A Year Before Her Death, Carrie Fisher Confessed Her 'Worst' Day On A Movie Set

Before Carrie Fisher died at 60 years old, she went on the record about her "worst day" working on a "Star Wars" movie. Fisher broke through in Hollywood for her portrayal of Princess Leia and was able to carve out a successful career away from the franchise. After not playing the character for over 30 years, she reprised the iconic role in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which came out in December 2015, a year before her death. According to Fisher, going back to playing Princess Leia was not exactly smooth sailing.

An accompanying documentary about the making of the film titled "The Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey on The Force Awakens" offered insight into the actor's experience. She spoke about how the pressure of returning to the big screen for the beloved role on the first day of "The Force Awakens" caused issues. "It was basically the worst day I've ever had on a film set in my life," she admitted in the doc, adding that she found her footing in subsequent days (via Metro). Fisher elaborated on why it felt so overwhelming. "I'm the custodian of Princess Leia, it's my job to protect her," she added.

Filming "The Force Awakens" may have led to Fisher's worst day on set, but working on the original "Star Wars" trilogy led to her biggest behind-the-scenes feud. Working on "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" was an awful experience because she had beef with director Richard Marquand. "I hated him," Fisher told the Daily Beast in December 2015. "He yelled at me one day, and I burst into tears, and it felt great because it f***ed up the makeup," she added. That wasn't the only problem Fisher had working on that film.

In addition to beefing with the director, there was another thing Carrie Fisher hated about "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi." Her gold bikini in the opening act of the film, where she was a slave to Jabba the Hutt, became legendary, but Fisher had serious misgivings about the revealing ensemble. "When [George Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous," she told NPR in November 2016 — a month before she died. Not only did Fisher feel exposed in the outfit, but it was quite cumbersome for her performance. "I had to sit very straight because I couldn't have lines on my sides, like little creases," Fisher said. Fortunately, the actor was able to find some catharsis when Princess Leia choked Jabba the Hutt to death. "I really relished that because I hated wearing that outfit ... and I couldn't wait to kill him," she added.

Fisher's apprehension about Princess Leia's appearance dated back to the first film, "Star Wars: A New Hope." While filming the sci-fi classic, Fisher called one of her friends on the phone — fellow actor Griffin Dunne — to complain about her character. "You should see what they did to my hair! I look like I'm wearing two bagels over my ears," Dunne recalled Fisher telling him in his 2024 book "The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir" (via The Times). Her gripes with the film went well beyond hair and wardrobe, as Fisher did not have faith in the intergalactic characters and thought "Star Wars" would flop. "And I'm acting with an eight-foot yeti and a four-foot Brit in a rolling trash can! ... This movie is going to be a f***ing disaster," she told Dunne.