Han Solo is one of the most recognizable characters in "Star Wars," brought to life by Harrison Ford, who will be reprising his role in "The Force Awakens." It's almost impossible to think now that anyone else could've played the Corellian smuggler but there were, of course, other actors considered for the part.
In an interview, Robert Englund, the actor most well-known for being the face of Freddy Krueger, recounted that he too auditioned for the role of Han Solo. He was actually interested in a part in another movie. However, he was told that he was too old for the role and that he should check out the hall literally three feet away where auditions were being held for the George Lucas film. So off he went, got some Polaroids taken and shot a little bit of film playing Han Solo, but, as you already know, didn't get the part.
"I heard Tom Selleck turned down Han Solo," he said.
According to Englund, the idea behind Han Solo was that he was to be older, appearing more like an uncle to Luke Skywalker. Specifically, the character was conceived originally to be that type of uncle that you only see during the holidays, smokes and drinks and can be a little nasty, but still heroic and cool that you could look up to.
Fun fact: Englund was the one who told Mark Hamill try out for the part of Luke Skywalker.
The "Star Wars" story would've mostly remained the same whether or not Ford was cast as Han Solo but how it turned will definitely be different because the actor brought with him his own brand of confidence and swagger. Ford's Han Solo had a younger sensibility too, making him more big brother to Luke Skywalker than uncle, giving Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi more breathing room to be the wise old soul that will guide the future Jedi.
Aside from Selleck, other could've-been-Han-Solos are Christopher Walken and Kurt Russell.
Another fun fact: Ford also beat out Selleck to become Indiana Jones.
Han Solo is set to come home (with Chewie!) in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which will be released on Dec. 18. An upcoming anthology film on the franchise is also set to explore the history of the character.
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