Mark Hamill reacts to a video of him being mobbed by 'Star Wars' fans that has gone viral: 'The downside of celebrity'
- A video of "Stars Wars" actor Mark Hamill being harassed in his car has gone viral on Twitter.
- One fan appears to injure the 71-year-old actor by hitting him in the neck with a piece of memorabilia.
A video of "Stars Wars" actor Mark Hamill being harassed by autograph hunters has gone viral on Twitter, causing him to reflect on the less glamorous side of being a Hollywood icon.
In the 37-second clip, the 71-year-old actor is shown sitting in the backseat of a black SUV with his window rolled down as fans thrust posters of his character, Luke Skywalker, and other "Star Wars" memorabilia at him to autograph.
Hamill gamely signs several items before being hit in the neck with a piece of memorabilia that causes him to audibly groan and lean away from the window. After this, he rolls up his window and the car begins to drive away.
Retweeting the video to his 5.2 million followers on Twitter on Monday, Hamill wrote: "#TheDownsideOfCelebrity."
The original video, shared by a Twitter user named @skywalkuzzy, has 4.4 million views.
Representatives for Hamill did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
It was captioned: "I am beside myself. Inconsolably sickened. THIS IS NOT HOW TO TREAT YOUR HERO'S. Everyone in this video owes @MarkHamill a written fucking apology for their greed and selfishness. How he manages to remain a kind soul after decades of this behavior toward him is beyond me."
Many of Hamill's followers expressed their outrage at the actions of the so-called fans in the video.
Earlier this year, the actor announced that he was planning to sell signed "Star Wars" posters — for a good cause.
Speaking to Politico, the actor who has appeared as his Jedi character in six films in the sci-fi franchise, announced that he was teaming up with United24 to help raise money to support the Ukrainian war effort.
"We decided to sign 'Star Wars' posters, a limited amount," Hamill said. "For real hardcore collectors — especially those that have disposable income — you can get way more money … than you would imagine."
Hamill told the outlet that he hasn't sold autographed items since 2017, when "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" was released.
"It's just not something I do," he said, adding that he was happy to make an exception to support Ukraine, whose ongoing fight against Russia is "nothing short of inspirational."
Ten posters with Hamill's signature were raffled off, with five of them going to fans who donated $100 or more and another five guaranteed to those who donated $10,000 or more.