For nearly 50 years,Star Warshas been transporting audiences to a galaxy far, far away, building generations of passionate fans. It’s become one of the most successful and popular movie franchises of all time, establishing a multi-billion dollar galactic empire of its own.
Since 1977, theStar Warsseries has produced a whopping 11 live-action films with more on the way, plus an endless stream of both live-action and animated TV shows. And that doesn’t even include all the content that was deemed non-canonical once Disney took the reins fromStar Warscreator George Lucas.
And yet, despite the franchise’s booming success and iconic status, severalStar Warsactors have an issue with the franchise. Some of these performers experienced intense fan hate, which tainted their experience with the series. Others just downright hated their role. Whatever the case, here are 10Star Warsactors who strongly disliked aspects of the franchise.
10Jake Lloyd - Young Anakin Skywalker
Jake Lloyd famously portrayed the childhood version of Anakin Skywalker, who would one day grow up to become the villainous Darth Vader. Lloyd appeared in only oneStar Warsfilm:The Phantom Menace,the first entry in Lucas’ polarizing prequel trilogy.
After the premiere, Lloyd became the target of bullying at his school and harassment from the press. This soured his experience with theStar Warsfranchise, thoughLloyd’s mother claimsthat he still lovesStar Warsand his involvement with it.
9Kelly Marie Tran - Rose Tico
Poor Kelly Marie Tran. Even though she had never seen aStar Warsfilm before, Tran was thrilled when she was cast in the polarizing film,The Last Jedi.Her character, Rose Tico, is the first major Asian-American character to appear in what was mostly an all-white franchise, bringing some much-needed diversity to that galaxy far, far away. Rose was an everywoman, a stand-in for the audience – except some of the audience didn’t care very much for Rose.
AfterThe Last Jedipremiered, Tran became the victim of intense racist and sexist online hate and attacks. The harassment caused her to seek therapy and step away from social media. Numerous members of theStar Warscommunity, including Mark Hamill, came to her defense. Disney, however, ultimately did the opposite by significantly reducing her role in the last film,The Rise of Skywalker.
Despite all the fanboy backlash tainting her experience, Tran remains proud of her involvement in theStar Warsfranchise.
8David Prowse - Darth Vader
Everyone knows that James Earl Jones provided the sinister voice of the iconicStar Warsvillain, Darth Vader. But only true fans know that David Prowse was the physical embodiment of the Sith lord, the man behind the mask. A former bodybuilder, Prowse provided the tall and bulky stature that made Vader so terrifying and imposing. Even his movements had a certain edge to them.
Prowse is another cast member who was proud to appear in theStar Warsfranchise – and another cast member who had certain issues with it. Prowse had a tense history withStar Warscreator, George Lucas. Prowse apparently leakedthatenormous twistat the end ofThe Empire Strikes Back,angering Lucas.
As the story goes, Lucas had also originally agreed to use Prowse’s face and voice when Vader’s mask was finally removed inReturn of the Jedi.When actor Sebastian Shaw was used for this reveal instead, Prowse felt betrayed and sidelined.
7Ahmed Best - Jar Jar Binks
It’s hard to tell who received more hate from theStar Warscommunity: Kelly Marie Tran/Rose or Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar is an extra-terrestrial from George Lucas' prequel trilogy and a divisive character among theStar Warsfanbase. Some enjoy the character and embrace his comedic relief. But mostStar Warsfans find him to be annoying, childish, and overly dumb.
Jar Jar was a major supporting character inThe Phantom Menace,but his role was reduced significantly when most of the fanbase grabbed their pitchforks and called for Jar Jar’s head.
But it wasn’t just Jar Jar that fans hated. Their hostility was also directed at Ahmed Best, who reportedly put a lot of himself into the character. At one point, the dislike for Jar Jar and himself became so great thatBest actually contemplated suicide. This negative reception also slowed the momentum of Best’s rising career.
But in the years since, there’s been a growing appreciation for Jar Jar Binks as the children who grew up with the prequels now head into adulthood, which has helped change Best’s perception and has turned him into a proud member of theStar Warsfranchise. In fact, he recently returned to theStar Warsuniverse as Jedi Master Kelleran Beq inThe Mandalorian.
6Terence Stamp - Chancellor Valorum
Renowned actor Terence Stamp had a small but important role inThe Phantom Menaceas Finis Valorum, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. It’s Valorum’s demotion as Chancellor that paves the way for Darth Sidious to obtain power and turn the Republic into an Empire. Stamp was excited to act with Natalie Portman, but on that particular day of filming, Portman was given the day off.
This news frustrated Stamp, whose experience on set worsened due to his poor working relationship with director George Lucas. “We didn’t get on at all,” Stamp told Empire Magazine. “He didn’t interest me, and I wouldn’t think I interested him.” Stamp called his overall experience withStar Warsboring. No wonder why Valorum never popped back up in the other two movies.
5John Boyega - Finn
John Boyega seemed to land the role of a lifetime when he was cast as one of the main protagonists in theStar Warssequel trilogy. The up-and-coming actor plays Finn, a stormtrooper who goes rogue and aligns himself with the Resistance. But things didn’t quite pan out the way that Boyega had hoped.
Despite appearing in all three films, his role decreased as the movies went on, becoming less and less important. Big picture ideas for his character seemed to fall by the wayside. Was Finn supposed to be Force sensitive? Was he supposed to have a romance with Rose or with Rey? What was that mysterious secret that he never divulged to Rey?
Since the sequel trilogy’s conclusion, Boyega has been vocal about his disappointment in the direction of the franchise and his character.
He told GQ in an interview, “What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good…What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it is a great experience.”
Boyega’s comments imply that he was hired merely for the sake of diversity, that he was cast in a role that was never truly fleshed out – and he’s not wrong. When asked if he’d be interested in returning to the franchise,Boyega expressed minimal interest, remarking, “I’m good off it.”
4Denis Lawson - Wedge Antilles
Denis Lawson plays Wedge Antilles in the originalStar Warstrilogy. For a supporting character, Antilles is legendary in the world ofStar Wars.He’s a notable member of the Rebel Alliance, who participated in more victorious starfighter battles than any other character and wasthe only Rebel starfighter pilotto survive both Death Star battles.
Obviously, Disney wanted Lawson to reprise his role as Antilles in the first movie of the sequel trilogy,The Force Awakens.But Lawson turned it down, claiming that the role would have “bored” him. That doesnotsound like an actor who lovesStar Wars.But despite this, Lawson was eventually talked into returning for the final movie,The Rise of Skywalker.
3Harrison Ford - Han Solo
Han Solo is a crucial piece of what we’re calling the originalStar Warstrinity. He’s everyone’s favorite stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, Nerf-herder, the bad boy of theStar Warsuniverse.He’s an iconic character for both the franchise and for actor Harrison Ford, though he certainly isn’t the latter’s favorite.
Ford was reluctant to participate in anyStar Warsfilms beyond the first movie,A New Hope. He also believed that his character should die and kept askingStar Warscreator George Lucas to kill him off.
While promotingReturn of the Jedi, Ford told talk show host David Letterman, “Three is enough for me. I was glad to see that costume for the last time.” And yet, Ford would go on to wear his Han Solo costumetwomore times in Disney’s sequel trilogy. At least this time, though,Ford finally got his deathwish.
2Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker
It’s impossible to haveStar Warswithout Mark Hamill.He portrays the legendary Luke Skywalker, the hero who rose from wannabe rebel to powerful Jedi Knight, playing a pivotal role in overthrowing the Galactic Empire in the original trilogy. Luke is a member of what we’re calling the originalStar Warstrinity,a necessary and iconic group that consists of Luke, Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).
Just to be clear – Mark Hamill loves theStar Warsfranchise and his involvement with it. There’s just one tiny, not-really-a-big-deal-whatsoever aspect that he wasn’t fond of: Luke’s role in Disney’s sequel trilogy. Hamill was vocal about his disagreement and dissatisfaction with Luke’s character arc inThe Last Jedi.
In his mind, it didn’t make sense. The man who believed there was still good in Darth Vader, the most evil dude in the entire universe, got rattled when he sensed the Dark Side in his nephew, Ben Solo (Adam Driver), and was tempted to murder him?
The man who was dying to leave his barren wasteland of a planet inA New Hopeand help the galaxyis totally OK with missing all the action, exiling himself to another barren planet, in the sequels? None of it fits.
1Alec Guinness - Obi-Wan Kenobi
If you’re aStar Warsfan, then you probably knew this one was coming. No actor has been more critical or resentful of his time onStar Warsthan Alec Guinness, who played Luke’s first Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Guinness described the movie as “fairy-tale rubbish” in a letter to his friends and only agreed to appear in the film if he didn’t have to do any publicity or promotion afterward.
Related:10 Biggest Fan Debates in Star Wars History
Despite amassing wealth and an Oscar nomination for the movie, Guinness became unhappy with the constant fan recognition and his ever-growing affiliation with the franchise. It was apparently his idea to kill off Obi-Wan in the first movie – but not because he felt it would be good for the story. “What I didn’t tell Lucas was that I just couldn’t go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines,” he confessed in a 1999 interview.
Despite his hatred of the franchise, Guinness appeared in all three original films and helped to establish Obi-Wan as an iconic character.StreamStar Warson Disney+
