Star Wars' Luke Skywalker actor voices air raid alert in Ukraine, signing off: 'May the force be with you'
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill's voice has featured in an alert warning Ukrainian civilians to take cover from Russian attacks.
The actor, who played Luke Skywalker in the science-fiction fantasy epic, is heard saying: "Attention. Air raid alert. Process to the nearest shelter."
When the danger passes, the Hollywood star can then be heard to say: "The air alert is over" before signing off with "may the force be with you."
The actor's warning appears in the Ukraine air raid warning after he leant his famous voice to an app linked to Ukraine's air defense system.
It warns Ukrainians when Russian missiles, bombs and exploding drones may be incoming.
"Don't be careless," Hamill's voice says with the gravitas of a Jedi knight.
"Your overconfidence is your weakness."
From California, the actor has said he has admired how Ukraine has "shown such resilience… under such terrible circumstance", adding that the conflict reminds him of the Star Wars saga – with rebels fighting and, ultimately, defeating a murderous empire.
He said doing the voiceover for the English-language version of the app was his way of helping out.
"A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what's going on in Ukraine," the actor said.
"The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically ... It's impossible not to be inspired by how they've weathered this storm."
Hamill has also helped raised funds to buy frontline Ukrainian forces reconnaissance drones by signing Star Wars-themed posters to be raffled off.
"Here I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are really suffering," he said.
"It motivates me to do as much as I can."
While the app warning people to take cover is voiced by a woman, some prefer to have the Star Wars star breaking the news of a Russian attack.
Bohdan Zvonyk, a 24-year-old who lives in Lviv, said he chose Hamill's voice because he is trying to improve his English, as well as being a Star Wars fan.
"Besides," he said, "we could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us."
Hamill said he is pleased his voice is transporting people to a galaxy far far away, even if it is temporary.
"It does inspire people," he said.
"Everyone flashes back to being six years old again. And if the movie can help people get through hard times, so much the better."
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