Mark Hamill (born in Oakland, California on September 25, 1951) is an actor and voice actor, best known for his portrayal of farmboy-turned-Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars films. Hamill's film career since Star Wars has been mostly connected to lower-budget science fiction movies that went straight to video, but he has been successful on Broadway, as a voice actor in animation and video games, and as a comic book creator.
Biography
In January 11, 1977, a day before he was set to shoot one of the final scenes needed for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Hamill was involved in a car accident that caused substantial damage to his face. A double was used for the scene of Luke racing across the desert in his landspeeder while Mark was hospitalized. Supposedly, he was told by his surgeons that although facial reconstruction surgery could save his career in the short term, it would have only temporary results. Over time, the scarring would become increasingly visible, and he would have to rethink his acting career.
In an A&E Network Biography special, "Mark Hamill: A Force to Be Reckoned With," the auto accident and its consequences are recounted by Mark's family.
As a result of this scarring, Hamill wore an extensive amount of facial makeup when he reprised his role as Luke for The Star Wars Holiday Special, which was released in 1978. An in-universe explanation for his scarring was developed for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is mauled by a Wampa.
Hamill married Marilou York in the same year; they have three children - Nathan Elias, Griffin Tobias and Chelsea Elizabeth. Mark Hamill is also the co-writer of The Black Pearl, a comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics.
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Trivia
- Mark Hamill has also provided the voice acting for several animated characters in the past decade such as The Joker on Batman: The Animated Series & Justice League, Skeleton King on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go, Undergrowth on Danny Phantom and Hobgoblin on Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
- George Lucas once asked Mark Hamill if he would be interested in reprising the role of Luke as an Obi-Wan type character who passes on the torch to the next generation of Jedi Knights in a Star Wars sequel trilogy (episodes 7-9) and that it would be made around 2011. Lucas recently dismissed it as nothing more than an off-hand comment.
Work in Star Wars
Hamill voiced co-star Harrison Ford in the 2005 Robot Chicken episode "Plastic Buffet", in which he also voiced himself. He performed a number of voices for Avatar: The Last Airbender, for which Star Wars: The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni served as director and writer. Hamill also played the villain "Cocknocker" in the 2001 Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which was made in cooperation with Lucasfilm.[1] The film makes multiple references to Star Wars, including the title itself, a cameo by Carrie Fisher, and a lightsaber battle of sorts between Hamill's character and the title characters.
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