Mark Hamill is certainly one of my favorite actors to play the Jokerbut the one time he played the character in live-action was seriously underwhelming. Obviously, many people may recognize Mark Hamill best for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars films, but he is also one of the most prolific and talented voice actors of the last half century. However, instead of voicing heroes like Luke, Hamill leans more into his darker side and often plays the villain.
Hamill began voicing the Joker in 1992, long before the UDC
alongside Kevin Conroy who voiced Batman, for Batman: The Animated Series. Over the course of the show, both actors became the iconic voices associated with these characters within the DC Animated Universe, but their talents were only rarely brought into live-action settings. Although both actors only got the chance to play their alter egos on one occasion, Hamill’s casting was significantly less involved than Conroy’s cameo in the film. Bat woman series.
Mark Hamill played the live-action Joker in 2002’s Birds of Prey
Mark Hamill’s Live-Action Joker Debut Was a Joke
Hamill was only cast to play the Joker in a live-action project, Birds of Preyin 2002. And if you’ve never heard of it before, you’ll be forgiven, because the show was generally panned and canceled after just one season. In the context of the show, a team of three heroes, Huntress, Oracle and Black Canary, join forces to take down the evil Harley Quinn. THE show casts Harley Quinn as the central villain instead of the Jokerbut in one brief scene, the Joker appears in Barbara Gordon’s hazy memory as he shoots and paralyzes her.
The scene is somewhat shocking, as it becomes clear that the actor appearing on screen is not the source of the voice. They doesn’t look like Mark Hamilland even in blurred focus, lip movements appear considerably less animated, with no expression to match the spoken dialogue. The reason behind this clear gap between voice and face is that it was never Hamill in the first place. Instead, they cast another man, Roger Stoneburner, in his place, and left him out of the credits, only referencing Hamill as the actor in this brief but poignant clip from the show.
Mark Hamill only voiced the Joker in Birds of Prey
Mark Hamill was highlighted for his performance in the credits
The question was, Mark Hamill was already over 50 at the time of this recording. That being said, since the show chose to shift focus to Harley Quinn as the main rival, it’s strange that they couldn’t include an older Joker. Batman is also referenced in the series but never appears on screen, so presumably both characters could have been written out of the story as having retired and passed the torch to this new generation of vigilantes and villains. Instead, the show opted to cast Roger Stoneburner and leave the young actor out of the story and credits entirely.
The reason behind this clear gap between voice and face is that it was never Hamill in the first place.
It’s hard to say what might have happened if the series had been allowed to continue into season two, with more familiar faces from Gotham and the comics integrated into the series. Potentially at that point they would have brought Joker in for a bigger role, but it seems unlikely they would have brought Hamill in at this point. Instead, it’s possible they brought Stoneburner back to take on the role in both appearance and voice. But the fact that Hamill’s considerable talents were wasted in this way it’s genuinely disturbing and makes me mourn a version of the Joker that will never get the chance to shine.
I think Birds of Prey was a missed opportunity for Mark Hamill to play the Joker
Mark Hamill has long established himself as an iconic wild card
The reality is that Hamill is an extraordinary talent, and when he was 50 years old, he was still acting in live-action roles. Hamill appeared in a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob strike back in 2001, and made a guest appearance in an episode of VIP that same year. However, the best example of a program that proves he was up to the task even at age 50 was Hamilton. No, not the musical, but a 2001 TV miniseries starring Peter Stormere where Hamill played the villain Hawkins. Hamill gives a spectacular performanceand shows how capable he is at taking on the role of a villain in live-action.
With this in mind, in addition to works he had at the beginning of his career, such as the 1991 series of The Flashwhere Hamill played the Trickster in the Arrowverse, he could have easily taken on the role of Birds of Prey and delivered one of the most captivating performances as a villain of all time. Clearly, the the show’s creatives believed he was the right voice for the characterSo why not take a leap of faith a little further and put him in the spotlight. But instead, the show tried to play it safe and missed the chance for one of the greatest talents of all time to bring to life an iconic character he was already attached to.
The closest we got to a live-action Mark Hamill Joker was in the Arrowverse
Trickster is a character similar to the Joker in DC
As mentioned above, Hamill had the opportunity to play another character who had some obvious DC traits in common. In 1991, Hamill was cast as the mischievous rogue in The Flashwhere he was able to make liberal use of his iconic villain’s laugh. THE Trickster is essentially the Flash version of the Joker. A wild and unpredictable rival who enjoys practical jokes, wearing a clown costume and causing havoc and chaos as he sets off explosions and tries to kill his rival. However, the Trickster doesn’t wear makeup and his origins are more clearly defined than the Joker’s.
Mark Hamill played the original version of this character, also known as James Jesse, who worked in a family circus. However, his brilliant mind for invention led him to create extraordinary technology that led him to leave the circus and focus on other activities. And so, Hamill was cast in this role not only in 1991, but when the Arrowverse The Flash left, he returned as The Trickster in several episodes between 2015 and 2016. Ultimately, although he was not the Joker, Mark Hamill is unlikely to be cast as the character in live-action now that he’s approaching 75, so Trickster is as close as we’re going to get.
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