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Holy Moley! Mark Hamill Was a Live-Action Joker—And Nobody Remembers!
Mark Hamill is synonymous with the Joker. His iconic voice work in Batman: The Animated Series defined a generation's Joker and his voice continues to impress across animation and multiple other shows such as Justice League and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. He’s so iconic, many think of him AS the voice of the Joker, even over other actors that also portray this role within various live action appearances such as Heath Ledger's classic portrayal. Yet there is something missing; an aspect of his performance and his career rarely noted and remembered, that is; Mark Hamill's singular live-action portrayal!
A significant gap exists between live-action Jokers— Jack Nicholson's take (1989) andHeath Ledger's iconic role (2008). And sandwiched in this period between classic Jokers, you get Mark Hamill–yet few actually remember him! We delve into the surprising story.
Birds of Prey (a short-lived DC series from 2002-2003), featured a small but incredibly significant role which shows this extremely surprising aspect of Mark Hamill’s portrayal of a key villain: This short series brought several DC heroines (Helena Kyle/Huntress,Barbra Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle,andDinah Redmond/Black Canary) together; working with other heroes Alfred Pennyworth andDetective Jesse Reese. And while Harley Quinn acted as the central antagonist in most instances; this story arc included another key character in a minor role, the one that everybody remembers— theJoker. This show included one key scene – it's where Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her (the role itself acted byRoger Stoneburner)! However, who was this memorable voice providing one amazing line: "Knock knock… who's there? Batgirl. Past tense,"? That maniacal laugh is definitely his!
(Note:Ashley Scott, who playedHelena KyleinBirds of Prey, later showed up in that amazing crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths in The Arrowverse.) This role itself deserves greater recognition but has largely been forgotten by the very community in which those very key actors should be better recognized and admired; highlighting one of the reasons why there should be greater coverage of more minor roles in television. This very short but noteworthy appearance should be remembered by all audiences of Birds of Prey.
Mark Hamill himself mentions that not getting credit for performing that key part for his Joker role was totally “unfair” via an entry in the platform X. This might have simply been a simple choice due to using an older voice actor for the role which creates problems for using the character again. They may not have anticipated these issues before having produced this now relatively famous short show! They used a younger actor (Stoneburner), who then had their existing lines dubbed over by Hamill! Given that it was around2002,this makes sense—Hamill was around fifty; his voice becoming increasingly recognized at this point in time; that choice becomes rather unsurprising. Even now his portrayal ofTricksteron The CW’sThe Flashis described by some as “theJokerwithout the makeup”–and a noteworthy role that only further cementsHamill’slong history with playing these very morally ambiguous roles. This explains some important parts that explain why a character rarely reappears and is not often reprised, creating yet more intrigue surrounding its unique existence.
There might be difficulties for havingHamillreprise the role; despite how immensely demanded the role actually is— he’s now73, and followingKevin Conroy’s death,Hamillretired from voice acting in animated productions.
Mark Hamill's live-actionJokeris one of those surprisingly cool moments fromBirds of Prey. Many never realized he actually was even present, yet despite those incredibly fleeting scenes; it's amazing and highly unexpected; showing those extremely significant choices made even during those minor roles that only show themselves on review of the complete work produced! That unexpectedness and unexpected brilliance is worth noting: that he did portray theJokerand his relatively short appearance adds further intrigue! Many should learn about this; making Mark Hamill’s live-action contributions more noteworthy; showcasing just how versatile and amazing this multi-talented actor truly is and just how long and diverse this actor's career really is!