Mark Interviews 2000+

Hamill sinks his teeth into 'Balto II' role

Twenty-five years after STAR WARS made its sensational debut, you might think that the Force wasn't with Mark Hamill so much as it was with his co-stars Harrison Ford, who became a superstar, and Carrie Fisher, who made a splash with her writing career.

But then, that's only if you define the Force as fame. The actor best known as Luke Skywalker may have kept a lower profile than the others, but he seems to be happy nonetheless.

Mr. Hamill, who voices an angry wolf in Balto II - Wolf Quest, a direct-to-video sequel coming out Tuesday, has been married for 22 years and is the father of three (ages 13, 17 and 22).

In the years since the first STAR WARS trilogy he has thrown himself into the world of Broadway (Amadeus, The Elephant Man and others), CD-ROM action games (Wing Commander) and voiceover animation.

Since 1992, he's been voicing the Joker for The Adventures of Batman and Robin, followed by Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and loving it. He's also done voices on Pinky and the Brain, Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and The Simpsons.

"I love the selflessness of voice acting," he says, intermittently going from masterfully manic to deliciously sinister voices. "When I first started doing the Joker, I felt I'd never been this creatively satisfied, playing a psycho who could be cordial and courtly Noel Coward-smooth one minute and pulling at the roots of his hair the next. I was shocked at how fulfilling it is. It's a revelation."

What he liked about Balto II, in contrast, was its theme of self-acceptance. Balto's daughter is at first horrified and angry to find out that she's part wolf and that humans are not keen to adopt her. Later she learns to take pride in her heritage.

Mr. Hamill says he's into the animated medium, and is currently trying to develop his own movie. In the meantime, he has a sound set-up in his basement that allows him to do his voiceovers from home. He loves the convenience and ease of walking downstairs wearing whatever while he works.

Mr. Hamill, 50 now, doesn't mind talking about his STAR WARS movies. He says he still gets mail addressed to Luke in a Galaxy Far Far Away; the postman knows where to bring it. And he has cool memories of filming false footage so that no one would know that Darth Vader was Luke's father until the second movie came out.

"But I'm always more excited about the project I'm working on now than in strolling down memory lane," he says. And that's why he keeps his son, Nathan, by his side when answering e-mail questions about the movies. Nathan, who works with the company of Matt Groening (of The Simpsons fame) is the family archivist; he knows details about the films that his dad either forgot or never knew.

"Family is more important than career. I feel I am so lucky," Mr. Hamill says.

Oscar nods

Mr. Hamill says he's encouraged that Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius (from Irving-based DNA Productions) received one of the three coveted nominations for the best animated films in this year's brand-new category. He was surprised, like many others, that Waking Life didn't get a nod. But he's delighted, he says, because Jimmy Neutron shows you can make it without celebrity voices as opposed to its star-driven fellow nominees, Shrek and Monsters, Inc.

Mr. Hamill says he doesn't consider his a celebrity voice.

The Dallas Morning News, February 19, 2002