Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill

Active - 1975 - 2023  |   Born - Sep 25, 1951 in Oakland, California, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Action, Adventure

Share on

Biography by AllMovie

When Mark Hamill accepted the role of Luke Skywalker in George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, he had no idea that he was going to become a cultural icon of callow youth, raw courage, and true heroism. Hamill was born the son of a naval captain, one of nine brothers and sisters. Hamill spent much of his youth traveling to different bases in the U.S. and Japan. He was studying drama at Los Angeles City Drama when he landed his first professional acting role as a guest star on the television series The Bill Cosby Show. Between 1972 and 1973, Hamill played Kent Murray on the television soap General Hospital and also did guest appearances on other television shows and in TV movies. In 1974, Hamill co-starred in The Texas Wheelers, a down-home sitcom that only lasted a season. He made his screen debut in Star Wars (1977) and became such a big hit that he had trouble getting other types of roles.

Shortly before the release of Star Wars, Hamill was involved in a terrible car crash that resulted in surgeons having to reconstruct his face. Despite the enormity of Hamill's popularity in this film, he was unable to attain a lucrative film career like his co-star, Harrison Ford, perhaps because he too closely identified with Luke in viewers' minds to be seen as anyone else. Instead, Hamill appeared in films such as Corvette Summer (1978), The Big Red One (1980), and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1980). Hamill tried his luck on and off-Broadway and won excellent reviews for his work, playing the leads in The Elephant Man and Amadeus.

By the 1990s, he had largely been cast in direct-to-video ventures. On television, he provided his voice to at least two animated characters in The Adventures of Batman and Robin. In addition, Hamill starred in several hit CD-ROM games in the Wing Commander series and continues to appear occasionally on television. Finally, Hamill and his cousin, Eric Johnson, co-wrote The Black Pearl comic book series, which Hamill hopes to make into an animated movie.

He became famous for voicing The Joker in the animated Batman series, and spoofed his own celebrity with a memorable cameo in Kevin Smith's Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. He continued to find steady work in animated projects like Futurama, Robot Chicken, Danger Ranger, and even Scooby-Doo.

Movie Highlights

See Full Filmography

Factsheet

  • Father was a Captain in the Navy; as a result, spent a lot of his childhood moving around.
  • The middle of seven siblings.
  • Played the oldest son, David, in the 1977 pilot for the TV series Eight Is Enough, but when the show was picked up by ABC the role went to Grant Goodeve.
  • Once had dinner with Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, Batman co-creator Bob Kane and The Avengers co-creator Jack Kirby.
  • Made his Broadway debut in 1980 as a replacement in The Elephant Man.
  • Since his Star Wars days, Hamill has become a major voice-over actor, specializing in villains, such as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Hobgoblin in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
  • Has provided the voice of The Joker on a number of different animated series, films, video games, toys and amusement rides.
  • He and his Star Wars costar Carrie Fisher both appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, although they don't share any screen time and were both unaware of the other's involvement in the movie until the film's premiere.
  • Directed 2004's Comic Book: The Movie.
  • Cowrote The Black Pearl comic book series.