Star Wars star Mark Hamill will man a hotline for LEGO fans, answering their questions about the new LEGO SMART Play system.
The hotline will be open on April 8 from 12 pm ET to 8 pm ET.
The phone number to call is 1-877-80-ASK-MARK (877-80-275-6275).
After all this time, Mark Hamill finally holds the title of J.E.D.I.—a Junior Executive Director of Information for LEGO, that is. “It's official,” he tells me over Zoom. “It's on an actual nameplate, and I'll take it.”
So, what are the main responsibilities in his new role? Answering questions about LEGO’s new Star Wars SMART play sets, which come equipped with SMART Bricks, SMART Tags, and SMART minifigures. For those who haven’t encountered the system yet, the SMART Bricks are new pieces that light up and make noise. When they’re placed next to pieces with SMART Tags or SMART Minifigures, the noises they make change: They could provide the voice of R2-D2 one minute, then make the engine sounds of an X-Wing the next.
“We used to have to say ‘pew pew pew,’ ourselves,” Hamill says. “Actually, I would encourage you to still say ‘pew pew pew’ as the toy answers you back.”
What impresses him most about LEGO is the way it brings people together. “The thing about LEGO is that they're multi-generational,” he says. “You can play with your parents, with your grandparents. You can teach your younger brothers and sisters how to do things.”
To Hamill, the worlds of Star Wars and LEGO are a perfect fit. “Star Wars appeals to your imagination, and the endless possibilities in life, and as a toy, LEGO plays right into that,” he says.
Those looking to have their questions answered can call 1-877-80-ASK-MARK (877-80-275-6275) on April 8. He’ll be manning the phone lines from 12 pm ET to 8 pm ET (9 am PT to 5 pm PT), and a few very lucky callers will be invited to talk via video chat. Of course, not everyone is going to be able to make it through to him, but those who don’t will be able to hear a pre-recorded message from the Star Wars star.
Hamill is uniquely qualified for his position—and not just because he’s one of the new SMART minifigures. “I've always loved toys,” he says. “When I was a kid, I thought, ‘I wonder how old I'm going to be when I don't like The Little Rascals, or Laurel and Hardy anymore.’ The answer is, never! I still love them both. I still love toys, and toys are more than just a way to have fun. They really are therapeutic. I think it really helps you cope with stress in life. It's fun and everybody needs to have fun.”
What about answering the phones, and dealing with questions from the public? Turns out, Hamill has years of experience there, too. “I worked at fast-food restaurants,” he says. “My very first job was at McDonald's when I was 16 and a half. I worked at Jack in the Box, I worked at Will Wright's ice cream parlor. I'm in touch with my roots.”
“I was on a talk show one time with Bradley Whitford, that wonderful actor from The West Wing, and he told me, ‘I waited on you once in New York,’” he adds. “And I thought, ‘Uh-oh, this could be a bad story. I hope it's good, because we’re on live television.’ And he complimented me on being a generous tipper. And I said to him, ‘You know, three years before I was doing the same thing that you were, waiting on tables, and I never forgot that.’ So be generous with your tips.”
Hamill wouldn’t have ended up where he was—as a LEGO representative and an entertainer—if it wasn’t for his love of play. “I was in the middle of seven children, and toys were out of our price range except at Christmas and so forth,” he says. “So I was really big on making things like sock puppets. I actually had a ventriloquist tummy, a Jerry Mahoney. And I would practice in front of the mirror, not moving my lips. I'm still pretty good at it.”
“I hosted a variety show in sixth grade using the dummy, and what I discovered is you could say rude things about teachers, or about the cafeteria food, and blame it on the dummy,” he continues. “And you could say, ‘Oh, don't say that! That's terrible.’ The reason I bring it up is that was the first time, when I came off stage, when I realized this is what I wanted to do. The laughter was intoxicating. I thought, ‘I want to entertain people. I want to make people laugh.’”
LEGO SMART Play sets are available now, at all major retailers and at lego.com.
