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It cannot be denied Mark Hamill He will always be considered among the best actors to have portrayed the Joker, having voiced the Clown Prince of Crime in a variety of projects over the past three decades. However, the casting might never have happened if Hamill hadn’t been inspired by Tim Burton’s first casting. Michael Keaton Like bruce wayne for a pair of Batman films in previous years. These days, it’s clear that Keaton is also among the most popular Batman actors, and he’ll be reprising that role in the sequel the light this summer.
But even Keaton’s casting wasn’t without controversy when it was first announced. Speaking about his casting as the Joker with WIRED, Hamill explained how he was able to head into his audition to voice the Joker for Batman: The Animated Series With great confidence precisely because of the initial complaints about Keaton’s choice Batman. This allowed Hamill to learn to ignore any naysayers heading into the Test and instead focus on putting in a great performance. As Hamill explains when asked how he got the role of the Joker:
“I just read for it. I had such a confidence that it really helped me, because there was such a big shout out that Michael Keaton was going to play Batman.” Oh, he’s Mr. Mom, he’s a comedian. I mean, they haven’t even seen him [in the role] They didn’t realize how great it would be. But there was a lot of controversy.”
This allowed Hamill to give a test that he was very happy about when he read to the Joker. However, he also felt convinced that the producers might still pass him on, no matter how awesome the audition. It also meant that Hamill had no worries before and during the audition, though he says it all came about pretty quickly once he knew he had already been chosen for the part.
“When I entered [for the Joker role]I thought, “You think they’re going to hire Luke Skywalker to play the Joker?” Fans will lose their minds! I was so sure I wouldn’t get to be cast. I was totally relieved. A lot of times there’s performance anxiety because you want the part, and that’s when I knew I couldn’t get the part, so, who cares? I walked out of the parking lot thinking , “That’s the best joker they’ve ever heard, and it’s too bad they can’t throw me.” And as soon as they cast me, he reversed it. I was like, “Oh no, I can’t do this!”
Mark Hamill had a lot of fun voicing the Joker
Hamill has since suggested that he finished voicing the Joker after Kevin Conroy’s death. Since Conroy has voiced Batman alongside Hamill’s Joker in several projects, Hamill has said it wouldn’t feel right to continue in the role with another Batman. Having said that, Hamill also reflects on his career as the Joker in a WIRED interview, mentioning the Clown Prince of Crime as one of his favorite roles.
“It’s really one of my favorite characters, because he’s crazy, and because he’s crazy, he never gets bored. It’s fun playing a character who creates chaos everywhere he goes.”
Catch Keaton reverting to the role of Batman when the light It hits theaters on June 16, 2023.
