Reclusive Jedi Master Luke Skywalker reappeared on screen for the first time in more than 30 years at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, sporting a grizzled new look and a beard that surprised even actor Mark Hamill.

Visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live Friday, Hamill was asked by the late night host, “Whose idea was it to grow the beard?”

“Well, in the script it says, ‘He turns, removes his hood; with white, flowing hair and a white beard, it is Luke Skywalker,’” Hamill said. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. Chronologically, if this follows Return of the Jedi, I’m only in my early fifties. What’s this Methuselah look you have planned for me?’”

Hamill explained he wanted to pull off Luke’s weathered look naturally.

“I don’t color my hair, but when I grow my beard, white comes out,” Hamill said. “I didn’t want to wear a wig because those always look dodgy. I said let me grow the beard, and if you’re happy with the gray that I have, we’ll go with that. And that’s what happened.”

Hamill’s aged Skywalker almost saw another physical change, with Hamill telling Rolling Stone he had a “brief idea” where he wanted Luke to be blind.

“‘What if he’s, like, the blind samurai?’” Hamill recalled. “But we didn’t do it. You’re welcome. Didn’t stick.”

The actor recently opened up on The Force Awakens, its script having left him “stunned” and “shocked.”

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15.

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