Source: StarWars.com

Most everyone who follows Harrison Ford’s career knows that he rarely appears at Star Wars events. However, in celebration of the upcoming 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, he was the guest of honor at a charity screening of the film at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood yesterday.

Immediately following the screening was a Q&A session with Ford in which he answered various questions about his experiences working on Star Wars. The screening, which cost $100 per ticket, raised $40,000 for charity towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Joining Ford were fellow Star Wars actors Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi). From the hit animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Catherine Taber (Padmé), Jaime King (Aurra Sing), Cary Silver (producer) and Dave Filoni (supervising director) also attended the screening. Other various celebrities showed up to the event as well, including Ashlee Simpson, Jon Favreau and Christopher Nolan.

During the Q&A session, Ford told some stories that most have heard before, but he also had new stories to tell, such as his personal experiences working at the Norwegian location to shoot scenes for the ice planet “Hoth” in Empire:

“I hadn’t been expected to work there, so the costume that I had was built for the stage. At the last minute, they decided that weather conditions were such that the schedule needed to be changed, and they decided to shoot my scenes not on the stage, but in Norway. So I was rushed up there.”

In addition, he shared his thoughts on Alec Guniess and also talked about what it was like working with Peter Mayhew on the set of the Millennium Falcon. He also humorously commented about his age and how in the original Star Wars Alec Guiness was six years younger than Ford is now. “It gave me pause,” said Ford.

Overall, it appears that he was quite cordial at the event towards the cast and crew involved in making the Star Wars films and, while he doesn’t seem to quite understand the fandom behind the franchise, he considers himself “a really lucky guy” for his part in the legacy.

Head on over to StarWars.com to read the full article!