'Star Wars' Actor Mark Hamill's Car Accident: How The Car Crash Changed The Star's Appearance

The actor who played "Luke Skywalker" in the "Star Wars movies" has admitted in an interview that a serious car crash is the reason for his face's dramatic change in the sequel to the first movie. Mark Hamill's car accident was so severe that it changed his face from a young and fresh-looking man in the 1977 hit movie "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" into an older and wearier appearance in 1980's darker sequel "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back".

According to a report from Food World News, the actor was involved in a severe car accident just before the filming for "A New Hope" has finished.

"What happened was that I was on the wrong freeway. I was way out in the sticks somewhere and there were no cars and no traffic, thank God," the actor explained in an interview with Gossip magazine. "I was going about 65-70 mph... I was speeding, going too fast... and what happened, I think, was that I tried to negotiate an off-ramp and lost control, tumbled over, and went off the road. I fractured my nose and my cheek."

The actor also said in the interview that he fractured his nose and his cheek during the accident which dramatically changed the star's facial appearance. "I just woke up and I was in the hospital and I knew that I had hurt myself very, very, very badly... but I wasn't really sure. And then someone held a mirror up to my face and I just felt that my career was over."

Fortunately, fans and critics continued to embrace him as "Luke Skywalker" in the sequel despite the change in his appearance caused by Mark Hamill's car accident. A review from movie critic James Berardinelli talks about Hamill's performance in the sequel, "Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have matured in their craft and are sure of themselves in their roles."