EL – So that was, that was
Star Wars. I was in the one that Irvin Kershner directed called
The Empire Strikes Back,
I think. And so how that happened was I didn’t even have an agent then
and I had met a casting director called Mary Selway, she cast all the
James Bond movies until she passed away and now Debbie McWilliams casts all the
James Bond movies.
So, I was hired with a group of about six to seven other guys. We were
the rebel pilots. And it was really funny watching that clip because
they only had one x-wing fighter and it was set up in front of a blue
screen. So they didn’t even have green screen back then in the
seventies, right. And so they had one x-wing thing and you’d get in and
then they had all the stage hands underneath the stage and they would be
shaking the stage so it looked like the x-wing fighter was going
through space.
And then they’d say, “We’ve been hit!” so my line was, “We’ve been hit, Luke, we’ve been hit!”
So, but I don’t think I made the cut.
And, but that’s okay. I had some nice memories, got some nice photos of
the team. And Mark Hamill and Irvin Kershner. And John Morton and Denis
Lawson. And also Lee Marvin’s nephew, Richard Marvin. He was one of the
x-wing fighters as well.
So, yeah, no, it was really, it wasn’t like it is now. It hadn’t become
iconic or anything. It was just, you know, a sci-fi little space sci-fi
movie then.
Gary O – Yeah. Exactly.
EL – But I met Harrison Ford, then, of course. And then I worked with
Harrison Ford then and then on Hanover Street. And then on K-19. And so,
yeah, it was good, yeah.
Gary O – So, what was that like working with Harrison Ford? Did you get a chance to work with him?
EL – Yeah, well, in those days he wasn’t the Harrison Ford that he
became, you know? But, all through time, he’d always been very nice.
You know, he was nice in
Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was nice at
Star Wars, nice at
Hanover Street, nice at
K-19. You know, he’s like a dude.
GO – Yeah.
EL – You know. He’s very tall, like six foot six. And very polite.
LF – Is he that tall?
GO – Yeah.
EL – Yeah. Way taller than me.
GO – How tall are you?
EL – Six foot one.
LF – Ooh! You’re taller than me! I’m short! I’m tall for Portuguese stature though. Five foot nine.
GO – Five foot nine?
LF – So yeah, it’s tough in my land.
GO – I’m a big five three and a half.
LF – Nice. And you? You’re tall.
Gary O – I’m six four.
LF – Yeah, you’re six four, you’re tall. We need you, you’re a power forward. You’re power forward height.
GO – How about, oh, carry on.
Gary O – Yeah, I just, yeah, I wanted to go back to Louis there. Louis?
LF – Yes?
Gary O – When you, when you first started out, you were found, right? You were working in a…
LF – Yeah. I was working in an upholstery factory.
Gary O – Upholstery factory, in where, Leamington?
LF – No, Toronto. Just North Toronto. It was
Dufferin and Steeles.
Like I say, my brother and sister, who married a brother and sister,
still work there, all four of them. They’ve been there for over
thirty-eight years.
Gary O – Wow.
LF – Yeah.
Gary O – That’s pretty cool.
LF – Yeah, yeah, yeah but I was mad because I was like a fifteen year
old kid. And the boss was like, “I’ll give you $4.50 an hour, kid. You
got a future here. Don’t leave!” (laughs) I mean like, you know? And my
mom was like, “Yeah, yeah, it’s good.”
And I was like, ah, something felt funny. So I was, I was off the… it was
just the way it was. My culture, you know, you did that, you kept
things going. You did what the people before you in your family did. And
I just sort of took a risk, a chance, and went outside it. And you
know, I actually came to discover that really the journey of our lives
is actually what helps us be creators and artists and I was able to sort
of use that and find a lot of therapy, because of the way I’d grown up,
in the ability to find characters that allowed themselves to, you know,
I could really sort of just integrate all that stuff that I’d gone
through and use it in my work.
EL – And that man helped you along, didn’t he?
LF – Yeah, I had a great mentor who was my grade 12 theater teacher
also,
Mr. Allen who was instrumental in my life. And I was living in the
Ontario housing projects and he took me out of there, built me a little
basement apartment in his little humble home, and so I had this sort of
father figure for three years in my life that made a big impact and
difference in my life during that initial three year period where I
started. We’re still very much, we’re still good friends.
Gary O – So, basically when you were growing up you spent a lot of time in, like, acting, like stage? Did you do theater?
LF – Well I took, I was one of those kids who took theater and gym. I
did really good in grades 9 and 10 when I was at a Catholic school. And
then I went to public school and it just all fell apart. I was like, I
took gym and music and gym class, I mean, I wasn’t about school, really,
it wasn’t my deal, per se.
But, I think secretly I liked the theater. But I loved sports even more
than. And the…just, I don’t know, just sort of happened that way.
Gary O – It’s funny how, it’s just kind of life, you fall into life.
LF – That’s right. I think that’s, when people say, what, did you ever
train, I’m like life’s your best teacher ever. And it truly is, right?
Gary O – It is, it truly is.