Christopher Walken returned to the movies to play Denis Villeneuve’s Emperor in Dune 2, and it was an opportunity. Vanity Fair Asked about his rich career and specifically his audition for another sci-fi saga… Star Wars!
An Oscar winner for his tragic supporting role in Journey to the End of Hell, Walken recalls trying his luck in the first Galactic Universe film:
I think it was for Han Solo. Yes, I passed for him. And if I’m not mistaken, my audition partner was – I think that’s right – Jodie Foster… I think we did a screen test. I’m not sure we made a scene. Maybe we were standing in front of old video cameras in those days. I did this audition for Star Wars, but like 500 other actors, a lot of people did the same thing that I did.
George Lucas wanted Jodie Foster as Leia
Although Christopher Walken seems to be on the fence about how his audition went, it has been officially confirmed that Jodie Foster was George Lucas’ first choice for the role of Princess Leia. The creator of Star Wars gave it to him offered the roleBut the actor had to turn it down due to a previous commitment with Disney Studios, perhaps filming A Crazy Friday Crazy Crazy (1976) or The Treasure Race (1977).
Other major actors considered for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars included Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone, who he said told Lucas: “Let me make it easy for you: (…) guys in space don’t look like me and I understand.”
Source: Allocine
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