Sir Alec Guinness
So...
I'm reading about how great Sir Alec was as an actor, and without a doubt, he is one of the strongest characters in all of the Star Wars films...
But I hear that he...Well...Kind of hated Lucas...And although I am a Star Wars fan, I'm only new engaging into the things outside the films...So what gives..?
Depends who you believe.
Alec was the only actor who declined to be interviewed for Dale Pollock's unofficial Lucas biography, Skywalking.
He claimed it was because he was told Guinness had nothing good to say about Lucas as a director.
Sounds like an element of sour grapes on Pollock's part to me.
Either way, I've seen quotes saying Guinness enjoyed the experience.
I've seen quotes saying he didn't.
I don't think it's a given that Guinness "hated" working with Lucas, really...
http://imdb.com/name/nm0000027/bio
has a few interesting quotations and rumours.
Another one I read which is not on the above page, is that Guinness walked around wearing a button which said "Save me from Star Wars" (or "Spare me..." or other words to that effect, can't remember exactly) at the time Episode 1 was released.
I would think it is because he is such of the generation of well trained actors that he felt his skills were wasted on a sci-fi film... 2, it could be that so many fans were obsessed with star wars and his character he wanted to do away with the type casting or his old age... Whatever you want.. LOL
It's an often told myth that Guiness disliked Star Wars. As a friend of his said after Alec's death, Star Wars gave him security in life and he was not about to turn around and bite that hand.
What distressed Alec was the over-zealous attitudes of fans towards him- especially as, as a serious actor, he had a ton of other stuff he wanted the average person to remember him for as well, several of which he liked more, from Bridge on the River Kwai, to Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy. The oft-told legend- tricky to tell it is true or not- is the one when the fan comes asking for his autograph, saying he was seen Star Wars dozens of times, Alec says he will give the autograph, so long as said fan never watches Star Wars again.
True or not, it is thematically relevant, but people take it as evidence he didn't like Star Wars, where as, as I say, it was the fans that got to him.
That's been my opinon too...that work like Bridge on the River Kwai was overshadowed by SW...
They way most eveyone treated SW during initial filming...seeing it as a junk B movie...you have to imagine there was something else that motivated Sir Alec to take the job...either something of value he saw in the script/story or Lucas himself.
Oh, Alec wasn't SO high and mighty as to refuse to do a job like that, especially as GL was seen as an up-and-coming director (American Graffiti had been well received and there had been a lot of talk about him and Apocalypse Now), and that people like Peter Cushing were in it...
... and a very canny Guiness negotiated 2% of ticket sales in his contract. Now, that showed brains.
I don't think he hated Lucas, I just think he got sick of being tied to Star Wars. He was an accomplished actor who won an Academy Award, and anyone from my generation remembers him as Ben Kenobi! I know he didn't understand fans obsession with Star Wars, and I think that is when he began to get disgusted. It is true that he did cameos in ESB & ROTJ, so he must have gotten turned off after the post Original Trilogy Euphoria.