While Mark Hamill may be best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Saga, fans of a completely different series see him as one of the best Jokers around. After Jack Nicholson and before Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Hamill was cast to voice The Joker in the beloved '90s DC TV show, 'Batman: The Animated Series'.
There are many fantastic stories about the epic creation of 'Batman: The Animated Series'. This includes why its spin-off movie, 'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm', became such a cult-classic, as well as the truth behind the revamping of the Mr. Freeze character. But the casting of Star Wars' Mark Hamill should also be included.
This is because Mark wasn't the first choice of creators Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski.
Here's exactly what went down when Mark Hamill replaced another famous actor and made the Joker his own.
Casting The Joker
It's hard to believe that Mark Hamill wasn't the first choice for the voice of The Joker in 'Batman: The Animated Series'. This is because he added incredible dynamic to the show's balance of a deeply serious and dark tone with the absurd and hilarious. Of course, fans loved Mark Hamill's interpretation so much that he was brought on to play the Joker in various other series (such as 'The New Batman Adventures', 'Batman Beyond', and 'Justice League') and was even cast in many of the video games such as the Arkham games.
In a superb interview with Vulture, showrunner, director, and animator Bruce Timm claimed that everybody who came in to audition for The Joker was basically doing a version of the character from the 1960s live-action TV show. That meant they weren't treating the character seriously... and that's NOT what 'Batman: The Animated Series' was about. Yes, it was a show for kids, but it was also meant for parents to enjoy. It was dark. It was serious. And it took itself very seriously.
Then Tim Curry came along... Yes, Tim Curry from Rocky Horror Picture Show and Scary Movie.
"Tim Curry actually came in and gave us something really close to what we wanted," Bruce Timm said in the interview. "It was funny and weird but also definitely had some menace to it. So we hired Tim. He did about three episodes for us. And then [producer] Alan Burnett came to me after we did the third one, and we listened to the assembled tracks, and he said, “I think we have to replace Tim.”
While the producers wanted to replace Tim, the mastermind behind the casting of the show, Andrea Romano, wasn't so keen.
"The truth of it is, I never would have recast Tim," she admitted.
"I didn’t want to do it because we had already recorded a bunch of episodes with him and I knew we would have to rerecord them in post, which I knew was going to be a nightmare," Bruce Timm said. "But it didn’t take much for him to convince me, because I was kind of leaning that way myself. It’s not that Tim was doing anything bad, it just wasn’t quite what we wanted."
Then Andrea got a call from Mark Hamill's agent, claiming that Mark was a huge fan of Batman and the show. Therefore, he wanted to be part of the series.
During the Vulture interview, Mark claimed that he was actively reading about the show and was thrilled with the key decision-makers. He knew it was going to be great so he begged to be a part of it... Not long after, he was given a guest-spot as the villain in the episode that won the show a Daytime Emmy, "Heart Of Ice"... The very same episode that revamped Mr. Freeze.
After the recording session, Mark thanked them for letting him be part of it but claimed he wanted to be an actual part of the show... He didn't just want a one-and-done guest spot.
Luckily for him, there was a need for a new Joker.
What Mark Hamill Brought As The Joker
During the Vulture interview, Mark claimed that he wasn't sure The Joker was for him. Mostly because he didn't want to follow in the footsteps of Cesar Romero or Jack Nicholson. He'd rather re-interpret a lesser villain such as Two-Face of Clayface. He even thought that his reputation as the heroic Luke Skywalker would prevent him from landing the role as arguably the most famous comic book villain.
But Mark blew the producers away in the audition.
Paul Dini even said, "I remember listening to his audition, and when he did the laugh, I said, “That’s it. That’s just it.” The laugh was cruel, it was funny, there was an undercurrent of terrible sadness to it. It was a laugh from a destroyed soul."
Among the many influences, Mark Hamill credits for his interpretation of The Joker is Mozart, Dwight Frye, and Sydney Greenstreet.
"It was just like, Hallelujah! Who knew that Luke Skywalker would be our perfect Joker?" Bruce Timm said.
While Mark Hamill's done many fantastic performances as The Joker because of 'Batman: The Animated Series', there's no doubt that his rich interpretation on that original series set the bar really high.