Actor Mark Hamill might be a Jedi legend now, but back in the day, he was just another broke kid trying to make it in Los Angeles. While chatting with Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” during the September 3, 2025 episode, Hamill dropped a story that honestly sounds like it could’ve been ripped straight out of a sitcom.
Spoiler: it involves hitchhiking, six-block walks of shame, and a ride from one of the world’s biggest teen idols. Yep, this one’s good.
The Six-Block Sneak
Hamill didn’t sugarcoat it. “The crazy thing was, when I came to Los Angeles right out of high school, I didn’t have a car.” That didn’t stop him from landing gigs though. “One of the earliest jobs I had was I played Laurie Partridge’s boyfriend on ‘The Partridge Family.’”
Not too shabby for someone fresh out of high school, right? Still, he admitted there was one tiny detail that made it awkward. “The only embarrassing thing was when we would wrap, I’d walk about 6 blocks away from the studio, just so I wouldn’t be seen.” Imagine finishing a scene as Laurie Partridge’s boyfriend only to sneak out like you’re avoiding the paparazzi; except it’s just you, your pride, and the nearest sidewalk.
Enter The Teen Heartthrob
Then came the kind of hitchhiking story that only seems possible in Hollywood.
Hamill went on to explain:
“So I’m hitchhiking and a car pulls over and I look in, it’s David Cassidy. Who is like the biggest, like, heartthrob star in the world. Now, he said, what are you doing out here? And lying instantly, I said, ‘oh, my car broke down.’ And he said, ‘well, get in.’ I said, ‘well, thanks’. I got in, and he starts driving towards, you know, town. And we got to sunset, he said, ‘are you going east or west?’ And I said, ‘I’m going east.’ And so he pulled over and let me out…. I hitched the remaining 4 or 5 miles.”
Let’s be real; most people who have to hitch take rides from strangers. Hamill hitched one from the David Cassidy. That’s a story you don’t just tell once.
Getty (Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives)David Cassidy (1950 – 2017) with half-brother Shaun Cassidy, circa 1975
Getty (Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives)David Cassidy (1950 – 2017) with half-brother Shaun Cassidy, circa 1975
A Cassidy Connection
Hamill eventually got to share that wild memory with one member of David’s family. “Years later, at a charity event, I saw Shaun Cassidy, his half-brother backstage,” Hamill recalled. “And I told him the story and he just smiled and said, ‘yeah, that’s David.’”
It’s the perfect punchline. Young Mark Hamill hitchhiking a ride from the era’s ultimate teen heartthrob, and years later, a full-circle moment with his brother. Only in Hollywood.
From undercover six-block walks to hitchhiking with legends, this story is the kind of chaotic, funny memory that is likely to make fans love him even more. Before he was saving galaxies, it seems Mark Hamill was just trying to catch a ride across town.
Getty (Frazer Harrison)Mark Hamill with storm troopers at the 33rd AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to George Lucas in 2005
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