A Force To Be Reckoned With: Mark Hamill’s INCREDIBLE Soap Connection

He’s been known as one of the most iconic movie characters of all time and just brought that character back to life (and death) this past December. But, did you know that Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker, comes from not-so-humble soap beginnings?

Before he breathed life into a space galaxy far, far away, Hamill played Kent Murray on General Hospital (GH) far, far away in 1972.

In fact, when Hamill was honored with an Oscar Wilde Award on Thursday night, The Force Awakens director, J.J. Abrams poked fun at Hamill’s soap opera start, according to Variety. Of course, us soap fans know a role on GH is nothing to sneeze at.

“Who among us can forget how Kent, along with his sister Carol Murray, who were forced to live with their aunt after the death of their father? Just four years later, the nation was thrown into collective confusion when Kent was seen holding a lightsaber,” Abrams said.

“Yes, we loved Mark in Star Wars. He was incredible, he and his sister Princess Leia. But the truth is, all we could think was, ‘What about your real sister Carol Murray?’ Mark apparently made a few more ‘Star Wars’ movies, but never returned to General Hospital, or as many of us call it, ‘Gen Ho.'”

Actually, most people just call it GH, and Hamill remembered his time on GH fondly on Twitter Friday afternoon, after the soap offered Kent some “closure”.

Do lifelong GH fans remember Hamill–and Kent Murray? Let us know in the comments below.