Mark Hamill’s All-Time Favorite Books by Stephen King

In the past year, the actor Mark Hamill—best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the original “Star Wars” trilogy—has starred in not one but two adaptations of works by Stephen King: “The Life of Chuck” (2024) and “The Long Walk,” which hits theatres this week, and tells the story of a group of teen-age boys who participate in a gruelling competition put on by the government of their dystopian society. Not long ago, Hamill joined us to muse about his favorite books by King, who he contends is “much more versatile a writer than he gets credit for,” and whom he first met in the audience at a film festival. “I know I’m a good actor because I was able to say, ‘Hi, how do you do?’ when my inner fanboy was, like, Oh, my God,” he said. His remarks have been edited and condensed.

The Shining

I went to see “The Shining” on opening weekend, and I was just so knocked out that I went directly from the theatre to a bookstore to buy the book to figure out, What the hell did I just see? I loved it so much that when I was reading it I’d wait—I wouldn’t read it in daylight, like down poolside, in the sunshine. I’d wait until it was dark, sometimes after my wife went to bed and the kids were down, so that I had the optimum atmosphere. I remember enjoying it so much that I would slow down—like, Oh, I’m reading too fast. This is the first King book I ever read, and it’s the one that made me a gigantic fan.

The Dead Zone

When I found out they were making a film of this, I wanted to be in it. I didn’t get an audition, but I still read the book. It’s such a fantastic premise—this guy can touch people and get impressions of the future. It’s so compelling! Anyway, the movie was great; Martin Sheen was perfect. I’m not the kind of person who would say, “Well, they didn’t want to see me for the movie so I’m not gonna go see it.” I don’t hold grudges, I’m not like that.

It

I only recently read “It,” which is so scary. I also saw the version with Bill Hader in it, which is more like the novel, where they go back and forth in time. It’s almost hard to watch, it’s so gruesome and horrible. I don’t know why people like that—but I also do. It’s because you’re out of your comfort zone, and it scares you to death, and you’re just happy that it hasn’t happened to you, I guess. And even though they’re often scary, King makes things that are relatable. He doesn’t write above the common man, and it’s easy to put yourself in the place of the characters because he draws you in.

On Writing

When I met King in person the first time, what I really wanted to do was pick his brain. “Where do you get these ideas? And, in this novel, why did this happen?” Then one day I discovered “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.” This book is like sitting in a room and asking him all those questions. I can’t recommend it highly enough, because it answered so many of mine—not all of them, but many. It was exactly what I would have wanted to know if we had gone out to dinner.