Mark Hamill is certainly one of my favorite actors to ever play the Joker, but the one time he got to play the character in live-action was seriously underwhelming. Obviously, many people may recognize Mark Hamill best for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, but he is also one of the most prolific and talented voice actors of the last half century. However, rather than voicing heroes like Luke, Hamill leans more into his darker side and often plays the villain.
Hamill first began voicing the Joker all the way back in 1992, long before the DCU, alongside Kevin Conroy who voiced Batman, for Batman: The Animated series. Throughout the shows run, both actors became the iconic voices attached to these characters within the DC Animated Universe, but their talents were only rarely brought into live action settings. While both actors had the chance to play their alter egos on just one occasion, Hamill’s casting was significantly less involved than Conroy’s cameo in the Batwoman series.
Mark Hamill Played The Joker In Live-Action In 2002’s Birds Of Prey
Mark Hamill’s Live-Action Joker Debut Was A Joke
Hamill was only ever cast to play the Joker in one live-action project, Birds of Prey, back in 2002. And if you’ve never heard of it before, you’d be forgiven, because the show was generally panned, and it was canceled after just one season. In the context of the show, a team of three heroes, Huntress, Oracle, and Black Canary join forces to bring down the evil Harley Quinn. The show puts Harley Quinn in as the central villain rather than the Joker, but in one brief scene, the Joker does appear in a hazy memory of Barbara Gordon when he shoots and paralyzes her.
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The scene is somewhat jarring, because it’s clear that the actor that appears on-screen is not the source of the voice. They don’t look like Mark Hamill, and even in the blurry focus, the movements of their lips appear considerably less animated, with no expression to match the dialogue being spoken. The reason behind this clear gap between the voice and the face is that it was never Hamill in the first place. Instead, they cast another man, Roger Stoneburner, in his place, and left them 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 thing was, Mark Hamill was already over 50 years old at the time of this recording. That being said, since the show chose to shift the focus to Harley Quinn as the main rival, it is odd that they couldn’t include an older Joker. Batman is also referenced in the show, but never makes an on-screen appearance, so presumably, both of these characters could have been written out of the story as having retired, and passing the torch down 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 the voice and the face is that it was never Hamill in the first place.
It’s hard to say what could have been if the show was allowed to continue into a season 2, with more of the familiar faces from Gotham and the comics integrated into the series. Potentially, at that point, they would have brought Joker in for a larger part, but it seems unlikely that they would have brought Hamill in at this point. Instead, it is possible that they could have brought Stoneburner back to take over the role in both appearance and voice. But the fact that Hamill’s considerable talents were wasted in such a way is genuinely upsetting and makes me mourn a version of the Joker that will never get a chance to shine.
I Think Birds Of Prey Was A Missed Opportunity To Have Mark Hamill Play The Joker
Mark Hamill Had Long Been Established As An Iconic Joker
The reality is Hamill is an extraordinary talent, and when he was 50, he was still performing in live-action roles. Hamill appeared in a cameo role for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001, and made a guest appearance for an episode of V.I.P. that same year. However, the best example of a show that proves he was up to the task even at 50 was Hamilton. No, not the musical, but a 2001 TV miniseries starring Peter Stormere, where Hamill played the villain, Hawkins. Hamill puts on a spectacular performance, and showcases just how capable he is a tackling a role as the villain in live-action.
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With this in mind, as well as work he had earlier in his career such as the 1991 series of The Flash, where Hamill played the Trickster in the Arrowverse, he could have easily tackled the role for Birds of Prey and delivered one of the most captivating performances as the villain of all time. Clearly, the creatives of the show believed he was the right voice for the character, so why not take that leap of faith just a little further and put him in the hot seat. But instead, the show tried to play it safe, and missed out on having one of the greatest talents of all time bring an iconic character he was already tied to, to life.
The Closest We Got To A Live-Action Mark Hamill Joker Was In The Arrowverse
Trickster Is A Similar Character To The Joker In DC
As mentioned above, Hamill did get the opportunity to play another character who had some obvious traits in common for DC. In 1991, Hamill was cast as the mischievous Trickster in The Flash, where he was able to make liberal use of his iconic villain’s laugh. The Trickster is essentially the Flash’s version of the Joker. A wild and unpredictable rival who enjoys practical jokes, donning a clown-like costume, and causing havoc and chaos as he sets off explosions and tries to kill his rival. However, the Trickster does not wear make-up, and his origins are more clearly defined than the Joker’s.
Mark Hamill played the original version of this character, aka James Jesse, who used to work in a family circus. However, his brilliant mind for inventing led him to create extraordinary tech that led him to leave the circus and focus on other pursuits. And so, Hamill was cast in this role not only in 1991, but when the Arrowverse The Flash came out, he returned as The Trickster for multiple episodes between 2015 and 2016. Ultimately, while it wasn’t the Joker, Mark Hamill is unlikely to be cast as the character in live-action now that he’s pushing 75, so Trickster is as close as we are ever going to get.