Kelsey Grammer Auditioned for Han Solo in STAR WARS and He Talks About That Experience
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Frasier star Kelsey Grammer auditioned for the role of Han Solo in George Lucas’ Star Wars. During a recent interview, the actor talked about his experience of that and shared his reaction to seeing Harrison Ford in the finished movie years later.
Grammer was one of many actors who read for the role of Han Solo. Some of the others included Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken, and Burt Reynolds.
When it came to Grammer’s experience, he said that one of his university professors put him in contact with the agent for "[a] guy doing a casting for a movie about space." He recalled his experience, saying:
“I walk around and knock on the door, sure enough, they call me in, and I sit down, and there is. I didn't know him at the time, George Lucas. 'We're making this thing about...[it's] a fairytale in space. You know, two guys rescue a princess.'
"Great, sound like fun. So he said 'You're right for...well, there's two parts...maybe the older guy. He's kind of, you know, a gunslinging kind of guy. You know, an adventurer.'"
Grammer never heard back from Lucas or anyone else involved with the film after that experience, and it’s not until he actually ended up seeing the movie in theaters that he realized the project moved forward and got made without him. He said:
"I'm watching a little bit longer and, 'Holy s**t, this is that movie. This is that thing the guy told me about. It's them. It's...oh, my God.' And, you know, I either dodged a bullet or missed a really big opportunity."
A few years later Grammer’s big break came with being cast as Dr. Frasier Crane in Cheers. It’s so hard to imagine Grammer playing a badass adventurer-type character like Han Solo! The character doesn’t seem to fit him at all, but there’s a reason why Lucas didn’t cast him.
Regardless, Grammer has had a pretty great career and he even ended up in a big franchise by taking on the role of Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand and a reprisal of the character in X-Men: Days of Future Past. He also appeared in Star Trek.
What do you think about Kelsey Grammer as Han Solo in Star Wars? Do you think that could’ve worked? What if Kelsey Grammer and Harrison Ford switched places? What if Grammer landed Solo and Ford Landed the role of Dr. Frasier Crane!? What a strange world that would’ve been.
Via: CBM