Considering that he's been a rock icon for more than 30 years, it's hard to imagine that there are too many sides to Rick Springfield that we haven't seen yet. And yet, the "Jessie's Girl" singer — who's been moonlighting as an actor since the Seventies, and recently stepped up his onscreen game with roles in True Detective and Ricki and the Flash — is still full of surprises, even at 66. One didn't-see-this one-coming shock in particular: Springfield owns one of the world’s biggest collections of Star Wars action figures.
That's not a joke.
On the contrary, this could hardly be more serious, as we saw for ourselves when the musician invited Rolling Stone into his Malibu home for an exclusive look at his most prized possessions. "I've always been a toy freak," he admits, reflecting on how the first installment of George Lucas' space opera came out when he was at the perfect age to appreciate the merchandise. That was the start of a life-long passion, and his collection now includes everything from common Luke Skywalker editions to Turkish bootlegs and a "Blue Stars" model so rare that it's worth the down payment on a small house.
Needless to say, we were blown away — but to find out just how impressive it is to the world of hardcore "toy freaks," we went to Sotheby's and spoke to the dedicated super fans behind the auction house's massive Star Wars sale, Return of the NIGO. It turns out that they were genuinely awed by what Springfield has been hiding in his closet, where they're perfectly preserved inside plastic cases. "They're cheesy figures!" Springfield laughs. "They're badly painted, badly made … the only cool thing is the great artwork."
So just how hyped is Springfield for this month's release of The Force Awakens? "I actually like the toys more than I like the movies."
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