‘Star Wars’ Had Christopher Walken And Jodi Foster Read For Two Of Its Most Important Roles

One of the highlights of Dune: Part Two is seeing Christopher Walken‘s take on the role of Shaddam IV, the film’s ferocious Emperor. It’s his first performing position in 4 years, and happened due to his admiration for the primary movie within the sequence.

But it’s not the primary time Walken has tried for a giant finances sci-fi movie. In the mid-Nineteen Seventies, he learn for the primary Star Wars, however not for the Darth Vader position you’d anticipate. Instead, he was up for the Han Solo half, which ultimately put Harrison Ford on the map.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Walken recalled the second. “Yes, I auditioned for it. And if I’m not mistaken, my partner in the audition was — I think this is true — it was Jodie Foster (who was reading for Princess Leia). I think we did a screen test. I’m not sure we did a scene. Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras … I did audition for Star Wars, but so did about 500 other actors. It was lots of people doing that.”

Foster has beforehand spoken about her audition, however Walken’s try-out is new info. He would have introduced a special vibe to the Han Solo position, as he does with the Dune: Part Two Shaddam IV portrayal.

“There is something about getting older that you’re sort of not inclined to get out of your pajamas,” he tells Vanity Fair about Dune. “He maybe doesn’t take a shower as often as he should. There’s a little bit of ‘the hell with it’ at a certain point.”