Michael Keaton inspired Mark Hamill to audition for the Joker
Although Mark Hamill is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series, he also received significant acclaim for voicing the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series between 1992 and 1995.
However, Hamill has revealed that he was initially hesitant to audition until he saw how Michael Keaton overcame the backlash and received praise for playing Batman in the 1989 film.
In an interview with Wired, he explained, “I just read for it. I had a 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.”
He continued: “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!’ 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?”
Hamill added: “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 discussed his love for playing the Joker “because he’s insane, and because he’s insane, he’s never boring. It’s just fun to play a character who creates chaos everywhere he goes.”
Watch the full interview below.
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