The original Star Wars trilogy only briefly mentioned Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia's mother in passing, though George Lucas' finally pulled the curtain back on the character in his prequels by introducing us to Natalie Portman's Padmé Amidala.
First appearing in The Phantom Menace as the Queen of Naboo, Padmé eventually became a Senator in Attack of the Clones and embarked on a romantic relationship with Anakin Skywalker. However, her story concluded tragically in Revenge of the Sith when Padmé, now pregnant with twins (Luke and Leia), was forced to face the fall of the Galactic Republic and the transformation of her husband into the sinister Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, Mark Hamill and Portman had never met. They'd each talked about that in the past and expressed disappointment but a chance encounter at the Golden Globes saw them finally cross paths, uniting "mother" and "son."
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (via SFFGazette.com), the Oscar-winner discussed their meeting and the viral photo the Luke Skywalker actor shared after the fact.
"I met Mark Hamill for my first time, and he called me his mother, which was the coolest thing," Portman said. "It was the first time we had ever met. I had met Carrie Fisher before, luckily. She was such an icon of mine, and this was my first time meeting Mark."
Seeing these two together was a kick for Star Wars fans and something the two actors seemed to enjoy as well. While Lucasfilm has used modern technology to de-age Hamill's Luke, the fact Padmé wasn't Force-sensitive closes the door on her ever meeting her son as a Force Ghost or anything along those lines.
Even so, it was last year when Portman confirmed she'd be willing to reprise the role in a modern Star Wars project. Telling Andy Cohen that "no one has asked," the actress said she's "open to it" and called her time working on the prequels "amazing."
"It was the first time I worked digitally. I don’t think anyone was shooting that way then," she adds. "It was my first time working with a green screen. It was a whole new set of skills to pick up and a whole new world to enter."
You can watch the full interview with Portman, and see Hamill's viral photo, below.