Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill (b. 1951) is a United States actor, voice actor and writer, best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series. In addition to his movie career, Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theatre productions.

As a voice actor, Hamill´s work includes films, television series and video games. In the first video game in the Gabriel Knight series, Hamill plays Detective Franklin Mosely, an old friend of the main character Knight. (He also voices the Jeep driver.)

One of Hamill´s most famous voice jobs is his long-standing role as the DC Comics villain the Joker, a character that he started portraying in Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1994). Hamill´s Joker received a lot of praise and Hamill returned to voice the character in the animated movies Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), and in the related series Superman (1996), Static Shock (2000) and Justice League (2001). Hamill is also the voice of the Joker in the video games Batman: Vengeance (2001), Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Batman: Arkham City (2011), DC Universe Online (2011), Batman: Arkham Knight (2015), and Lego DC Super-Villains (2018). Hamills voice can be heard in numerous Joker action figures and Joker toys, and he has even provided Joker voice-clips for amusement parks.

As a writer, Hamill worked with the 1996 comic book miniseries The Black Pearl together with Eric Johnson. The story focuses on Luther Drake, who becomes a costumed vigilante. Hamill has also written several stories for Simpson Comics.

Life

Childhood

• Mark Richard Hamill was born in Oakland, California on September 25, 1951, to Virginia Suzanne (née Johnson) and William Thomas Hamill. His mother was of half Swedish and half English descent, while his father was a Roman Catholic of mixed Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.
• Mark Hamill is one of seven siblings. He has two brothers (Will and Patrick) and four sisters (Terry, Jan, Jeanie, and Kim).
• William Thomas Hamill was a captain in the U.S. Navy, which caused the family to move from Virginia to California, and then to Japan, during Hamill´s childhood.
• Mark Hamill started school at Walsingham Academy, an independent Roman Catholic school in Williamsburg, Virginia. Later, he attended the public Edgar Allan Poe Middle School in Virginia, and (from age 11) Hale Junior High School in San Diego, California. During his first year at James Madison High School in California, the family moved back to Virginia where Hamill attended Annandale High School. Captain Hamill´s work took the family to Japan, where Mark Hamill graduated high school in 1969 after attending Nile C. Kinnick High, a private school for U.S. Navy kids in Yokosuka. At this high school, he was a member of the Drama Club.

College

Mark Hamill went to Los Angeles City College, majoring in drama.

Wife & Children

Hamill married dental hygienist Marilou York on December 17, 1978. They have three children: Nathan Elias (b. June 1979), Griffin Tobias (b. March 1983), and Chelsea Elizabeth (b. July 1988).

All three of Hamill´s children have had cameos in the Star Wars franchise.

• Nathan, who was born during the production of The Empire Strikes Back, appeared as one of the Royal Guards of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
• Nathan, Griffin and Chelsea appeared as Resistance soldiers in The Last Jedi.

Politics

Hamill grew up with a father who was a “Nixon Republican”, but is himself a member of the Democratic Party.

Sports

Hamill is a supporter of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Miscellaneous

• Hamill is a devoted fan of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.
• Hamill taped every episode of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC and also kept a journal documenting the show.
• Hamill is an affiliate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.