Sep 8, 2025 · 1 hr 36 min · 14 segments
Mark Hamill gets that you probably know more about Star Wars than he does and he’s ok with that. In fact, he’s so ok with where he’s at in his career, he’s really not worried about what comes next…
Mark HamillGuest
Marc MaronHost
And, uh, you know, we've been practicing, yeah, which is one of the reasons that I- I kind of shifted, you know, a lot of the guys I used to play with, who are great guys, uh, good players, but I needed to work with a group of people where I could rehearse on a regular basis at least once or twice a week, you know, leading into something so I could feel like I was making some progress kind of getting better at- at something.
You know, at something, it's not new, I mean, I've been playing guitar on this show and in my life for years, but to play with other people, that was always the- the initial reason was I wanted to feel what that felt like, 'cause it was a dream of mine that I never pursued.
And we did a lot of shows, uh, and- and I always felt like, you know, we- we would just sort of, kind of, you- you know, kind of get through the songs, but I really wanted to learn how to build confidence in- in a creative pursuit that I- I- I didn't do publicly.
And I got some confidence in doing that, but I was always pretty self-effacing when I would perform, you know, or fuck up, because I was choking.
I- I- I choke on stage when I have to sing or play guitar, and it's annoying, but I know from doing other creative pursuits that if you keep doing it, a- and a lot of times with music, people don't necessarily register that you choke or that you're- you're flailing up there because you're protected by the band, but I just wanted to feel relaxed and- and- and feel like I was, you know, doing it, uh, with consistency, and that seems to be happening, uh, in playing with people and practicing.
It's- it's weird because I had a conversation with somebody the other day about, you know, practicing an- an- and when you are a creative person that you have to put your hours in, you have to, you know, keep in shape with it, but you really do have to put your hours in, uh, but with standup I never thought of it as practice.
I- y- you were just going up there trying to get laughs, and- and that was the deal.
I mean, I've been thinking a lot about the life I used to live and the life that I seem to be entering in a different way but with similar amounts of time, you know, just how I fill that.
Y- you know, what do you do all day? I- I'll try to talk about that in a minute, but practicing standup was just so immediate.
You know, you- you write the jokes or you write the ideas and then you just find the courage to do them on stage, and eventually the courage, uh, whether it's fake or not, becomes relaxed and- and you- you can do it.
You can't practice jokes until you get on stage and that's where it all comes together, but you can practice guitar and- and practice songs and figure out how they work together and how you sing them and how you play them and what your lead is and all this stuff, and it's, uh, a whole different process.
So needless to say, I've been practicing pretty hard (laughs) 'cause I do not want to feel...
I don't want to choke on stage anymore and there's just nothing I can do about that until it happens, until I feel comfortable.
I- I'm- I'm just putting it out there because a lot of people get discouraged with creative pursuits, y- you know, whether you're not getting enough feedback or you think you suck or whatever.
And, uh, you know, we've been practicing, yeah, which is one of the reasons that I- I kind of shifted, you know, a lot of the guys I used to play with, who are great guys, uh, good players, but I needed to work with a group of people where I could rehearse on a regular basis at least once or twice a week, you know, leading into something so I could feel like I was making some progress kind of getting better at- at something.
You know, at something, it's not new, I mean, I've been playing guitar on this show and in my life for years, but to play with other people, that was always the- the initial reason was I wanted to feel what that felt like, 'cause it was a dream of mine that I never pursued.
And we did a lot of shows, uh, and- and I always felt like, you know, we- we would just sort of, kind of, you- you know, kind of get through the songs, but I really wanted to learn how to build confidence in- in a creative pursuit that I- I- I didn't do publicly.
And I got some confidence in doing that, but I was always pretty self-effacing when I would perform, you know, or fuck up, because I was choking.
I- I- I choke on stage when I have to sing or play guitar, and it's annoying, but I know from doing other creative pursuits that if you keep doing it, a- and a lot of times with music, people don't necessarily register that you choke or that you're- you're flailing up there because you're protected by the band, but I just wanted to feel relaxed and- and- and feel like I was, you know, doing it, uh, with consistency, and that seems to be happening, uh, in playing with people and practicing.
It's- it's weird because I had a conversation with somebody the other day about, you know, practicing an- an- and when you are a creative person that you have to put your hours in, you have to, you know, keep in shape with it, but you really do have to put your hours in, uh, but with standup I never thought of it as practice.
I- y- you were just going up there trying to get laughs, and- and that was the deal.
I mean, I've been thinking a lot about the life I used to live and the life that I seem to be entering in a different way but with similar amounts of time, you know, just how I fill that.
Y- you know, what do you do all day? I- I'll try to talk about that in a minute, but practicing standup was just so immediate.
You know, you- you write the jokes or you write the ideas and then you just find the courage to do them on stage, and eventually the courage, uh, whether it's fake or not, becomes relaxed and- and you- you can do it.
You can't practice jokes until you get on stage and that's where it all comes together, but you can practice guitar and- and practice songs and figure out how they work together and how you sing them and how you play them and what your lead is and all this stuff, and it's, uh, a whole different process.
So needless to say, I've been practicing pretty hard (laughs) 'cause I do not want to feel...
I don't want to choke on stage anymore and there's just nothing I can do about that until it happens, until I feel comfortable.
I- I'm- I'm just putting it out there because a lot of people get discouraged with creative pursuits, y- you know, whether you're not getting enough feedback or you think you suck or whatever.
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