The Many Voices Of Mark Hamill
When one mentions the name Mark Hamill, who do you instinctively think of? I bet it's Luke Skywalker. Hamill played the famous farmboy turned Jedi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy and returned to reprise the role, much to many fans' excitement, in Disney's sequel trilogy. However, despite being known all around the world for this one role, Hamill is actually even more famous than many realize, just not as an "onscreen actor." The reason for this is because some of his most famous roles involve his voice only.
It's safe to say that, after the end of the original trilogy, Hamill unfortunately fell into the typecast trap many great actors have fallen into, where they are too well known for playing a specific character, so it damages their ability to get other roles. Hamill did not let this stop him moving forward in any way shape or form. Instead of continuing a career in live-action form, Hamill turned his attention to voice-over work, and the world of entertainment is all the better for it.
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Today, we are going to look at some of the famous characters Hamill has leant his voice to. Interestingly, a lot of them are villains.
The Joker
Perhaps the most famous comic book villain, and character, of all time, the Joker has plagued the people of Gotham for decades and is regarded as Batman's ultimate nemesis. Following the huge success of Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns in the late 1980's and early 1990's, Warner Bros. decided to greenlight an animated series focusing on the Dark Knight and his Rogues Gallery. The series was called Batman: The Animated Series and kept the gothic feel of Burton's films at its heart, but it needed a voice cast able to make it stand out.
Hamill was offered the role of The Joker in the series, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fans absolutely loved his voice work, resulting in him continuing to voice he character over the decades, in many different forms of media, such as the critically acclaimed Arkham video game series by Rocksteady. When asked about the inspiration behind the voice, Hamill has gone on recorded saying the first image he received was of a character who was "all teeth." This helped him shape the way the way the character spoke, but it would be Claude Rains' performance as the Invisible Man which would serve as inspiration for the Joker's maniacal laugh. Hamill's performance as the Joker has led to many citing him as the best Joker, despite never having played the character in live-action. This just highlights how powerful and mesmerizing his performance as the Clown Prince of Crime was, especially when going up against the likes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.
Nightmare
2012 saw the beginning of yet another new animated show focusing on everyone's favorite wall-crawler, Spider-Man, in the form of Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man. Similar to other superhero shows, many villains would show up to wreak havoc upon the heroes, but one such villain from the comics, was Nightmare. He is a demon-like character who controls the world of Nightmares, seeking to become more powerful. As a villain more associated with Doctor Strange, both Strange and Spider-Man (with the help of his new team) must work together to end Nightmare's terrifying plans, but it is Mark Hamill who voices this iteration of the character, and he is not as recognizable this time around. Fans of his Joker may have an easier time recognizing his voice as there are a few moments where the characters sound very similar, but Hamill is able to distinguish the two and give Nightmare his own terrifying voice.
Chucky
A more recent addition to Hamill's already stellar voice-acting repertoire is the horror icon Chucky. The original Chucky is a doll possessed by a serial killer, while the newer one is an AI. When a remake was announced, many fans wondered who would play the titular role of one of horror's most well known villains. Throughout all of Chucky's appearances, the actor Brad Dourif was the voice behind the doll, so many fans were quite hesitant to have someone else fill the role. However, when it was announced it would be Hamill, some fans were much more relaxed based on his history. Hamill brought something a bit different to the role, and although many weren't impressed by the overall film, Hamill received a lot of praise and encouragement from fans of the Child's Play franchise. With plans in the pipeline for the original story to continue in the form of a TV series, it is yet to be seen if Hamill will reprise this role again in the future.
Hobgoblin
We mentioned above how Hamill voiced the Marvel villain Nightmare. However, this is not the only Marvel villain he voiced. Not long after the beginning of Batman: TAS, Marvel released the successful Spider-Man series in the early nineties. To many fans, this is the absolute best animated iteration of the character to date, and Hamill is also a big part of that success. During the series' run, Hamill would provide the voice of Spider-Man villain, The Hobgoblin. The character would appear several times throughout the series to plague the titular hero. Because of his role voicing this character and Nightmare, Hamill is one of few voice actors to lend his voice to both DC and Marvel characters.
Skeletor
Skeletor is a character many kids born in the 1990's and after may not instantly know. He is the arch nemesis of the hero He-Man. Appearing in the cartoon from the 1980's, Skeletor was originally voiced by voice actor Alan Oppenheimer, who is credited with the very distinctive laugh the character uses often. However, following the announcement of a new updated series by Kevin Smith, it was confirmed that Hamill will provide the new voice of the dastardly villain. Like many roles before, the inclusion of Hamill was met with outstanding applause by fans as Hamill now has years of experience in the field and his portrayal of the Joker should stand him in really good stead for taking on the role, especially since both characters have a similar raspy voice and famous laugh. The teaser trailer released only a couple weeks ago seems to show the character is in very good and safe hands so many can't wait for it to be released.
So, despite being completely well known for playing the role of Luke Skywalker, Hamill has proven himself to be a deadly force in the world of voice acting, and one can only hope he will continue to bring life to some of entertainment's most prolific characters for many, many years to come. Fans do owe him so much already.
How many of the above did you know? Do you know any other famous characters he has voiced? Be sure to let us know.
Also, check out the below video of Hamill talking about his voice acting career:
Until next time!
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Written By Jordan McGlinchey
Syndicated From Culture Slate