It’s true: Sir Alec Guinness was 63 years old when he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars in 1977. Mark Hamill is 64 years old today, just in time for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Hamill has been sporting a very Obi-Wan-like beard lately, surely not a coincidence. He is clearly in the film — he was at the premiere, after all, and Disney “had him in the gym” as far back as 2013 — but his exact role has been kept hidden.
He’s been teasing the secrecy on his Instagram feed:
At least Hamill seems to be having more fun with it than Alec Guinness did. Guinness told a friend that the original cast “make me feel ninety — and treat me as if I was 106.”