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Star Wars: Here's How Harrison Ford Came up With Famous Response to Leia in Empire Strikes Back


There are a lot of memorable lines from The Empire Strikes Back but fans would probably agree that Han Solo's response to Princess Leia's "I love you" is the one that gets quoted most often. Interestingly, that infamous "I know" was actually a result of Star Wars actor Harrison Ford being frustrated with the long hours they spent filming the scene.

Empire recently did a cover story on The Empire Strikes Back, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary. One of the interesting stories revealed about the making of the film revealed that "I know" wasn't Han's original response to Leia at all. It was "I love you, too."

Now that's a perfectly reasonable answer to someone confessing their love but director Irvin Kershner thought it was "sappy" and told Ford to improvise. After several takes, Ford reportedly said, "Let's do it one more time and that's it" before tossing in that awesome line and the rest was history.

Well, it wasn't as easy as it seems. George Lucas was reportedly "horrified" with the response but ultimately agreed when a test screening had the audience roaring in approval.

The Empire Strikes Back just celebrated its 40th anniversary on May 21.

Related: Star Wars: George Lucas Explains Why He Chose Key Moment in Empire Strikes Back to Reveal Luke's Parentage

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