Mark Hamill

***Mark Hamill*** (born September 25, 1951) is an American actor, voice actor, and writer. He is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series. His other works include Corvette Summer (1978) and The Big Red One (1980), among other television series and films. Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theater productions, primarily during the 1980s.

Hamill is a prolific voice actor who has voiced characters in many animated television series, films, and video games since the 1970s. He is known for his long-standing role as DC Comics' the Joker, commencing with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.

Born in Oakland, California, Hamill's early career included a recurring role on the soap opera General Hospital, and a starring role on the short-lived sitcom The Texas Wheelers. He portrayed the oldest son, David, in the pilot episode of Eight Is Enough, though the role was later performed by Grant Goodeve. He also had guest appearances on The Bill Cosby Show, and The Partridge Family.

Robert Englund was auditioning for a role in Apocalypse Now when he walked across the hall 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. He suggested to Hamill that he audition for the role; Hamill did and won the role.

Hamill was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor for Star Wars in 1978 but eventually won it for both The Empire Strikes Back (1981) and Return of the Jedi (1984).

After the success of Star Wars, Hamill found that audiences identified him very closely with the role of Luke Skywalker, after which he became a teen idol and appeared on teen magazine covers such as Tiger Beat and others. He attempted to avoid typecasting by appearing in the 1978 film Corvette Summer and the better known 1980 World War II film The Big Red One. In 1980, he also made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, both as himself and as Luke Skywalker in The Stars of Star Wars; this episode also starred C-3PO and R2-D2 who were along with him on a search for Chewbacca. Other film appearances around this time include Britannia Hospital in 1982. To further distance himself from his early blockbuster role, Hamill started acting on Broadway, starring in plays such as The Elephant Man in 1979, and Amadeus in 1983. When Amadeus was adapted to film in 1984, Hamill auditioned to reprise the role for the big screen but lost the part to Tom Hulce. A studio executive told the producers of the film, "I don't want Luke Skywalker in this film". He made television appearances in a 1986 episode of Amazing Stories and a 1987 episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Hamill returned to film after a six-year hiatus with the 1989 science fiction film Slipstream and guest appeared in two episodes as the Trickster in the live-action 1990 television series of The Flash.

### **Selected filmography**

* 1977: Wizards
* 1977: Star Wars
* 1978: Corvette Summer
* 1980: The Empire Strikes Back
* 1980: The Big Red One
* 1982: Britannia Hospital
* 1983: Return of the Jedi
* 1989: Slipstream
* 1991: The Guyver
* 1993: Time Runner
* 1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
* 1995: Village of the Damned

### **Selected television**

* 1972–1973: General Hospital
* 1973: Jeannie
* 1974–1975: The Texas Wheelers
* 1975: Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
* 1977: The City (Television film)
* 1978: The Star Wars Holiday Special (Television special)
* 1980: The Muppet Show
* 1986: Amazing Stories
* 1987: The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
* 1991: The Flash
* 1992–1994: Batman: The Animated Series
* 1993: Body Bags (Television film)
* 1995: seaQuest DSV
* 1995–1998: Spider-Man
* 1996–1997: The Incredible Hulk
* 1996: Wing Commander Academy
* 1997–1999: The New Batman Adventures
* 1997: Superman: The Animated Series
* 1999: The Night of the Headless Horseman (Television film)

### **Selected stage appearances**

* 1981: The Elephant Man
* 1983: Amadeus

### **Selected video game appearances**

* 1994: Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
* 1994: The Adventures of Batman and Robin
* 1996: Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
* 1997: Wing Commander: Prophecy