'Star Wars' Screen Tests: Pity Those Actors
One of Saturday Night Live's funniest-ever sketches had Kevin Spacey's impersonating a young Christopher Walken in a long lost screen test for the role of Han Solo in the original STAR WARS. (It went on and on--with ever more inappropriate 70s stars (Jack Lemmon, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand) soldiering through George Lucas' turgid dialogue.
Andrew Hearst at Panopticist has linked to something almost as funny: Robby Benson's audition for the role of Luke Skywalker--and yes, that is Harrison Ford reading opposite him. Benson, who would go on to teen dream stardom in ICE CASTLES and a slew of TV movies, is...well, let's just say he's way more juvenile than Mark Hamill.
You Tube member Ghyslain is uploading a black and white treasure trove of real auditions for the roles of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. There are 90 minutes of screen tests, and not every actor announces him or herself at the start. But so far you should recognize the young Lisa Eilbacher (of AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN) and the very, very young Terri Nunn of the band Berlin.
I don't know who the dark haired, sharp featured actor is at the start of Terri Nunn's tape.