Star Wars: Koo Stark's Deleted Role From A New Hope Explained
Actor and photographer Koo Stark, born Kathleen Norris Stark, started making headlines in the '80s for her 18-month relationship with Prince Andrew, Duke of York. While her name and likeness reached a far wider audience than ever before through this connection, by the start of their relationship in 1982, Stark had already established herself as a relatively successful actor. In fact, among her credits at that point in time was a role in "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope," though she never made its final cut.
Much of the particulars about how Stark joined the "Star Wars" cast are lost to time. However, The Independent reported that — based on a story that was once freely available online — while Carrie Fisher was still pondering whether to take on the role of Princess Leia, Stark had agreed to accept the part in her stead.
Once Fisher officially signed on as Leia, Stark appeared instead as a friend of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) named Camie Marstrap. Her role remained unseen for years after it failed to make the final version of the film, but eventually became publicly available in 2011 upon the official release of a number of deleted "Star Wars" scenes.
Koo Starks is part of a group of Luke's friends whose existence is preserved in Star Wars arcana
Koo Stark's "Star Wars" character, Camie Marstrap, shows up in a deleted scene from "A New Hope" in which Luke Skywalker visits a shop called Tosche Station near the town of Anchorhead on Tatooine. Fans of the extended "Star Wars" universe may recognize this location for its inclusion in the comic book and novel versions of the original film, which adapt its screenplay, rather than its final cut.
As soon as Luke enters Tosche Station, Camie is on camera sitting in the lap of her partner, and Luke's childhood friend, Laze "Fixer" Loneozner (Anthony Forrest). Luke then leads another friend of his, Biggs Darklighter (Garrick Hagon), outdoors, alongside Camie and Fixer, to show them a space battle he spotted with a pair of binoculars. His friends are unimpressed, however, and as they reenter Tosche Station, Camie inexplicably refers to Luke by the nickname "Wormie."
Camie shows up again in some subsequent "Star Wars" stories set on Tatooine. However, the majority of these are in writing, whereas Mandy Kowalski plays the character in her single live-action reappearance in "The Book of Boba Fett." Stark's "Star Wars" role, then, is limited to this single deleted scene.