Alec Guinness Hated Star Wars or How I Became a Famous Star Wars Fan: A True Star Wars Story

By: Daniel Henning

Narrated by: Daniel Henning

In October 1979, Sir Alec Guinness met a 12-year-old Daniel Henning and asked him to make a startling promise. Twenty years later, Guinness, who is known all around the world as the sage Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi from the original Star Wars, recounted this exchange in his final memoir.

Guinness' story has become legendary as it cuts to the heart of his "hatred" of Star Wars, one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. Numerous articles have been written about the exchange and it has even been a meme by Cracked.com. Henning finally tells (and narrates) his side of the fabled meeting in this short memoir piece.

The story intertwines with Henning's experiences acting in the Academy Award-winning The Black Stallion and the humorous conversation he had with the film's producer Francis Ford Coppola. It's a young movie lover's journey from sitting in the front row to being in front of the camera. Sweet, funny, and nostalgic, it is expanded from a piece that originally appeared on Buzzfeed.

©2019 Daniel Henning (P)2019 Daniel Henning

Robert Gold

Loved it!! As a Star Wars fan myself, this was a fun way to revisit a franchise that I love and hear someone else so articulately explain my childhood fandom and the cinematic magic that is Star Wars!

Refreshingly candid

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I bought this book, but being a diehard Star Wars fan I was intrigued by the title. The story is about much more than Star Wars, or even Alec Guiness. It’s a snippet of a boys life that was in many ways affected by both. Sweet and entertaining it was over way too quickly!
Daniel Henning as narrator (as well as writer) brought a fresh, comforting feeling to his tale. His voice is warm and intriguing. It was almost like listening to an after school special as a kid, it left me feeling warm and fuzzy and a little more wiser about how a shared story can mean different things to different people.