Actor Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker visits kids at Gt Ormond St Hospital. Pic shows:- Mark with twins Oscar (L) and Finlay (in car), three.
Mark hangs out with twins Oscar and Finlay (Picture: Alex Lentati)

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill skipped a chat show appearance to visit Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Hamill, who reprises his Luke Skywalker role in The Force Awakens, went to the hospital instead of joining his fellow castmembers filming The Graham Norton Show on Thursday.

He told Evening Standard that attending the premiere of Episode 7 was ‘trivial compared to helping needy children’.

Mark said: ‘One of the greatest things I am given because of the profession I am in is the ability to give back.

Actor Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker visits kids at Gt Ormond St Hospital. Pic shows:- Mark with Coke Rayner, 16, and friend Katie Leck, 17.
Mark skipped a TV show appearance to visit the hospital, chatting with Coke Rayner, 16, and his friend Katie Leck, 17. (Picture: Alex Lentati)

‘If feels wonderful. It can be harrowing emotionally because your heart goes out to these children but it’s also very uplifting.

‘You walk away thinking being an actor is so trivial compared to helping needy children.’

Actor Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker visits kids at Gt Ormond St Hospital. Pic shows:- Mark with Oscar (with stethoscope), three.
Mark gets a checkup from three-year-old Oscar (Picture: Alex Lentati)

He went on: ‘Rather than going on TV chat shows I would rather give back somehow by going to hospitals. I want to do more of that.’

The 64-year-old met a boy called Jake Morgan, who is featured in Evening Standard’s GOSH campaign, and his mother Samantha who said: ‘It was great to meet Mark – we always watch the films.’

Actor Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker visits kids at Gt Ormond St Hospital. Pic shows:- Mark with Jake Morgan
A force for good: Mark with Jake Morgan (Picture: Alex Lentati)

Hamill tweeted a sweet picture of himself getting a pretend checkup from a little boy called Oscar with the message: ”Happy Holidays to all the boys & girls’.

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