If there’s a cynical, bitter, center of the universe, Mark Hamill stands at the point that it’s furthest from. The Star Wars actor may truly be the nicest human being currently walking the earth. As far as we can figure, Mark Hamill spends his days doing one of two things, filming Star Wars movies and donating his time to worthy causes. He’s visited more children’s hospitals than we can count. However, this time, he gave his time to one special teenager suffering from cancer, and he changed the kid’s world.
Jamie Harkin is a 17-year-old living in Northern Ireland who has been battling Hodgkins Lymphoma since 2011. He’s beaten the disease back twice in that time, but has been seriously ill once again since the beginning of the year. As the Star Wars: Episode VIII cast and crew are actually in Ireland filming currently, Harkin’s mother launched a social media appeal to try and get the cast to come give the boy a visit. On the 16th, Harkin was visited by Luke Skywalker himself. He’s now posted about the experience on Facebook.
People say that you should never meet your idols, because you build them up in your head so much that when you do meet them, they are a let down, and to that, I say, 'You're wrong.' Mark was everything I ever imagined him to be and then some.
Mark Hamill spent about an hour and a half at the Harkin home just hanging out and chatting with Jamie and the rest of the family. It appears to have been a very casual affair overall, but that seems to have been what made the experience special for Harkin. He got to meet the man, not the Jedi.
As with most of us who grew up with Star Wars, Jamie Harkin has been a fan for pretty much his entire life. You can tell his emotions are absolutely running wild after the experience.
I know how much of a logistical nightmare this must have been! So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, everyone, especially Mark and his publicist, Stacy. Today has been a dream come true for me since I was six, and to finally see it come true is incredible. Thank you all so much, and may the Force be with you all.
It appears to have been a memorable experience for the entire Harkin family. Needless to say, this is just another moment of Mark Hamill doing something good and using his celebrity in the most noble way possible.
It’s unfortunate that Mark Hamill can’t visit every sick kid in the world. We’re fairly certain he would if he was capable.
