Star Wars legend Mark Hamill has spoken about his emotional experience filming at Skellig Michael.
The actor who plays Luke Skywalker in the franchise told Empire magazine that the island made him feel like he was in “a galaxy far, far away”.
Skellig Michael is an island off the coast of Co Kerry. It was home to monks as early as the 6th century. The monks made the island habitable by carving into the rock to build ‘Beehive Cells’.
Hamill said: “It reminded me of when I was in Tunisia on the salt flats. If you could get into your own mind and shut out the crew and look at the horizon, you really felt like you were in a galaxy far, far away.
“I had the same wave of emotion happen to me when I was on Skellig Michael in Ireland. I wasn’t anticipating it.”
Hamill certainly seemed to enjoy his time in Ireland during the filming and took time out to visit a local pub in Kerry. While there he even got behind the bar to pour a few pints.
The 64-year-old star is reprising his role as Luke Skywalker for the first time in 32 years in the new movie The Force Awakens.
He said: “Obviously you’re seeing him in a very different time in his life. There are lots of surprises in this movie. You’re going to love it.”
Skellig Michael made its mark on the Star Wars franchise and was recently named as one of the top ten places in the world for Star Wars fans to visit.
The highly anticipated movie is set for release in Ireland on December 17.
Take a look at the trailer below.
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