Mark Hamill

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Mark Hamill
Born Mark Richard Hamill
September 25, 1951 (1951-09-25) (age 56)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Spouse(s) Marilou York

Mark Richard Hamill (born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and comedian. Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983) and as the voice of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.

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[edit] Early life

Hamill was born and raised in Oakland, California, the son of Virginia Suzanne (née Johnson) and William Thomas Hamill, who was a captain in the U.S. Navy.[1] He was one of seven children; two brothers, Will and Patrick, and four sisters, Terry, Jan, Jeanie, and Kim. As a child, his father's career meant numerous relocations, and he attended different schools throughout his childhood. For 10th grade, he attended Annandale High School located in Annandale, Virginia, but eventually ended up graduating from Nile C. Kinnick High School in Japan. He majored in drama at Los Angeles City College.

[edit] Early career

Hamill's early career included voicing the character Corey Anders on the Saturday morning cartoon Jeannie by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He also portrayed the oldest son David on the pilot episode of Eight Is Enough, though the role was later performed by Grant Goodeve. He acted in TV series such as The Texas Wheelers, the first comedy TV series without a laughtrack, General Hospital, One Day At A Time, and Matlock. One of his earliest movies was the made-for-TV film The City.

[edit] The original Star Wars trilogy

The handprints of Mark Hamill in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
The handprints of Mark Hamill in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.

For his portrayal of Luke Skywalker, Hamill was twice honoured with the Saturn Award for Best Actor (Film) (given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films), in 1980 for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and in 1983 for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

George Lucas once asked Hamill to reprise the role of Luke Skywalker in a Star Wars sequel trilogy as an Obi-Wan Kenobi type character who passes the torch to the next generation of Jedi Knights and that it would be made around 2011. Lucas has recently dismissed it as nothing more than an off-hand comment.[2]

Reprints of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (which influenced Lucas as he was developing the Star Wars films) issued after the release of Star Wars in 1977, used the image of Hamill as Luke Skywalker on the cover. [3]

[edit] Car accident

On January 11, 1977, a day before he was set to shoot one of the final scenes needed for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Hamill was in a car accident in which he fractured his nose and left cheekbone.[4][5] According to Star Wars: A New Hope producer Gary Kurtz, Hamill was in surgery from 9:00 AM until 4 PM in the afternoon. As a result of the accident, a double was used for the landspeeder pickup shots.[6] In the second Star Wars film, Episode V, he is seen with a new scar along his upper lip which may or may not be related.

In an A&E Network Biography special from 2002, entitled Mark Hamill: A Force to Be Reckoned With, members of Hamill's family, including his older brother, William, and his cousin, Eric Johnson, recounted the accident.[7]

[edit] Animation

[edit] DC Animated Universe

Hamill was the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series (which debuted in 1992), as well as most of the other spin-off series, video games and films. Hamill had initially voiced a guest role as evil businessman Ferris Boyle in the episode "Heart of Ice", and was delighted when offered the role of the Joker, one of his favorite characters.

He appeared as the Joker in fifteen episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, the film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, five episodes of The New Batman Adventures, The Batman/Superman Movie, four episodes of Justice League, three episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, and the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.[8]

He received praise from fans and critics for his portrayal of the iconic villain. As a huge comic book fan (and creator) himself, Hamill has said he was honored to play the character. When asked by fans to perform the role in person, he would often insist that they turn around so as not to ruin the illusion.

He had many appearances as the Joker to date, like the two-part Justice League episode "Wild Cards". His last appearance, in terms of DCU chronological order, was in the direct-to-DVD film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. "Wild Cards" was the last aired episode in which he appears as the Joker.

The Short lived WB live action series, Birds of Prey, based on the comic book of the same title, featured a flashback sequence in which the Joker, shoots Barbara Gordan (Batgirl) and paralyzes her. This sequence featured Mark Hamill voicing the Joker, dubbed over an actor whose facial structure more resembled the character. The actor's face was shot in the background so as to be slightly blurred.

While many fans suggested that Hamill be chosen to reprise the role in live-action form for the upcoming The Dark Knight (2008) - the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) - the younger Heath Ledger was ultimately cast.

Hamill also provided voices for villains Solomon Grundy and the Trickster in the DC Animated Universe series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Hamill also played the Trickster in the Flash TV Series. Hamill has since voiced the criminal Tony Zucco in The Batman, a more recent animated series which is unrelated to the various DC animated universe series.

[edit] Other villainous roles and miscellaneous roles

His success as Joker has led to other villain roles in other animated series, including the Gargoyle in the animated series of The Incredible Hulk, the Hobgoblin in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Maximus in Fantastic Four, Captain Stickybeard in Codename: Kids Next Door, and the deranged shock jock Dr. Jak in Phantom 2040. He even parodied his Joker role in the Tom and Jerry Kids episode "Droopy Man Returns," and in the Animaniacs episode "The Cranial Crusader", as Johnny Bad-Note. He briefly provided the voice for Dr. Knuckles Turnpike in the animated F.I.S.T. spin-off series DoubleF.I.S.T.E.D. He voiced Py-Ro in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Dr. Julius Pendecker in The Tick, and Niju the Evil Wolf in Balto II: Wolf Quest. Hamill does the voice of the villain Undergrowth in the Danny Phantom episode "Urban Jungle." More recently, he provides the voice of Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Skeleton King on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go. He also guest starred as The Moth in The SpongeBob SquarePants episode: Night Light. He even played the latter character in the Mina and the Count shorts. And while not technically a villain in the movie Bender's Big Score, Mark played the voice of the Chanukah Zombie. He currently plays Senator Stampingston and Mr. Selatcia in Metalocalypse.

In the Hanna-Barbera Productions cartoon SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Hamill voiced Jonny K., the Red Lynx, and Burke, among others.

[edit] Anime

Two recent notable voice performances are Colonel Muska in the English language version of Castle in the Sky and the Mayor of Pejite in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, both directed by Hayao Miyazaki and distributed by Disney. (His role as Muska, in particular, drew praise.) Hamill provided the voice of Commander Taylor in Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, the sequel to the 1980s adapted anime series Robotech. He also voiced Christopher "Maverick" Blair in the animated series Wing Commander Academy.

Hamill provides the voice of Jameson Burkright in the mini-series comedy The Wrong Coast, and Yamma in the joint Cartoon Network/Production I.G anime series IGPX Immortal Grand Prix.

[edit] Other work

After the success of Star Wars, Hamill found that audiences identified him very closely with the role of Luke Skywalker. He attempted to avoid typecasting by appearing in Corvette Summer and the better-known WWII film, The Big Red One. As the 1980s wore on, Hamill did little film work outside of Star Wars, though. The actor retreated to the Broadway stage and he starred in Amadeus, The Elephant Man, Harrigan and Hart (a musical for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination) and other stage plays, for which he received positive reviews.

Despite his stints on Broadway, Hamill has had an expansive film career. He played the bad guy (known as Hawkins) in the Swedish action movie Hamilton in 1998. Some of his other film credits include Corvette Summer, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Slipstream, The Guyver (in which he played a police officer turned into a mutant slug with a man's face), and the 1995 remake of Village of the Damned. He also narrated the four-part documentary on the influence of science fiction upon present society, The Sci-Fi Files. In 2001, Hamill starred in the feature film Thank You, Good Night as a pragmatic father alongside Christian Campbell, J.P. Pitoc, and Sally Kirkland. He voiced the character of Chanukah Zombie for the 2007 straight-to-DVD release Futurama: Bender's Big Score.

In live-action television, Hamill had recurring roles in General Hospital and The Texas Wheelers (both pre-Star Wars), and, foreshadowing his later famous role of the Joker, he appeared as The Trickster in the live-action television series of The Flash, a role he would later reprise in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. He has made cameo appearances on MADtv (where he played the estranged father of Ms. Swan), and appeared on Saturday Night Live (playing himself being sold on a Star Wars themed home shopping sale).[9] Hamill appeared on an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, and playing Luke Skywalker during one of the scenes. He appeared on an episode of Just Shoot Me! He also had a guest spot on The Muppet Show as both himself and his "cousin" Luke Skywalker, along with C-3PO, Chewbacca and R2-D2. In 1986, he appeared in an episode of the TV series Amazing Stories (TV series) ("Gather Ye Acorns") in the role of Jonathan, who is advised by "Mother Nature's only son" to not discard his childhood belongings, which causes him trouble during his adult life. As he grows older, he is able to auction off his belongings as memorabilia, becoming wealthy in the process. He also had a recurring role as Tobias LeConte on seaQuest DSV.

He also has done numerous voices for TV series and episodes: the Joker in the 2002 TV series Birds of Prey, Larry 3000 in Time Squad, Turtle on My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Guinness on Samurai Jack, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron, Principal John Smith on Totally Spies, Bruno the Kid on The Outer Limits, Dr. Cesarian on Stripperella, Himself on The Simpsons Mayored to the Mob, Luke Skywalker in Family Guy, Time Runner, Grim & Evil, The Blues Brothers Animated Series, Cow and Chicken, The Legend of Calamity Jane, Two Stupid Dogs, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Pinky and the Brain, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Loonatics Unleashed, and Night Light (SpongeBob episode). He is also a recurring voice actor on Seth Green's Robot Chicken, and as of August 2006, on Adult Swim's Metalocalypse.

[edit] Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

He appeared as Cock-Knocker in the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (his entrance heralded by a still shot of him with the caption, "HEY, KIDS! IT'S MARK HAMILL! (applause)", during which he used his "Joker Voice." He parodies his role as The Trickster from "The Flash II: Revenge Of The Trickster" in costume and on-screen presence. He also parodies Luke Skywalker in a "bong saber" duel with Jay and Silent Bob in which he says, "Don't fuck with the Jedi Master, son." When his large, fake right hand prop is cut off in the film's duel, he sighs, looks at the camera and says, "Not again."

This was actually the first time that Hamill and his Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher appeared in a film together since Return of the Jedi. However, neither of the stars were aware of this until the film's premiere.

[edit] Comic Book: The Movie

Hamill also directed and starred in the 2004 direct-to-DVD Comic Book: The Movie. A comic book fan who attended sci-fi and comic conventions before he became famous, Hamill claimed that his character was based on an exaggerated version of himself. He and his crew shot most of the "mockumentary" film during the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con, and enlisted even Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, and Hugh Hefner in small roles. The movie won an award for Best Live-Action DVD Premiere Movie at the 2005 DVD Exclusive Awards.

[edit] Wing Commander

When the Wing Commander series of computer games started using full motion video cut scenes, Hamill was cast as the series protagonist, Colonel Christopher Blair, a role he played in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994), Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995), and Wing Commander: Prophecy (1997). (In the 1999 Wing Commander film, set earlier in the series, the character was played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) He did however, have a cameo, as did many of the other actors who did voiceovers for the game. Hamill was also cast as the voice of Christopher Blair in the animated television series Wing Commander Academy.

[edit] Other computer and video game roles

Other notable computer-game roles (voice only) include Lieutenant Mosely in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Assistant Director Wilson in Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, several characters in the LucasArts game Full Throttle (including the game's main villain, Adrian Ripburger), and Wolverine in X-Men 2: Wolverine's Revenge, the tie-in game to the movie X-Men 2. Hamill also provided the voice for two of the primary characters of Starsiege, one of them a young warrior leading a rebellion against an empire.

He voiced the Joker in a few Batman games, notably Batman Vengeance and the Sega CD version of The Adventures of Batman & Robin. While some have mistakenly suspected that he reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for LucasArts' Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, the character is in fact voiced by Bob Bergen (also the voice of Porky Pig and a host of others). Hamill provided voices for The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian. He also voiced the role of Emperor Griffon in the PS2 RPG Dark Cloud 2 as well as Colonel Kroitz in the PS2 RPG Grandia Xtreme.

He narrated a documentary on the United States' 1st Infantry Division. Footage from the documentary was used in the video game Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. He is in two Crash Bandicoot games: Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex as Py-Ro and Crash: Mind Over Mutant, maybe as Brio.

Mark Hamill's latest voiceover role is for the PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza, where he plays Goro Majima, a crazed and ruthless lieutenant of a Yakuza family. He is also the voice of Malefor the Dark Master in The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon.

[edit] As a writer

Mark Hamill is also the co-writer of The Black Pearl, a comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote an introduction to the Trade Paperback Batman: Riddler Two-Face which reprints various stories of the title villains to tie in with Batman Forever.

[edit] Personal life

In 1978, he married dental hygienist Marilou York. They have three children together: Nathan, Griffin and Chelsea.[10]

During the 1972 presidential race, Mark Hamill campaigned for candidate George McGovern.[11] During the 2008 Democratic primaries, Hamill has spoken on behalf of Barack Obama.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Features

Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Hamill as Luke Skywalker

[edit] Short Subjects

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  1. ^ Mark Hamill Biography (1951-)
  2. ^ Interviews with Mark Hamill
  3. ^ Campbell, J.: The Hero with a Thousand Faces
  4. ^ Just The Best : Sienn's Mark Hamill Page : Interviews 1970
  5. ^ Star Wars: Biography | Mark Hamill
  6. ^ Rinzler, J.W., The Making of Star Wars, pp 249-250
  7. ^ IGN: A&E's Star Wars Biography
  8. ^ , IMDB, [1], accessed March 25, 2008
  9. ^ NBC.com > Saturday Night Live
  10. ^ Biography
  11. ^ http://www.geocities.com/starlamedra2/tvbyday3.jpg

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Hamill, Mark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hamill, Mark Richard
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Oakland, California, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH