Happy 51st birthday, Carrie Fisher!
Today could not go by without our wishing a happy birthday to one of the greatest figures in sci-fi film history, Ms. Carrie Fisher. Fisher, who famously portrayed Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movies, was born in 1956. She adorned a golden bikini while kicking Jabba’s butt, winning the hearts of boys all over and her ear-muff hair-do became her character’s trademark. Certainly wardrobe had a thing to do with it, but it is also the lady who carried the look that really sealed her iconic status. Happy Birthday, Princess!
On the off chance you’ve never seen it, here’s Carrie’s audition. Note the day player she’s acting against:
Fisher is one of my personal writing heroes. I can't believe she's only a year older than me, she has such depth of experience.
Glad the casting wasn’t up to me because in all honesty, I’m not sure I would have given the Princess Leia role to Fisher based solely upon the attached film clip.
But FYI: Ford never "officially" auditioned for the Han Solo role. He got it from the exposure reading lines in all the other auditions as a favor to Lucas.