'Star Wars' Actor Mark Hamill Planned to Leave America to Protest Trump After Kamala Harris Lost

Actor Mark Hamill admitted he briefly considered fleeing the United States after President Donald Trump defeated Democrat candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

However, Hamill revealed that he ultimately didn’t follow through.

He joins a long list of Hollywood celebrities who threatened to leave the country to protest Trump, only to fall eerily silent after the election and not go anywhere.

Hamill told The Times he offered his wife, Marilou Tork, a choice between “London or Ireland” after the election did not go his way.

But Tork’s response gave him pause.

“She’s very clever,” Hamill said.

“She didn’t respond right away but a week later she said, ‘I’m surprised you would allow him to force you out of your own country.’

“‘That son of a bitch,’ I thought. I’m not leaving.”

The Star Wars actor railed against “the bullying, the incompetence, the people in place” under Trump, saying he has to treat the president’s leadership “like a thick, sprawling political novel” in order to tolerate it.

Still, he ultimately claimed he stayed because he believes there are “more honest, decent people” in America than what he sees in politics.

Hamill also used the interview to promote his new film “The Long Walk,” which he described as a critique of U.S. gun culture and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Francis Lawrence, the director, understood what was troubling me,” Hamill said.

“American society is gun violence, and it’s hard to get past that, but as I spoke to hi,m I realized this is just the guy.

“He said he would have been surprised if I wasn’t troubled by it.”

Hamill accused ICE agents of “brutalizing people, kneeling on their necks,” claiming the film has taken on new relevance even though he did not intend it to be political.

Hamill’s admission fits a familiar pattern.

In both 2016 and 2020, a slew of celebrities, from Miley Cyrus and Whoopi Goldberg to Bryan Cranston and Lena Dunham, threatened to abandon the country if Trump was elected.

None of them followed through.

It was a familiar refrain in 2024, as Hollywood elites allegedly “forced out” by Trump didn’t actually follow through on their threats to leave.

Some big names only talked tough in 2024 and stayed, such as:

Barbra Streisand told Stephen Colbert she couldn’t live in America if Trump returned – but remains in California.
Cher warned in 2023 that this time, she would leave if Trump wins. Still here.
Sharon Stone floated buying a house in Italy during the 2024 campaign, but never left.
Laverne Cox said he was “out” on election night and exploring Europe or the Caribbean, yet still here.
Lena Dunham, who joked about moving to Canada, later said she’d stick around to “fight Trump” and stay active.
Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) once vowed to renounce his citizenship over political frustration, but, unfortunately, he hasn’t followed through.
America Ferrera, although moving to the U.K. for family and schools, continues U.S.-based anti-Trump activism and work.

However, some did stick to their promises and fled the country to protest Trump, including:

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi: Moved to the UK’s Cotswolds after Trump’s 2024 win, citing political disillusionment and concerns for LGBTQ+ rights.
Rosie O’Donnell: Relocated to Ireland with her child in early 2025. Called America’s trajectory “heartbreaking” and only returning when equal rights are restored.
Eva Longoria: Lives part-time in Spain and Mexico and described the U.S. as “dystopian,” saying Trump’s win solidified her decision to step back entirely.

Some stars followed through, but many chose to stay.

It’s a familiar pattern: big Hollywood threats, softer reality.