The top 15 best performances in Star Wars
By Tom Farr
2. Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa
Carrie Fisher was just 19 when she played Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan in A New Hope. Her performance of the message R2-D2 carried to Tatooine to deliver to Obi-Wan Kenobi was iconic, establishing her as one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. Her youthful innocence and passion for a just galaxy were perfectly portrayed by Fisher. Fisher continued to develop the character as a confident and compassionate woman in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Her onscreen chemistry with Harrison Ford as Han Solo made Han and Leia’s love story both heartwarming and unique. The way she proclaimed her love for Han and he responded by saying, “I know,” made it one of the most memorable moments of the original trilogy. Though her time in the sequel trilogy was cut short by her untimely death at the age of 60 in 2016, Fisher’s performance of a much older Leia felt authentic, creating a sense of nostalgia for longtime Star Wars fans as well as a sense that Leia, and not Luke, was the wise old mentor of this trilogy.