Mark Hamill, the Star Wars actor, made a surprise appearance at the White House on Friday, revealing that Joe Biden had given him a pair of the president’s trademark aviator sunglasses in return for a new nickname: Joe-bi Wan Kenobi.

The 72-year-old, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi franchise, surprised reporters with an unannounced cameo at the daily press briefing.

In the briefing, the actor praised the US president’s work and said they had joked together in the Oval Office.

He said the pair had looked over photographs together.

“Look, I just got to meet the president. He gave me these aviator glasses,” he told reporters. “I love the merch. Love it all.”

He praised Mr Biden for his “Bidenomics” policies, describing him as “the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime”.

He added: “I don’t have to go through the list of bipartisan infrastructure law, the PACT Act, the CHIPS Act, all that inflation, 15 million jobs.

“It’s all good. I mean, I was really thrilled to meet the entire staff because, you know, it’s not just one person. It’s like a composite endeavour.”

After telling the press pack that he would take “no Star Wars questions, please,” one reporter asked him whether they had discussed the film series during his visit.