A Big Star Wars Moment Finally Happened In Real Life
Two "Star Wars" legends who never got the chance to meet in the movies finally did so in real life. Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the franchise, recently crossed paths with Natalie Portman, who played Padme Amidala in the prequel trilogy, at the Gloden Globes. It was pretty significant, given that Padme is Luke's mother in the Skywalker Saga and died shortly after giving birth (meaning she never actually got to know her children).
Now I have finally met my "mother", thanks to the @goldenglobes. pic.twitter.com/lkRZQgmLmp
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) January 8, 2024
"Now I have finally met my "mother", thanks to the @goldenglobes," Hamill wrote on Twitter during the awards ceremony. Hamill was there presenting the award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, a brand new prize that ultimately went to "Barbie" (which is perhaps not surprising since "Barbie" was the highest-grossing movie of 2023). That aside, Portman was nominated for her role in Netflix's "May December," paving the way for this meeting to take place.
It's remarkable to consider that Hamill and Portman had previously never met. Sure, they weren't in the same "Star Wars" movies together, but they're both huge parts of the franchise. The fact that they never crossed paths at an event, at Skywalker Ranch, or maybe even at Star Wars Celebration (much less had a chance meeting at some other Hollywood event before now), is amazing. Hamill previously pointed out on Twitter in 2018 that he hadn't met Portman before. Nearly six years later, that has finally been amended.
Padme finally meets Luke
Hamill helped make this franchise what it is dating back to 1977 when George Lucas' "Star Wars: A New Hope" hit theaters and shattered box office records. The actor anchored the original trilogy (which still ranks as one of the best of all time) as Luke Skywalker. Hamill would later reprise his role in the sequel trilogy, briefly appearing in 2015's "The Force Awakens" before taking over as a main character in 2017's "The Last Jedi." He also made another brief appearance in "The Rise of Skywalker." More recently, he showed up on the small screen with a very memorable appearance in "The Mandalorian" season 2.
As for Portman, she first appeared as Padme Amidala in 1999's "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," the first entry in Lucas' prequel trilogy. The excitement for that first entry was very palpable as the "Star Wars" movies had been away from the big screen for more than a decade at that point. Portman would reprise the role in both "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith," with the films chronicling Anakin Skywalker's journey to becoming Darth Vader. His love affair with Padme is at the very center of that journey. Portman has yet to return to the role but revealed last year that she would be open to the idea.