Watch Kurt Russell’s Han Solo Audition For Star Wars

Some genuinely wild names brushed by the Millennium Falcon during George Lucas’s search for the right Han Solo in “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.” In another timeline, that scruffy-looking nerf herder could’ve had the appearance of Al Pacino, Bill Murray (who almost became Batman as well), Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, or even “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer, who once found himself auditioning to portray the hotshot pilot. But before Lucas looked to a very lucky carpenter for the job, an already established young star named Kurt Russell got a call to come in and try visiting a galaxy far, far away. Decades later, Russell’s audition for the movie is now available to watch and provides excellent insight into the Solo we could’ve had.

Taking a look back at the breadth of Russell’s acting career, there’s no doubt that the charm and swagger needed for Han Solo was in there somewhere. Characters like Jack Burton from “Big Trouble in Little China” and even the likes of Mr. Nobody from the “Fast & Furious” movies prove that to be the case. However, those key career points wouldn’t present themselves for years to come, and looking back, Russell has admitted that he didn’t turn down the role of Han Solo; it was just a simple matter of going where the money was.

During an appearance on Opie Radio while promoting “The Hateful Eight” in 2015, Russell explained that this then-little sci-fi project, which would go on to change cinema forever, was a gamble, and he understandably wasn’t sure about taking it. “That one on ‘Star Wars,’ there was a Western show called ‘The Quest’ that was out, and they wanted me to do that, and I had to answer them,” he explained. There was also the added issue that, according to Russell, Lucas couldn’t decide who to cast him as in the film, if at all, given that he’d auditioned for more than just the role of Han Solo.

“I had read for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, and he’d had three or four other guys as well,” Russell recalled. Torn over the projects on the table, the star was upfront with his potential collaborator. “[Lucas] didn’t know what combination he wanted, and so I said, ‘Do you know if you’re gonna use me or not?’ and he said, ‘I don’t.’ So I said, ‘I’m gonna go take this Western,'” Russell added. However, the actor also clarified that an offer was never finalized, so there was technically nothing for him to say “No” to. “The idea I would’ve turned down ‘Star Wars’? I wouldn’t have turned down a soap commercial,” he noted. Perhaps it was all for the best. Russell appearing in “Star Wars” might’ve set him on a path away from the career he ended up with and, most importantly, the films we’ve loved to watch him in.