Englund revealed that his “Star Wars” audition happened spontaneously, as he was asked to read for the role of Han Solo while leaving his audition for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.”

“As I was leaving, one of the producers told me they were casting across the hall for this George Lucas space movie,” Englund said. “George Lucas was my hero, so I thought: ‘Hell, I’ll go.’ At the time, they wanted Han Solo to be played older, like a cool uncle who lets you smoke marijuana at Christmas. They looked at me for five minutes, took a couple of Polaroids; I did not read. That’s all I remember.” Related ‘Solo’ Fans Shouldn’t Expect a Sequel: It’s Not a ‘Lucasfilm Priority,’ Says Ron Howard Rian Johnson Wanted to Give ‘The Last Jedi’ a ‘Hell of an Ending:’ ‘That’s What Makes a Movie a Movie’ Related Oscars 2023: Best Sound Predictions Oscars 2023: Best Documentary Feature Predictions
But while Englund’s trip to a galaxy far, far away was never meant to be, he was able to help a friend land an important part in the film. “But as I left, I snatched the audition sides for this much younger character called Luke Skywalker,” he said. “I went back to my apartment in the Hollywood Hills and my buddy Mark Hamill’s cowboy boots were on my front porch. He was working down the hill at the CBS studios as a very successful television actor. Mark was watching the ‘Bob Newhart’ or ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ show. We’d watch together in the afternoon and then call our agents at 5pm to see how our auditions had gone. I remember saying: ‘Guess what? George Lucas is making this space movie.’ We both loved ‘American Graffiti,’ so Mark called his agent and put her under pressure to get him an audition.” Hamill’s agent did, in fact, get him an audition for Luke Skywalker, and the rest is history. The serendipitous saga is the kind of story that Hollywood history is littered with, a sentiment that is not lost on Englund. “It’s a bit like the Tarantino movie ‘Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood,’” he said. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.