Plenty of people have been identified with The Joker role over the years, from Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger to Cesar Romero and Joaquin Phoenix.
But when it comes to the sound of The Joker, no one is more identifiable in the role than Mark Hamill’s celebrated turn as the voice of Batman’s arch nemesis.
Hamill originally played the role in the iconic “Batman: The Animated Series” from 1992-1995, reprising the role in various other works, such as the “Batman: Arkham” games, multiple times since.
In a recent Wired video interview, Hamill was asked how he was cast as the role and revealed that one of the reasons was due to the very public backlash over Michael Keaton’s casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” film.
That backlash over a comedy actor playing a ‘serious’ role led to Hamill walking into his audition believing he wouldn’t get the part, which allowed him to really go for it:
“I just read for it. I had confidence that really helped me because there was this big outcry that Michael Keaton was gonna play Batman. ‘Oh, he’s Mr. Mom, he’s a comedy actor.’ I mean, they hadn’t even seen him [in the role] and they didn’t realize how great he would become. But, there was great controversy.
When I went in [for the Joker role], I thought, ‘You think they’re gonna hire Luke Skywalker to play the Joker? The fans will lose their minds!
I was so sure that I couldn’t be cast. I was completely relaxed. A lot of times, there’s performance anxiety because you want the part. Here I knew I couldn’t get the part, so who cares?
I drove out of the parking lot thinking, ‘That’s the best Joker they’ll ever hear, and it’s too bad they can’t cast me.’ And as soon as they did cast me, it reversed. I was like, ‘Oh no, I can’t do this!'”
Hamill adds the Joker role remains one of his favorite characters to play because he’s insane and “he’s never boring”. Hamill has previously indicated he’s now fully retired from the role in the wake of Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy’s passing last November.
