Blooper-Famous Stormtrooper Explains He Was Distracted Trying Not To Poop

OH MY GOD. The Hollywood Reporter has tracked down the infamous Stormtrooper who banged his head in the first ‘A New Hope‘ film, and he’s explained the whole thing.

Actor Laurie Goode, who was 30 when he filmed the 1977 classic, explained to THR that he’d been a last-minute fill-in for another actor who’d called in sick, and that he had no idea the shot would be included in the final film.

“On the second day of filming, I developed an upset stomach,” he said. “By midmorning I had paid three to four visits to the loo/bathroom. Having re-dressed myself and returned to the set, I felt the need to rush back to the gents’ toilets, but I was placed in [the] shot. On about the fourth take, as I shuffled along, I felt my stomach rumbling, and ‘bang’, I hit my head! As I wasn’t moving too fast, it was more of a scuffed bash, so it didn’t hurt, but as no one shouted “cut,” I thought the shot wasn’t wide enough for me to be in frame.

“I remember after the first two takes, we were told to hold our guns in our left hands as opposed to our right. So I believe the head bang happened on the fourth take — whatever number of takes we did, the head bang happened on the last take. When it first happened, that day I told my fellow actor on the film, Mark Kirby, that I hit my head, but we didn’t go for another take.”

Honestly, it’s incredible the take ever made it into the final film – but then again, ‘Star Wars‘ (as it was originally called) was this little geeky film that cost just $11 million to make ($40 million in today’s terms) and opened to next-to-no fanfare.



Yet here we are, celebrating the 40th anniversary, and tracking down a bloke who banged his head because he was too distracted by constant shitting. What a time.

Source: THR.
Photo: Disney / Lucasfilm.

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