--- title: Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Surprise Children at a Hospital description: Darth Vader gets a special check-up. canonical: https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-15T19:30:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:27:46.541Z og:title: Watch Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Pay a Surprise Visit at Children's Hospital L.A. og:description: Darth Vader gets a special check-up og:url: https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Pay a Surprise Visit at Children's Hospital L.A. twitter:description: Darth Vader gets a special check-up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Pay a Surprise Visit at Children's Hospital L.A. by [Grace Gavilanes / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Grace Gavilanes / People Dec 15, 2015 7:30 PM UTC by [Grace Gavilanes / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Grace Gavilanes / People Dec 15, 2015 7:30 PM UTC The force is definitely with the Children’s Hospital L.A. As part of their [#ForceforChange](http://forceforchange.starwars.com/) initiative, which inspires people to make a positive impact in the lives of others, the cast and crew behind _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ (in theaters Dec. 18) visited the hospital earlier this month. The event saw appearances from R2-D2, a group of stormtroopers and [Mark Hamill](http://www.people.com/article/mark-hamill-star-wars-force-awakens-weight-loss) (Luke Skywalker, himself!) The Children’s Hospital transformed into a new world, turning the young patients into Padawans, with the film’s key characters roaming the halls and meeting their pint-sized fans throughout the day. “Feeling the pure joy and exuberance of those children up close and personal is a gift to cherish,” Hamill [wrote on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/HamillHimself/posts/1506182186377576). Although the video footage is of the Los Angeles event, #ForceforChange has also [put on several events at other children’s hospitals](https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensLA/videos/vb.83723010672/10153640143715673/?type=2&theater) across the U.S., according to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ official Facebook page. _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/star-wars-mark-hamill-visits-childrens-hospital) _originally appeared on on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/"},"headline":"Watch Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Pay a Surprise Visit at Children's Hospital L.A.","datePublished":"2015-12-15T19:30:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:27:46.541Z","description":"Darth Vader gets a special check-up","url":"https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","Appreciation","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Grace Gavilanes / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4150028/star-wars-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/","name":"Watch Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 Pay a Surprise Visit at Children's Hospital L.A."}}]}] ```