12. Carrie Fisher
AS
Nappa
82 Points, 3 Lists, #5 Kirin
Iconic Roles: Princess Leia (Star Wars), Marie (When Harry Met Sally…), April (Hannah and Her Sisters), Two Nuns (Two Unrelated Things)
Carrie Fisher dropped out of high school for acting and again dropping out of acting school. All the same, she was able to find success, appearing in the comedy film Shampoo as a seductive teen. It was three years later where she would land a major role in Star Wars, a film that blew up in a way few of the people involved expected. This work would overshadow her other work and she would largely appear in comedies such as the Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally… and the ‘Burbs. In 1983, she also played the title role in a Broadway production of Agnes of God. In the 1987, she also published her semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge which would later be adapted into a film. In fact, though much of the 90s, she would work as a script doctor, tightening the scripts for Hook, Sister Act, the Wedding Singer and the Star Wars prequels. Most of her roles became smaller, with her own recurring being as Peter’s boss on Family Guy, until 2007 when she released her one woman play Wishful Drinking, to great success. In 2015, she returned to her role of Leia Organa for the first time in 32 years, now as General Organa, in some of her last film work. In 2016, Fisher died of cardiac arrest while on a flight, returning home following a recording of the British panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats. She had some posthumous work released including her final Star Wars role in the Last Jedi (which she also script doctored), released one final memoir, the Princess Diarist, and has one final yet to be released movie, the fairy tale film Wonderwell.
Fisher was definitely much beloved but I feel like she often hasn’t been properly utilized. Now, I think outside of Star Wars, she seems to primarily have been a comedic actress, where she completely works. But I simply think that there were simply a lot of roles she should have been considered for. Interestingly, Star Wars is a great argument for her as a comedic lead, a sort of person who reacts to the insanity around them with frustration but also not letting it overwhelm her, sort of in the Bob Newhart role except more assertive. Heck, I think she’s a type who would have killed in an action comedy if she was allowed to be the center. If acting is reacting, as Leia, she reacts immediately and without feet of clay, immediately turning the kidnapped princess on its ear not only when she joins the fight immediately but starts giving some much-needed orders to the ragtag crew of rescuers. It will always be her most famous role but I do appreciate that in the new millennium, we sort of realized what an all around awesome person she seemed to be and we could have used more of her.
I’ll never forgive her for STEALING my idea for a ONE MAN show. It was ME, TALKING TO THE AUDIENCE… about my career. I was going to DO THAT FIRST! NO ONE ELSE HAD THIS IDEA.
Wait, what would the prequels have looked like with no one cleaning up the script?
Simpsons or Star Trek?: Nope.
ACTING!