SELFIE FROM THE THE BRIGHT SIDE: Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and brave cancer battling fan Jamie Harkin met at breakfast today
NOT even Darth Vader could bring a tear to the eye of a Jedi Knight.
But the brave story of a Derry teenager who has TWICE fought off the ravages of cancer reduced actor Mark Hamill to tears with his battles and his funraising efforrts.
Hamill, who plays the famous Jedi Knight in Star Wars, met up with super fan Jamie Harkin this morning.
The brave 17-year-old has raised more than £15,000 for other children battling the the same disease as him.
And the lad joined his idol for breakfast during a break in filming for the latest instalment of the sci-fi saga in Donegal’s Malin Head which has been gripped by Star Wars fever for days.
Jamie says he was speechless after coming face to face with the star.
“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’,” he said.
“Mark was everything I ever imagined him to be and then some.
“I was feeling terrible yesterday and not much better this morning, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to possibly even get a glance of Mark.
“Just as I was about to discuss the newest film… he walked in completely out of the blue and I just froze.
“When I stood up to shake his hand he told me, ‘Sit down, you don’t need to stand up for me’.
“He chatted to everyone for a while, before turning to me, and he told me something that I really needed to hear after the last few weeks and months that I’ve had.
“I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry, but I just couldn’t help it, and then Mark hugged me and as he was sitting down, I saw that he was crying too.
“Seeing him like that, in normal clothes as opposed to Jedi robes, talking about normal things as opposed to saving the galaxy, he really is an extraordinary actor, not just because he played my childhood hero, but because despite being the star of the biggest franchise ever, he is still completely down to earth, and has remained human.”
The Star Wars cast has now left Donegal and touched down in Cork this afternoon to start another film shoot.
Mark Hamil chats with Derry teen Jamie Harkin about his battles with cancer his fundraising efforts
