Harrison Ford  as  Han Solo : a cynical smuggler hired by Obi-Wan and Luke to take them to  Alderaan  in his ship, the   Millennium Falcon  , co-piloted with  Chewbacca .  Lucas initially rejected casting Ford for the role, as he &quot;wanted new faces&quot;; Ford had previously worked with the director on   American Graffiti  . Instead, Lucas asked the actor to assist in the auditions by reading lines with the other actors and explaining the concepts and history behind the scenes that they were reading. Lucas was eventually won over by Ford's portrayal and cast him instead of  Kurt Russell ,  Nick Nolte , [6]   Sylvester Stallone , [7]   Bill Murray , [8]  [9]   Christopher Walken ,  Burt Reynolds ,  Jack Nicholson ,  Al Pacino ,  Steve Martin ,  Chevy Chase ,  Billy Dee Williams  (who later played  Lando Calrissian  in the sequels), or  Perry King  (who later played Han Solo in  the radio plays ).