Mark Hamill’s Latest Role Is All About Bringing ‘Joy’ Into Children’s Lives (Exclusive)

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

When you think about Mark Hamill, your mind instantly fills with scenes of him playing the legendary Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, fighting for the little guy and swishing his blue lightsaber against the bad guys. Along with playing Luke Skywalker, he’s famously taken over the world of Broadway and voice acting; as well as being a devoted dad of three and grandpa. And now, he’s a J.E.D.I, also known as the LEGO Group’s Junior Executive Director of Information.

Let us explain: LEGO just released a series of Star Wars SMART Play sets, which are a huge upgrade to the play sets you knew before because these ones come with smart tags, bricks, and minifigures.

“The reason I partnered with LEGO was [because] they asked me to and I jumped at the chance,” he said in an exclusive interview with SheKnows. “I love LEGO, I love toys, I’ve loved LEGOs since the eighties when my boys were small.”

Many have wondered what Hamill is like behind the scenes, picturing him as a kind, gentle soul; and we can tell you firsthand that he’s even kinder than you imagine. A perpetual kid at heart, Hamill knows the power of play, and how it can truly change kids’ lives.

Hamill and his wife of 47 years, Marilou York, are proud parents to three kids: Nathan Elias, 46, Griffin Tobias, 43, and Chelsea Elizabeth, 37. Along with that, his son Nathan welcomed a daughter named Autumn, making Hamill a grandpa! And turns out, he’s played LEGOs with all of them over the years.

In an exclusive chat with SheKnows, Hamill spoke about everything from his family making the holidays better, why he loves LEGOs, the tearjerking charity work he makes a priority, and the prediction he made about Star Wars before it was released. See everything below:

When asked how it feels to see so many generations fall in love with the Star Wars franchise, nearly 50 years after the first movie dropped, he didn’t miss a beat by saying it’s “absolutely amazing.”

“I remember predicting on the very first day at the studio, the production manager had me in his office and he said, ‘What do you think about what we’re about to embark upon?’ And I said, ‘I think we’re a winner,'” he recounted. “I read the script, and usually science fiction was very dry and serious. This had a sense of humor: robots over arguing over whose fault it was. It was effortlessly feminist.”

He went on further to discuss how amazing Princess Leia’s character, played by the late and great Carrie Fisher, “The princess was not a damsel in distress. She wound up taking over her own rescue because Han and I were so inept. I mean, that in and of itself is funny. But her standing up to the scariest character in the whole movie and mouthing off right in his face, now that’s a woman that every girl can aspire to be just a fantastic character. All of it.”

And nearly 50 years later, Hamill can remember everything so clearly about the early days of the Star Wars universe, and even then, he had that signature optimism attached to himself.

RELATED: ‘Star Wars’ & ‘Mandalorian’ Gifts Everyone Will Love

“I thought it was gonna be successful and it was important to me because if the first one made enough money, then we would make a part two and a part three,” he said. “‘I’ll bet it makes $45 million if it makes a penny.’ That was my big prediction and I was way, way off, but in a good way.”

Despite it being one of the most iconic franchises in history, Hamill told us that George Lucas had a hard time selling it. “I know Francis Ford Coppola helped him, but it wasn’t like people were beating down the door saying, ‘Please let us make this movie!’ Because there really hadn’t been anything like it before. There was 2001. But as I said, that was traditional science fiction,” he said. “This one was just more like a fairy tale than it was like a traditional science fiction movie.”

Along with the franchise being a sci-fi fairytale, so are LEGOs, which Hamill and his family can’t get enough of.

“When I saw the products themselves, I was just amazed. I was back in the days where they were building blocks that you could build anything you could imagine, but now with the sounds and the smart bricks, they’ve it just outdone themselves, they’re just wonderful, wonderful toys,” he added. “Who doesn’t love toys?”

And who doesn’t love toys more than kids? In fact, Hamill’s sons, Nathan and Griffin, often played with LEGOs back in the day.

“One of the things I loved about LEGO is the way it brings you together with your children. It’s something that you can share with them that you can all participate in,” he said about becoming a part of the LEGO Group. “My boys just outclass me within a week or two, as they would with the LEGO. They laughed so hard when I was so proud that I finally beat the Little Mermaid, the game they beat in a week. And it took me months. They were the same way with LEGOs. I started ’em out in doing the rudimentary sort of structures that I could deal with. And within weeks, they were way past me.”

He added, “They were so clever and creative. They came up with things. I mean, I go to bed, and about three days later, they would’ve built something that was amazing to me. Something that they came with, on their own. But any activity you can do that involves your kids is gratifying. It’s wonderful to find something that they love, that you love too. And LEGO is perfect for that.”

Now, he has “a granddaughter, and I look forward to playing with her.”

It’s not all playtime, because there’s another aspect of being a father and grandfather he holds dearly; something so heartwarming about what he does with his babies and grandbaby. “Holidays aren’t as fun without children. In other words, if we didn’t have our granddaughter, we wouldn’t have colored Easter eggs and done an Easter egg hunt. Children make all the holidays better. All the best holidays are improved by children. because children are really easy to trick [laughs]. And that’s important,” he giddily said.

RELATED: Where To Watch Every Star Wars Movie & TV Show

But the burning question many may have is: Has he played with his granddaughter yet with the new LEGO sets? Not just yet, but he did say: “I’m gonna let her pick out because they sent me samples. I like eight or 10 sets, so I’ll let her pick one because the rest of them were gonna go to a children’s hospital and donate ’em to the kids that are there.”

“During Episode Seven, I went to promote the movie, but they didn’t really want me to talk about it because, you know, I wasn’t in it. Everybody else went on talk shows and so forth, I went to children’s hospitals, and it was just a revelation how satisfying it was to bring some joy into these kids’ lives,” he beamed. “One of the doctors said, ‘We had a patient who was paralyzed. The first time we saw movement, his eyes went over to the TV screen when a Star Wars toy commercial came on.’ He [also] said, ‘There are certain things that medicine can’t explain.’ And it was so gratifying. It takes a toll emotionally. But I thought, ‘This work is much more important than my actual job,’ because I feel like I’m actually doing something and or contributing in a way that’s positive.”

He added, “I thought I should do this all the time. In fact, recently it’s worked out now with my relationship with LEGO, but even if I hadn’t been with LEGO, I love visiting children’s hospitals and, going from room to room and meeting the kids.”