'Star Wars': Carrie Fisher's complicated relationship with beloved franchise

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Todd Fisher recalls life with Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds

Todd Fisher tells all in a new memoir about growing up with sister Carrie Fisher and mother Debbie Reynolds.

The late Carrie Fisher had a love/hate relationship with the franchise that defined her career, "Star Wars."

Fisher – who died in 2016 at age 60 from a heart attack – will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4, or "Star Wars Day."

Fisher played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, from 1977 to 1983, before reprising the role for its sequel trilogy in 2015 and again in 2017. She was outspoken prior to her death about her struggle with simultaneously loving the iconic film franchise and also wishing she had turned down the offer.

Here is a snapshot of some of Fisher's most memorable comments about "Star Wars."

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Carrie Fisher had a complicated relationship with playing Princess Leia in "Star Wars." (Getty Images)

Having regrets

Fisher was known to be an open book.

In 2008, the actress made an appearance on the "Today" show where she explained to the hosts that if she would have known how big of a hit "Star Wars" would become, she would have never said yes to the role of Princess Leia.

Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams pose for a portrait on the set of "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes" in 1979. (Photo by Mark Sennet)

Carrie Fisher was 19 when she first played Princess Leia. (Photo by Lucasfilm)

"I would never have done it. All I did when I was really famous was wait for it to end," she told Matt Lauer and Al Roker at the time.

Fisher explained that she auditioned for the role at 19 and was almost passed up because she was "too fat." She was 5-feet-1-inch and weighed 105 pounds.

Awful one-liner

A specific line in "Star Wars" bothered Fisher so much that it encouraged her to become a writer.

Carrie Fisher signs copies of her book "The Princess Diarist" in December 2016. (Photo by David M. Benett)

In 2016, she attended the Tribeca Film Festival and was a member of a Q&A panel. At the time, she recited the line three times to the crowd, still remembering it decades later.

"I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit," Princess Leia told Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope" when begging him to help her, according to The Independent.

Fisher became a bestselling novelist, having written "Postcards from the Edge," "Delusions of Grandma," "Surrender the Pink," "The Best Awful," "Wishful Drinking" and "Shockaholic."

The famous gold, metal bikini

Fisher was not a fan of the uncomfortable gold bikini that is cemented in the brains of "Star Wars" lovers.

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia poses on the beach for "Star Wars" in October 1983. (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis)

Princess Leia was forced to wear a metal, gold bikini when she was captured by the slug like character, Jabba the Hutt. She was forced to be his slave, until ultimately (spoiler alert) Princess Leia killed the villain.

In 1983, Fisher told People magazine that the outfit was not the easiest to wear when filming scenes in "Star Wars." 

Carrie Fisher previously spoke out about how uncomfortable the famous gold bikini was to wear. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis)

Carrie Fisher and Jabba the Hut in a scene from "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi." (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis)

"I started checking for any bounce or slip after takes," she said at the time, adding, "It was, ‘CUT. Hey, how they doin’? The hooters in place?’"

In an interview with NPR, Fisher explained that the famous bikini made her "nervous" because it was out of her comfort zone.

"‘Where am I in all of this?’ … I have to stay with the slug with the big tongue! Nearly naked, which is not a style choice for me. … It wasn’t my choice. When [director George Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous. I had to sit very straight because I couldn’t have lines on my sides, like little creases. No creases were allowed, so I had to sit very, very rigid straight," she told the outlet.

Carrie Fisher said wearing the gold bikini made her "very nervous." (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis )

In the end, everything worked out. "What redeems it is I get to kill him, which was so enjoyable. … I sawed his neck off with that chain that I killed him with. I really relished that because I hated wearing that outfit and sitting there rigid straight, and I couldn’t wait to kill him," Fisher said.

An affair with Harrison Ford

Fisher was just 19 when she signed on to the mega film franchise and was united with her co-star, Harrison Ford, then 33.

The actress kept the affair secret for 40 years before spilling intimate details in her 2016 memoir, "The Princess Diarist." She also shared additional information about the affair to People magazine that same year. 

Ford was a married father-of-two during their three-month affair in 1976.

Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher had an affair in 1976. (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive)

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"It was so intense," she told People. "It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend."

Fisher detailed the affair in her third memoir, "The Princess Diarist," which was based on journals she kept around the time she filmed the acclaimed movie. The outlet reported that she sent Ford a copy of the book before the release.

Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on set of "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back." (Photo by Lucasfilm)

"I looked over at Harrison. A hero’s face — a few strands of hair fell over his noble, slightly furrowed brow," she wrote. "How could you ask such a shining specimen of a man to be satisfied with the likes of me?"

The affair concluded when the pair wrapped filming "Star Wars" in 1976. Fisher remembered her time with the famed actor fondly.

"I was so inexperienced, but I trusted something about him," she recalled. "He was kind."

Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford share a kiss onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015. (Photo by Kevin Winter)

George Lucas ‘stole’ her identity

When Fisher was just making her debut into her acting career, she felt that "Star Wars" director, George Lucas, "stole" her identity from her at such a young age.

"The mistake was I signed away my likeness for free," Fisher told Newsweek in 2011. 

Carrie Fisher and director George Lucas pose in 2005. (Photo by Amanda Edwards)

"In those days, there was no such thing as a ‘likeness,’ which is a funny thing to say coming from the family that I came from. There was no merchandising tied to movies. No one could have known the extent of the franchise. Not that I don't think I'm cute or anything, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn't think I was signing away anything of value," she said.

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Fisher was introduced to stardom since the day she was born. Her mother was the iconic actress Debbie Reynolds and her father was the "Cindy Oh Cindy" singer, Eddie Fisher.

Debbie Reynolds with her husband, singer Eddie Fisher and their baby daughter Carrie Fisher, circa 1956. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)

"Lately I feel like I'm Minnie Mouse—the identity of Princess Leia so eclipses any other identity that I've ever had," Fisher continued.

"As I've gone along, people will come to me and say, ‘We got the licensing from George Lucas to make these socks.’ So my daughter can walk around on my face." 

Carrie Fisher has said that she believes George Lucas "stole" her identity from her. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris)

"I was shopping at Williams-Sonoma, and they're selling little sticks of Princess Leia that you put in your cupcake," Fisher recalled to the outlet. "Who wouldn't need those? I paid for it. How much money could I have made from all this stuff? I don't want to know. It's too upsetting. Yet funny. For example, I found out recently that I am a type of marijuana. A friend of my daughter's actually went to one of those medical places, and she told me there was a type of marijuana named ‘Princess Leia.’ I never liked marijuana, so the fact that I'm a type of marijuana is ironic."

Fisher added at the time, "I've teased George Lucas about this over the years, but he's never been apologetic."

"When you're 19 you don't even think about these things," she admitted. "I don't know what everyone else's excuse was. Harrison Ford was 33! He should have known better! Here's where I'm dumb. I assume if there's an argument to be made, Harrison would have made it, and if he made it, I would have heard about it, because we had the same deal. But Harrison hasn't fixed his deal. So this is an ongoing mistake.

Carrie Fisher and director George Lucas in 2002. (Photo by Robert Mora)

"Mistakes are a drag, because you get in the area of regret and self-pity. I don't like to linger in this zone. Obviously, drug use is a huge mistake. So I've made some bad choices. That's reflected in the Princess Leia thing. I do not take it on."

Fisher concluded, "Me having a tantrum in the corner for my cut of ‘Star Wars’ toothpaste? I don't want to get into it. Every so often, I wonder if Natalie Portman is getting more money than the none I'm getting. If she's holding a check for Princess Amidala's likeness in one hand and her Oscar in the other, that would piss me off."

Appreciating Princess Leia

The iconic, late actress may have had a complicated relationship with "Star Wars," but her love for the film, her co-stars, and fans outweighed the negatives in the end as Fisher appreciated portraying one of the most famous roles in film history. 

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"As much as I may have joked about ‘Star Wars’ over the years, I liked that I was in those films," she wrote in her memoir, "The Princess Diarist," according to a 2016 obit from the Los Angeles Times. 

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on set of "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis)

Carrie Fisher as Princes Leia and Anthony Daniels as C3PO in 1978. (Photo by CBS)

"Particularly as the only girl in an all-boy fantasy. They were fun to make. It was an anecdote of unimaginable standing," Fisher wrote.

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