple of days before my time was coming to an end, I was told to go and fetch a VIP for a tour of the set. This kind of thing happened quite a lot. They had a small set of screens set up on set called the video village that the directors, producers and guests could watch as the cameras were rolling. Basically, if you were mates with JJ Abrams, you could get invited. The number of famous people who came to see Star Wars being filmed for a couple of hours (often in the dead of night) was ridiculous. I managed to meet and have brief chats with a whole bunch of people whose work I have a lot of love for, including Peter Jackson (I gave him a hug that he most definitely didn't want but I still greatly enjoyed), Simon Pegg, Jon Favreau and Kevin Smith, before I left them wherever they needed to be and went back to work. It wasn't all good though, one time George Osborne turned up with his family. It happened to coincide with the filming of the scene at the beginning where the stormtroopers burn down Max Von Sydows village. At the time, it did cross my mind that I had access to both flamethrowers and one of the most despicable politicians in modern history. I was tempted. Anyway, whenever you were told to go fetch one of these VIPs you never knew who was going to turn up. I was pretty happy when I saw Carrie Fisher waiting for me. I was even happier when the first words she said to me were 'Ooh, they sent me a cute one.' That's right, Princess Leia thinks I'm cute. Then we talked about how Han Solo would never have stood a chance if there had been a vaguely stereotypical Jewish nerd in the original trilogy. The spin off writes itself.
By far the best of all though was the time I met Han Solo on the Millenium Falcon. On the first day of shooting all of the Production Assistants were given an introductory tour of the sets we were working on so that we knew where everything was. They started in wardrobe, where they're fitting people for costumes and there are about 20 stormtroopers wandering around. I ask one of them if they're too short to be a stormtrooper (don't judge me, I was excited). Down to props where all of the blaster pistols and lightsabers are just out on tables ready to go, out to P Set where they walk us through half a mile of desert village they had created by filling an entire field of sand and then constructing about 15 huts on top of it. The whole time me and the other PAs are joking around and laughing, because in the short time we've had to get to know eachother it's evident we are all massive Star Wars fans. Then on to the final part, M set, which is just a giant warehouse with a big M painted on the side. But when you walk through the door, there it is. The Millennium Falcon. And all the talking and joking stops. There is complete silence. Its about 2 hours before shooting is scheduled to start and we start walking towards it. It's all like a strange dream, and as it gets closer all I can think is that this is the best moment of my life. Then we go up the ramp. I'm inside. I'm actually inside, my hands are gliding along the walls as I walk along, I'm actually touching it, and I decide that no, this, this is the best moment of my life. Through the corridor. Under the bulkhead. And the whole time I've got the biggest shit eating grin I've ever had on my face, because, you know, it's the fucking Millennium Falcon. Then we reach the cockpit, and Han Solo is just sitting there, in the captains chair, reading, 5 foot away from me, like it's nothing, like it's totally normal for Han Solo to just be sitting in places where my eyes are looking. I walk up and he turns to me. I give him a slight wave. 'First Day?'. 'Yes'. 'Welcome aboard.' And I know, that those other moments, they were nothing. Who cares about them anymore? This the best moment of my life right there, nothing will top this. How could it? This is actually the best thing ever. But I was wrong. It got better one more time. 'Want to sit?'.
It doesn't matter what happens now. Take everything I hold dear. Subject me to the torments of Job. I met Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon, he welcomed me aboard, and then I sat in his chair. I will die happy .
