‘Dad I told you don’t follow me to work’: Mark Hamill reacts to a Darth Vader costume sighting in Hollywood

Mark Hamill is going viral after a quick, in-character moment on Hollywood Boulevard where he spots a Darth Vader street performer and fires off a line that sounds like it came straight from Star Wars.

In the short clip, the actor is standing on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while most pedestrians walk past without noticing him. The scene changes when Vader appears on the sidewalk, and Mark Hamill jokes,

“Dad I told you don’t follow me to work,”

treating the costumed character like an embarrassing parent who showed up uninvited. The gag landed fast online because the Luke Skywalker and Vader family reveal is one of the franchise’s most famous plot turns. The video circulated widely on X on December 22, 2025, and viewers leaned into the same joke, framing it as a Skywalker family reunion happening in public.

Where the Darth Vader “sighting” happened, and what Mark Hamill was doing in Hollywood

The viral clip shows Mark Hamill on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, where he spends a bit testing whether strangers recognize him while he stands on the star that bears his name. The footage comes from a segment shared by Jimmy Kimmel Live, which described the premise plainly: Mark Hamill stood on his star outside the show’s building to see who noticed him and who did not.

In the video, Mark Hamill blends in like a regular tourist at first, letting people pass, then reacting when they do not recognise who he is. That “fame test” setup is part of the humor, because the Walk of Fame is literally built for recognition, yet the moment still depends on whether strangers are paying attention. Mark Hamill’s star was dedicated in 2018, and the official listing places it at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard, near the El Capitan Theatre.

The funniest beat arrives when a costumed Darth Vader performer steps into the frame. Hollywood Boulevard is known for street characters who pose for photos, and Vader is one of the most common. Mark Hamill stays in character and turns it into a family joke, calling Vader “Dad” and treating the encounter like a parent showed up at his job. The line plays as a simple callback, but it also fits the scene because Mark Hamill is doing a filmed bit on the sidewalk, so “don’t follow me to work” lands like a real-world workplace complaint.

Reactions roll in as fans turn it into a Skywalker family joke

The clip spread fast on X once the entertainment account DiscussingFilm reposted it early on December 22, 2025. As per X post dated December 22, 2025, X handle @DiscussingFilm stated,

“Dad I told you don’t follow me to work!”

From there, replies mostly treated the moment like improvised Star Wars dialogue happening in public. One user leaned into the idea that Luke was stuck dealing with family drama mid-walk. one X handle stated,

“Dad really followed him to work, Skywalker family issues still unresolved since Hoth.”

Another reply went even simpler, using Vader’s on-screen coldness as the punchline. The user stated,

“Dad ignored him like he did in the movies.”

A separate reply kept the same theme, framing Vader as the kind of father who acts absent even when he is present. The fan stated,

“Dad acted like he wasn’t even there.”

Why the “Dad” line works, and what it connects to in Star Wars right now?

The joke is doing one clean thing. Mark Hamill played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, and Darth Vader is Luke’s father. The father's reveal in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most famous twists in modern blockbuster history, and it reframed Luke’s entire fight as both political and personal.

That is why Mark Hamill calling a random Vader performer “Dad” reads instantly, even to casual viewers. The costume itself is enough to trigger the memory of Vader as the black-armored enforcer of the Empire, and the family link that later becomes central to Luke’s choices. In the films, Vader was performed physically by David Prowse, while James Earl Jones provided the character’s voice, with the unmasked face in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi portrayed by Sebastian Shaw.

The clip also hits now because Star Wars keeps expanding, so the iconography stays in the public bloodstream. The next theatrical film is Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which StarWars.com says opens May 22, 2026. StarWars.com also announced another theatrical project, Star Wars: Starfighter, with a May 28, 2027, release date. On streaming, Andor wrapped its second season rollout in 2025, keeping the franchise active on Disney+.

So when Mark Hamill drops a Luke-and-Vader dad joke on a normal Hollywood sidewalk, it does not feel like a retro reference. It feels like a living franchise moment, delivered in the simplest possible way, one line, one costume, and a crowd that suddenly remembers exactly who Luke Skywalker’s father is.

Stay tuned for more updates.