VO Behind The Scenes: When Luke Skywalker Meets The Joker
I recently stumbled across a terrific little interview with Mark Hamill about voicing The Joker in a new video game on the pop culture website Geek Chic Daily. I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting Mark Hamill in person and taking to him about voice overs (of which he’s developed a fantastic career in), and he’s a really personable and funny guy with an incredible talent for character voices and impressions. I thought it would be fun to share their interview with you so you could read about the differences between animation and video game voice acting.
Q: You’ve done the Joker’s voice in numerous animated incarnations including this year’s Arkham Asylum video game. Is that type of recording much different than a regular cartoon?
Mark Hamill: Yes and no. It’s different because you’re making all these small little jigsaw puzzle pieces to put into the memory of the game. It could be very schizophrenic in terms of its consistency. In this particular case, since it wasn’t based on the animated Batman and they weren’t so concerned with the youthful audience, you could make him much more dark and brutal.
Q: Have you ever used your Joker voice when telemarketers call?
Hamill: [Laughs] You know, that’s not a bad idea. I’m real self-conscious about doing it [in person] because it’s like you’re a magician’s assistant and it doesn’t look right coming out of my face. It’s tough because little kids wanna hear it so usually I say, “Well, close your eyes!” or “Turn your back!” And kids, being the trusting young souls they are, immediately comply.
GCD: And then you dump a bucket of water on them.
Hamill: [Laughs] No, but you give them just enough Joker to prove that it really is you because it works much better in your mind than it does in front of your eyes.
As a special bonus, here’s a video interview with Hamill discussing his work voicing The Joker!
This entry was posted in VO Behind the Scenes. Bookmark the permalink.
Great game, great cartoon and Luke Skywalker to boot. I keep finding out more ways he influenced my childhood. He’s definitely a role model for me.
And a good one at that, Ray! Mr. Hamill has done so many different kinds of acting and creative projects: on-camera, voice acting, writing, producing, movies, TV, video games, animation. It goes to show that you can branch out from the things you’re best known for and really develop yourself creatively when you put your mind to it. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Batman: The Animated Series was one of my favorite shows growing up. Of course, one of the best parts was waiting until the end to look at the voice acting credits! Some great names were on that show: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roddy MacDowall, Adrienne Barbeau and even songwriter Paul Williams. It’s great to hear about Mark’s inspiration for his trademark laugh!