'America has a lot of crazy people': Star Wars icon Mark Hamill says US gun laws are 'totally wrong' as he reveals his pain over the country's mass shootings

By Andrew Court For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 14:04 GMT, 12 December 2017 | Updated: 19:22 GMT, 12 December 2017

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He's the revered actor who's played Luke Skywalker on and off for forty years.

And Mark Hamill has now revealed the unusual method he used to tap into the dispirited mental state of his iconic character in the new blockbuster, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The 66-year-old told The Herald Sun on Wednesday that he used his distress at America's mass shootings as a way into understanding the 'dark place' Skywalker finds himself in in the latest installment of the franchise.

'Shameful': Star Wars icon Mark Hamill told The Herald Sun on Tuesday that he used his distress over America's mass shootings to tap into the dark mindset his character Luke Skywalker has in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

'I had to find something in my own life experience, not that that's ever happened to me, but vicariously I have been struck by the terrible tragedies that you read about', he said, referencing the country's mass shootings as 'shameful.'

He added: 'I mean it's crazy - America has a lot of crazy people and the gun laws are just totally wrong and disproportionate for what we need.'

According to the publication, Mark was particularly shaken by the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting - which saw 26 innocent lives lost, and he was dispirited that there was no change to the country's firearm laws.

Iconic character: Mark's Luke Skywalker finds himself in a dark frame of mind in the latest blockbuster film

The actor is an outspoken advocate of gun control laws.

In his interview with The Herald Sun, he also heaped praised on Australia's strict gun laws, which were tightened in the wake of a 1996 massacre that left 35 people dead.

'People say 'Well do you want to have all those rules that you have in Australia that stop those?'. And I say yes! Whatever they did, let's do that — nothing else is working.'

Name a more iconic trio: Mark is known as Luke Skywalker, but he's also known for his strong political views

Mark has been a prominent Democrat for many years, and was among a number of stars who donated to Hillary Clinton in January 2016 in order to help with her presidential bid.

Following Clinton's stunning defeat, Mark didn't hold back in slamming President Donald Trump.

'I'm in total denial', he told The Daily Beast days after Trump's victory.