Mark Hamill

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 8:20am

One of the most typecast ever, always lumbered with that Star Wars tag, but I believed he tried to break out by doing a couple of Broadway plays: Amadeus and The Elephant Man.

Was anyone lucky enough to see him? Does anyone remember his critical reception?

[Patronus]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 8:32am

I'm a total geek who loves Star Wars as much as anyone, but I have to say that when I think of Mark Hamill I think of the voice of the Joker before I think of Luke Skywalker.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 8:33am

Yeah, he pretty much has redefined his career by doing voice acting (particularly the Joker, whose voice he's been doing in various incarnations since the 90s).

[The Other One]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 9:26am

I saw him in the flop musical HARRIGAN 'N HART, opposite Harry Groener and Christine Ebersole, and he was excellent. He certainly held his own with his co-stars. The fault there was with the material.

I believe he was also in THE NERD and, more recently, SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS. People are always quick to point out the shortcomings of Hollywood stars on Broadway, but I don't remember anyone complaining about Hamill in anything. At worst, judging by the way he's consistently been cast, there's a touch of second best about him.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 1:38pm

^Bless you for bringing up HARRIGAN 'N HART! I have fond sad memories of working on that show-- misguided venture, but terrific cast (including an adorable Armelia McQueen) centering on the talented if miscast Mark Hamill who was an utter gentleman and sweetheart. Wonder if they ever recorded the score?

Updated On: 4/28/13 at 01:38 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 1:49pm

I've said for years that Hamill's distinctive character voice, which he has used as The Joker most famously but dozens of other characters over the years, would have been PERFECT as Thenardier in Les Miserables.

Unfortunately, the peculiar vocal qualities of that voice have led him to retire that characterization, claiming vocal strain.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 2:58pm

Definitely the best Joker of all time, by miles.

And a wonderful old-fashioned character actor. It's a shame that Star Wars put him in such a crappy, bland box even as it made him famous. I hope he comes back to Broadway someday. He is known to be a musical theatre geek.

Updated On: 4/28/13 at 02:58 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 3:40pm

Whether or not he still has his "famous voice," he's one of my top fantasy-casting choices for the titular lead in the show I am writing at the moment.

[bethnor]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 4:45pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng0BN6yNGtI

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 4:51pm

I saw him in The Nerd. He was fine, even if the play didn't come out of the top drawer.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 5:13pm

I don't mean this in a morbid way, but I think one of the best things to happen to Mark Hamill's career was his near-death motorcycle accident. At the time, it was horrifying. His face was seriously disfigured, which can mean the kiss of death to any actor. Instead, Lucas stuck by him faithfully, and wrote the scarring into the script for The Empire Strikes Back.

But Mark was just at the beginning of what was (potentially) a leading man career. Although he was short of stature, his perfect features were "dreamy" at the very least. That was all erased with the accident.

Instead of throwing in the towel, Mark had a good steady job (arguably the best for any actor in the business back then), but he decided to reinvent himself as a character actor. He relied on talent, creative risks, training in theatre, and a smart sense of what to do and not to do. While he may not have had that "stellar" career that was his for the taking after Star Wars, he has worked solidly in interesting projects ever since.

I'm hugely impressed with how he kept going, and looking back now, post-1977, he's done so well.

He's a damn good actor, and hope whoever is writing the script for the new Star Wars films gives him something good to chew on, along with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. I'm glad they're game for appearing in the films, I hope the current creative crop can rise to THEIR occasion and do right by them. If so, Mark Hamill and his comrades are in for another great ride on the big screen.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/28/13 at 5:30pm

I forgot he was in Harrigan and Hart.

[once a month]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 8:07am

One day he was running very late for The Nerd...and as he was running up 8th Avenue, he barreled right into me. Such a tiny man, I didn't get knocked over or hurt as he apologized and bolted for the theatre.