Carrie Fisher has passed away at the much too young age of 60, following a heart attack aboard an airplane last Friday. Fisher’s career spanned more than four decades, starting with her onscreen debut in “Shampoo” when she was just a teenager. Her second major role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars” was of course her most iconic, though as an adult she admitted no one could have ever known what a cultural touchstone the movie would become. “I thought it was a fantastic script so whatever that means,” Fisher told Short and Sweet NYC in 2010. “I thought I would like it, but I didn’t think I’d have that many people that would agree with me.”
Watching a 19-year-old Fisher audition for the role, it’s easy to see why — the dialogue she and co-star Harrison Ford read through is as bad as any B-level sci-fi movie that had come before it (though scripts have never been one of George Lucas’ strengths). Still, Fisher manages to instill real gravity to lines about Death Stars and droids, which in 1975, likely had the two young actors thinking they were auditioning for the next “Barbarella.”
The clip made the rounds in 2015 when Fisher appeared on “Good Morning America” (along with her French bulldog, Gary) to promote “Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens”, and host Amy Robach noted that Fisher had, in the past, said she doesn’t like watching herself on tape.
“I’m 19!” Fisher countered. “Why wouldn’t I like watching that?”