The story behind Harrison Ford’s legendary ‘Star Wars’ line
The Star Wars franchise has no shortage of iconic elements. From the haunting melody of ‘The Imperial March’ to the instantly recognisable opening scroll, the fantastical space opera has become one of the most revisited reference points in pop culture. It’s also one of the most quotable.
Darth Vader’s shocking declaration of “I am your father” has been endlessly quoted, while the adoption of the Jedi catchphrase, “May the Force be with you,” has led to May 4th being considered as Star Wars Day. While many of the most referenced pieces of dialogue from the films have that same otherworldly weight to them, one of Harrison Ford’s most legendary lines is made up of just two simple words: “I know”.
In the unofficially crowned best Star Wars film, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, the budding love between Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia culminates in one pivotal scene. As Han faces the threat of being frozen in carbonite, the pair kiss, and the princess confesses her love for him.
In the original script, and as viewers might have expected the scene to play out, Ford’s character returns her declaration of love. “I love you,” Leia was scripted to say. “I love you, too,” Han would respond. But when the cast and crew came to film the scene, Ford wasn’t entirely happy with how it had been written, finding it out of character for Han to be so willingly open with his emotions.
“I thought it was a lost opportunity,” he revealed during an interview with Jon Favreau via Cowboys and Aliens Interviews, “I mean, this character had never behaved so unabashedly, emotional and conventional before and I thought, ‘Are we pissing away this great opportunity for the character?’ You want your badasses to be a badass til the end.”
Hoping to play the scene in a manner that was more true to the cocky character he had created, Ford requested that they amend the scene. His idea for the replacement line came from the question, “What’s the last thing a woman wants to hear when she says, ‘I love you’?” The answer, Ford decided, was, “I know.”
According to the actor, creator George Lucas was not happy with the line and made Ford sit with him at a test screening, where it would receive a laugh – “a laugh of recognition,” the actor clarified. “And so, he generously let it stay in the movie,” he concluded. This decision was certainly the right one. The change of dialogue was more faithful to Ford’s character and stopped the scene from feeling clichéd or forced. As a result, it has become yet another of Star Wars’ most iconic moments.
