Mark Richard Hamill was born on September 25, 1951, in Oakland, California, to Virginia Suzanne (née Johnson) and William Thomas Hamill, a U.S. Navy Captain.[1] He is one of seven children, with two brothers, Will and Patrick, and four sisters, Terry, Jan, Jeanie, and Kim.[2] His father has English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry and his mother was of half Swedish and half English descent.[3][4] Hamill has described his father as a staunch Roman Catholic, and "NixonRepublican".[5]
His father's changes of station and attendant family moves led to the Hamill children switching schools often. During his elementary years, he attended Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Edgar Allan Poe Middle School in Annandale, Virginia.[6] At age 11, he moved to the 5900 block of Castleton Drive in San Diego, California, where he attended Hale Junior High School.[7] During his first year at James Madison High School in San Diego, his family moved back to Virginia, and Hamill attended Annandale High School.[8] By his junior year, his father was stationed in Japan, where Hamill attended and was a member of the Drama Club at Nile C. Kinnick High School, from which he graduated in 1969.[9][10] He later enrolled at Los Angeles City College, majoring in drama.[8]
Robert Englund was auditioning for a role in Apocalypse Now when he walked across the hall to where auditions were taking place for George Lucas's Star Wars. After watching the auditions for a while, he realized that Hamill, his friend, would be perfect for the role of Luke Skywalker.[better source needed][2] He suggested to Hamill that he audition for the role;[better source needed][14] as it turned out, Hamill's agent had already set up the audition that gave him the role.[15]
Released in May 1977, Star Wars was an enormous, unexpected success and had a huge effect on the film industry. Hamill went on to appear in the less-than-successful Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978,[16] and later starred in the successful film sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. During the time between the first two films, Hamill was involved in a serious car accident, fracturing his nose and left cheekbone.[2] False rumors spread that his face had required plastic surgery.[17] For his part in both of the sequels, Hamill was honored with the Saturn Award for Best Actor, given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. In 1980, he made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, both as himself and as Luke Skywalker in the episode The Stars of Star Wars. The episode also starred C-3PO and R2-D2, who joined Luke on a search for Chewbacca.[18]
Hamill reprised the role of Luke Skywalker for the radio dramatizations of both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.[19] For the Return of the Jedi radio drama, the role was played by a different actor.[20]
Editions of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (which influenced Lucas as he was developing the films) issued after the release of Star Wars in 1977 used the image of Hamill as Luke Skywalker on the cover.[21][22]
Hamill returned to the Star Wars universe in 2014, when he voiced the ancient Sith Lord Darth Bane[24] in the last episode of season 6 of the animated series The Clone Wars. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his performance.[25]
Mark Hamill in 2017, at the premiere of The Last Jedi
Following its acquisition of Lucasfilm, The Walt Disney Company released more Star Wars films, starting with The Force Awakens on December 18, 2015. Initially, both Disney and Hamill were coy about whether Hamill would be a cast member.[26][27] It was reported that Hamill had been assigned a nutritionist and personal trainer ahead of production. In September 2013, Hamill's friend Robert Englund confirmed that "they've got Mark in the gym because Mark's coming back as Luke Skywalker."[28] Despite having top billing, Hamill only appears briefly at the end of the film (with no dialogue) in a cliffhanger set-up for the sequel.[29][30][31]
Hamill played Skywalker again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, released on December 15, 2017.[32] Hamill was initially critical of his own role in the film, stating that he and director Rian Johnson had "a fundamental difference" regarding Skywalker's characterization.[33][34][35] Hamill later expressed regret for having made those statements, calling the film an "all-time great".[36] He played Skywalker again in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[37]
Hamill also had voice cameos as Dobbu Scay in The Last Jedi, Boolio in The Rise of Skywalker, and EV-9D9 in the fifth episode of The Mandalorian. He had similar cameos in The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story in undisclosed roles, for which he was credited as "William M. Patrick" and "Patrick Williams".[38]
Hamill was digitally de-aged to reprise his role as Skywalker in the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian[39] and the sixth chapter of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett.[a] He also appeared in Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian.
Hamill also directed and starred in the 2004 direct-to-DVD film Comic Book: The Movie.[74] Having been a comic-book fan who attended science-fiction and comics conventions before becoming famous, Hamill said 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 Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell and Hugh Hefner in small roles. The movie won an award for Best Live-Action DVD Premiere Movie at the 2005 DVD Exclusive Awards.[75][76]
In 2011, Hamill appeared as a villain in the fifth season of the NBC series Chuck.[77] He appeared in the television series Criminal Minds—in the last two episodes of season eight—as John Curtis (also known as "The Replicator"), a serial killer who stalks the BAU team throughout the show's eighth season.[78] He also made a guest appearance alongside George Takei in the season one finale of the ABC sitcom The Neighbors as Commandant Bill.[79]
Hamill starred in the 2011 Hungarian film Thelomeris, a project on which he also served as a creative consultant.[80]Thelomeris was the first mainstream science-fiction film to be produced in Hungary.[81] The following year, Hamill starred in two more live-action films: the British horror filmAirborne and the independent filmSushi Girl. Airborne was received negatively by critics and audiences.[citation needed] Hamill said the dark tone of Sushi Girl pulled him out of his comfort zone, but he was grateful that it did.[82]
In 2014, Hamill appeared in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service as James Arnold, a professor from Imperial College London and an expert on climate change. He also reprised his role as the Trickster in The CW's 2014 live-action series The Flash, appearing in the seventeenth episode of the first season, the ninth episode of the second season, and the ninth episode of the third season.[83] Hamill starred in the 2018 film Con Man, an independent film about the life of famous con manBarry Minkow. Hamill played Minkow's father, Robert Minkow.[84]
Hamill appeared in the second season of the historical-fiction drama series Knightfall, which premiered in 2019. He portrayed Master Talus, a veteran Templar who trains the initiates at the Chartres Temple.[85] In April 2022, it was announced that Hamill would make an appearance on the revival of the series The Kids in the Hall, which was set to be released on Amazon Prime Video the following month, on May 13.[86]
Voice acting
General work
Hamill first performed voice acting work in the early 1970s, voicing the character Corey Anders on the Saturday morning cartoon Jeannie by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He later played Sean in the Ralph Bakshi film Wizards,[2] which was released just three months before Star Wars in 1977. The voice role he is most known for is Batman's archenemy the Joker,[24] the success of which has led him to portray a wide variety of characters in television, film, anime, and video games (mostly similar super-villains).
In-character as Luke Skywalker, Hamill voices the English versions of the Ukrainian air raid warning app.[98][99] The alerts are not only performed in Skywalker's cadence but, after the alert is over, he signs off with "May the Force be with you". Hamill has raised funds for the Ukrainian war relief effort by signing Star Wars-themed posters to be raffled off.[100]
Hamill's role as the Joker began in the 1992 series Batman: The Animated Series[24] and continued to many later spin-off series, video games and films.
The short-lived The 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 Gordon and paralyzes her. This sequence featured Hamill voicing Joker, dubbed over actor/stuntman Roger Stoneburner whose facial structure more resembled the character.[104][105] He also voiced the character in a few segments in Robot Chicken.
Hamill voiced the Joker alongside his Batman: The Animated Series co-star Kevin Conroy as Batman and Jason Hillhouse as Dick Grayson in a feature of a storyboard scene included in the 2005 Special Edition DVD of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman.[106] This scene depicted the origin of Robin, which was not filmed because the producers felt it was out-of-place with the rest of the film.[107]
Hamill has said that he has voiced the Joker for toys and amusement park rides. Although these jobs did not pay particularly well, he enjoyed even these small roles and admitted being protective of the character, preferring not to let "others sleep in my sleeping bag";[108] he also self-identifies as a "real comic book nerd".[108]
Hamill has portrayed the Joker in a few Batman based video games, beginning with 2001's Batman: Vengeance,[109] the Sega CD version of The Adventures of Batman & Robin (which was later used to create a "lost" episode of the animated series)[110] and in Batman: Arkham Asylum.[2][108] Hamill again reprised the role in the Arkham sequel, Batman: Arkham City.[111] In May 2010, Hamill declared to IGN that his role in Arkham City would be his last as the Joker.[108] Some months later, with the announcement of Arkham City, he clarified his statements in the interview by saying, via his Twitter account, "Only said Arkham Asylum would be hard to top, not that I was quitting."[112] On October 19, 2011, shortly after the release of the game, Hamill announced his retirement on his Twitter account, saying "Hello/Goodbye Joker! I've enjoyed every minute behind the wheel of the Clown Prince's crazy car – I'm going to miss him more than I can say!!".[112] In June 2012, WB Games released the expansion pack titled "The Last Laugh" for the video game DC Universe Online, featuring Hamill as the Joker.[113][114] In 2015, Hamill yet again returned as the Joker in Batman: Arkham Knight with the character recurring through the game as a hallucination.[115]
Hamill has commented that if there would ever be an animated version of Batman: The Killing Joke, he would gladly voice the Joker again, encouraging fans to campaign for said adaptation.[117][118] On July 17, 2015, Hamill tweeted that he had his fingers crossed in hopes that he would be contacted to reprise his role as the Joker in the animated adaptation.[119] On July 27, Collider reported that Hamill would voice the Joker in the film.[120] The film was released in theaters for a two-day limited time. It was released on Digital HD on July 27, 2016. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 2.[121]
Hamill reprised the Joker for the animated series Justice League Action. He also reprised the Trickster for the series, as well as voicing Swamp Thing.[122] In the animated short "Missing the Mark", Hamill voices a fictionalized version of himself, who appears alongside all three of his other characters.[123] Hamill once again voiced Joker in Lego DC Super-Villains, replacing voice actor Christopher Corey Smith.[124]
In January 2023, Hamill revealed in an interview that he would likely never voice the Joker again in light of Kevin Conroy's death in 2022, stating that "Without Kevin there, there doesn't seem to be a Batman for me."[125] In May 2024, Hamill was revealed as the voice actor for the Joker in the crossover fighting game MultiVersus.[126] In July 2024, he made a brief appearance in the film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three as the Joker alongside Conroy as Batman (in the latter's final posthumous performance as the character).[127]
Writing
Hamill is the co-writer of The Black Pearl, a comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics.[128] He wrote an introduction to the Trade Paperback Batman: Riddler Two-Face which reprints various stories involving the Riddler and Two-Face to tie in with Batman Forever. He has also written several stories for Simpsons Comics, including "Catastrophe in Substitute Springfields!", which parodies DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and also references several other classic comics.[129]
Personal life
According to a 1981 profile in People, Hamill's "first serious love" was actress Anne Wyndham, cast as his sister on General Hospital, with whom he had an offscreen relationship.[8] He would later describe experiencing seasons of on-set awkwardness while working with her after their relationship ended.[130] In a 2017 interview, he attributed his long, happy marriage to a non-actor to learning, through his relationship with Wyndham, the dangers of being in a relationship with a fellow actor.[131]
On December 17, 1978, Hamill married dental hygienist Marilou York in a private civil ceremony.[132] They have three children: Nathan Elias, Griffin Tobias, and Chelsea Elizabeth.[133] Nathan was born during the production of The Empire Strikes Back and had a cameo appearance as one of the Royal Guards of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[134] Chelsea made a photographic appearance as an infant Axel Walker in the 1990 television series The Flash; the same photograph was used in the 2014 series.[135] All three have cameos as Resistance soldiers in The Last Jedi.[136] In addition to his three children, Mark Hamill has a granddaughter, Autumn, through his oldest son Nathan.[137]
On January 11, 1977, before shooting one of his scenes in Star Wars, Hamill was in a car accident in which he fractured his nose and left cheekbone.[138] As a result, a double was used for the landspeederpickup shots.[139]
Hamill was also an early fan of David Letterman, having occasionally appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, as well as taping every episode and keeping a journal documenting the show. After encountering writer Chris Elliott, Hamill was asked for assistance in helping determine the 1,000th Viewer Mail that Letterman had answered. His practice continued to Letterman's new show on CBS, but eventually stopped.[143]
In October 2023, Hamill, along with more than 700 other Hollywood professionals, signed an open letter condemning the Palestinian militant group Hamas, demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza, and expressing support for Israel in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[144]
In September 2024, Hamill joined over 125 actors, directors, and musicians in signing an open letter urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign SB 1047, a Californian AI safety bill that would, amongst other things, hold companies that train very large AI models liable if their models cause mass casualties or over $500 million in damages. The letter, also signed by figures such as J.J. Abrams, Alec Baldwin, and Kelly Rowland, said that the "Grave threats from AI used to be the stuff of science fiction, but not anymore," and that AI companies should implement "reasonable safeguards" against those risks.[145][146]
Philanthropy
On September 29, 2022, Hamill became an ambassador of the United24 fundraising platform, which raises funds to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.[147][148] On March 25, 2023, a drawing was held for posters signed by Mark Hamill; it raised more than $300,000 for RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones.[149][150][151]
^This was due to The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett being set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker was born 19 years before the events of A New Hope so would have been 28 years old during both series.
^Woodham, Scott. "Mark Hamill at Yokosuka, 1978". Stars and Stripes. Hamill was student council president and a member of the Class of 1969 at the base's Nile C. Kinnick High School while his father, a Navy officer, was stationed there.
^Kinnick High School was located in Yokohama, Japan until its relocation to Yokosuka, Japan in 1971.[citation needed]
^Dicker, Ron. "Mark Hamill Rips His Role In 'Last Jedi': 'He's Not My Luke Skywalker'". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. I said to Rian, I said 'Jedis don't give up.' I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake he would try and right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference, but, it's not my story anymore," Hamill, 66, said in an interview posted by Spanish-language movie site SensaCine recently. "It's somebody else's story, and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective.
^Collin, Robbie (December 6, 2015). "Mark Hamill: a force to be reckoned with". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved January 15, 2016. The Trickster, a villain he's previously played in the 1990 Flash live-action show
^"Star Citizen game hits $100m funding milestone". BBC News. December 15, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016. Actors including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill and Gillian Anderson have all signed up to provide voices for the non-player roles featured in this campaign.
^Batman – Special Edition DVD (2005), The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence. Subtitle commentary: When BATMAN went into production in 1988, Robin was still set to make a brief appearance. But by the time they began principal photography, the filmmakers felt that the relationship between Batman and Robin wasn't essential to the story, and script changes eliminated the Boy Wonder altogether. The actors are named in the credits.
^Kubin, Jacquie (April 1997). "An Interview With Mark Hamill". Animation World Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2022. Originally done as a screenplay, it was picked up by Dark Horse Comics, and Mark and Eric adapted it themselves to the comic book page.
^
Blake, Sarah (November 11, 2017). "I never expected to be remembered for anything". The Daily Telegraph. London. Hamill married Marilou, a former dental hygienist, in December 1978 — right in the middle of the initial Star Wars craze. He explains that he couldn't have married another actor, a lesson he learnt after a previous relationship with Anne Wyndham, who he starred alongside in US soap opera General Hospital in the early 1970s.
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