Mark Hamill is currently reading a book by Stephen King, but it’s probably not the one you’d expect. The legendary Star Wars actor has starred in not one, but two King adaptations this year, playing Chuck’s paternal grandfather Albie in The Life of Chuck earlier in the year and transforming into The Long Walk’s sinister antagonist The Major for this weekend’s release. It’s not one of King’s horror novels that Hamill is enjoying when I chat with him ahead of the film’s release, however. He is reading King’s memoir and guide to becoming a writer, On Writing.
“It answers so many of the questions I would have wanted to ask [King] about process, about character, about where he gets his ideas,” Hamill exclusively tells Parade. “It’s fantastic. It’s like taking a college course in Stephen King given by the man himself.”
Hamill is a Stephen King superfan, so he feels “lucky” to have landed two King projects back-to-back, and he says he had “to restrain” himself when they met for the first time last year at the premiere of The Life of Chuck. “I would have wanted to talk his ears off about Carrie and The Shining and Sleepwalkers,” he says. “But I said, ‘This is not the right time. Let him enjoy the film, and don’t bother him.'”
While Hamill is best known for playing Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original Star Wars trilogy, he’s now playing the villain in The Long Walk, the mysterious Major, who presides over a grizzly competition for untold riches in a post-apocalyptic America. While The Major rides in the back of a truck, 50 teenage boys, one from each state, embark on a walking contest. Each time a boy slows down or stops, he’s executed until only one walker is left alive to win the prize. The film, based on King’s 1979 novel, was directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis and Judy Greer in addition to Hamill.
Ahead of the film’s release, Parade chatted with Hamill about working on his pair of Stephen King projects, his relationships with the younger cast members and why The Long Walk feels especially timely now.
Read Parade’s full interview with Mark Hamill below:
Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, David Jonsson as McVries, Tut Nyuot as Baker and Ben Wang as Olson in ‘The Long Walk.’Murray Close/Lionsgate
Matthew Huff: You’re in both The Long Walk and The Life of Chuck this year, which are both Stephen King adaptations. Was that just a coincidence, or are they somehow linked?
Mark Hamill: I was just lucky. I’d worked with [director] Mike Flanagan, and he wanted me to be in The Life of Chuck, and then the next thing you know, [director] Francis Lawrence said, “Would you be in The Long Walk?” So it’s more of a coincidence, but what struck me is how diverse those two films are. They couldn’t be more different. The Long Walk is more in Stephen King’s wheelhouse in terms of expectations. It’s got a ghastly premise, and it’s harrowing and a terrifying dystopian view of the future. Then you have The Life of Chuck, which is just so life-affirming and sweet-natured and has It’s a Wonderful Life-like optimism that you feel watching it. So I thought that’s very therapeutic, especially in these troubling times now.
The Long Walk, we made it before Los Angeles was occupied by [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] agents in masks breaking people’s windows and dragging them out onto the street. Now it’s much more timely and relevant than it would have been if it had come out even six months ago. So life imitates art, unfortunately, and I think it’ll have a resonance with the audience that it didn’t have before because of what they’ve seen with their own eyes in Los Angeles and now Washington, D.C.
I saw a photo of you and Stephen King at the The Life of Chuck premiere. What was it like meeting him?
I was going to the Toronto International Film Festival where we’re going to see The Life of Chuck for the first time, and just minutes before we’re going out, they said, “Oh, you’re sitting next to Stephen King.” I went, “What? I’m a fanboy. I gotta keep it together.” And I walked to the seat. He was already seated, and he looked up, and he said, “The Major. How do you do?” My thought process was, “How in the world does he know.” We hadn’t shot [The Long Walk] yet? I asked the Lionsgate people, “What’s going on?” They said, “Oh, no, he knows. He has casting approval, director approval, script approval.” After a few unpleasant experiences early in his career, he’s so prolific and so successful, he was able to gain that kind of control. I was shocked that he knew who I was at all, and then to know specifically what character I was playing, it was a thrill.
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Mark Hamill as The Major in The Long Walk. Murray Close/Lionsgate
You’re playing The Major, who is presiding over the boys who are walking from the back of a truck. Did you get to hang out with your younger co-stars very much?
I had scheduled a brunch to take place at my hotel where I invited the entire cast over from like 2 to 7 [o ‘clock] on a Saturday or Sunday, and when I told Francis that, he goes, “Well, there’s a problem. Cooper Hoffman doesn’t want to meet you.” I said, “Cooper Hoffman doesn’t want to meet me? Why?” He says, “Well, he’s afraid he might like you.” And I go, “Oh, it’s the process. It’s the actors wanting to keep in character so they keep the antagonists away. I totally get it.” So I canceled that, and I said to [Francis], “Tell [Cooper], ‘I understand. It’s the actor’s process, but I guarantee when he meets me, he will like me.'”
Young Roman Griffin Davis from Jojo Rabbit had wrapped, and he’s underage. They asked, “Could he come visit?” I said, “Absolutely.” So he came over to the hotel, and we hung out for a couple of hours. Delightful young man. He’s so good in Jojo Rabbit, as he is in The Long Walk. I signed for him, we took pictures, the whole nine yards. As far as the other cast goes when we were on set, if people came over to me and said, “Can we do a selfie?” Absolutely. I took it on a case-by-case basis. Some of them kept their distance and didn’t acknowledge me, which is fine.
It wasn’t until after the movie was over, when there was press and so forth, that I really got to know the various actors. And by the way, the moment we wrapped, Cooper came right over to me, and he was a real chatterbox, and he came to my trailer, and we hung out and gabbed and gabbed and gabbed, so he got it all out of the system. They’re all great guys, but I totally understood if they wanted to keep a distance because of the unique relationship in the film.
Related: There Are Over 30 Stephen King Adaptations in the Works—What You Need To Know
You’ve played iconic heroes like Luke Skywalker, but you’re the villain in The Long Walk. Is it more fun to play the hero or the villain?
As an actor, you want to get a response, whatever that may be, and sometimes, being a villain, you get even a stronger reaction because people hate your guts. You’re blocking what the protagonists are trying to accomplish. You’re standing in their way. It’s fun to be a a hero, where people are rooting for you and wanting you to do well, but it’s really delicious to be someone that antagonizes the audience and is the reason the heroes can’t succeed. Would I want to play Peter Pan, or would I want to play Captain Hook? Actually, both. When I was a little kid, I would have loved to be Peter Pan. Now I’d love to play Captain Hook.
This interview was edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The Long Walk arrives in theaters on Sept. 12, 2025, nationwide.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the Movies section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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