Obi-Wan Kenobi didn’t always feel the Force, according to a newly uncovered letter from a long time ago.
While filming the original “Star Wars” movie in 1976, Alec Guinness, the accomplished, Shakespearean actor who portrayed Obi-Wan, wrote to a friend to express his behind-the-scenes frustrations.
“Can’t say I’m enjoying the film, new rubbish dialogue reaches me every other day … none of it makes my character clear or even bearable,” Guinness wrote.
Oscar Isaac, a star of the newest “Star Wars” film, read the late actor’s note this week at Letters Live, a London performance event that celebrates written correspondence.
Guinness, who reprised his role in the sequels “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” became one of the world’s most recognizable actors, along with his co-stars.
But his note offers a reminder that the cast was mostly unknown when “Star Wars” began.
Referring to one co-star, Guinness wrote, “Tennyson (that can’t be right) Ford … a rangy, languid young man who is probably intelligent and amusing.”
Later in the letter, Guinness finally gets the actor’s name right.
“Harrison Ford — ever heard of him?”