Mark Richard Hamill was born in Oakland, California, on September 25, 1951. He is an American film, television, voice actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, winning three Saturn Awards. In addition, he is a prolific voice actor who has played characters in a lot of animated television series, movies, and video games, including the antagonist in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
To be a voice actor, you must know how to convey emotions, have a certain sensitivity, the ability to change acting register, a sense of meter, and a good memory. These are the essential characteristics of a voice actor, and Mark Hamill knew how to use all these features to take his spot as a very recognized voice actor.
Mark Hamill in Avatar Was Amazing
Let’s put in perspective, for a moment, an actor playing a character during all the chapters of a series. Don’t you think it is difficult to imitate a character with your voice while the character remains credible throughout his appearances?
As you can see, in these cases, the level of professionalism and difficulty is quite high. That’s why actors like Mark Hamill achieve this only in movies where their characters don’t have so many dialogues but also in long series where the character recites dialogues constantly.
Having just a nice voice is not synonymous with being a good voice actor; having a good tool and not knowing how to use it is like having a good voice and being a bad interpreter. That is why it is important to develop the interpretation: an interpretation that is believable to the ear that accompanies the story, the movement, and the character’s psychology.
Mark Hamill has been able to bring to life diverse characters that have something in common; most of them, for some reason, are villains.
Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its fanfare cannot be talked about without considering the complex villains that the franchise showed to viewers. Not many villains are generally accepted by fans; especially as most of them are just evil with no character development whatsoever.
But with ATLA, the villains were grounded in a simple reality; one that fans could relate to. It ultimately made the show one of the best-written series of all time. One of the most widely accepted villains in the series is Mark Hamill Ozai.
We can all remember Mark Hamill for quite a number of roles; particularly the one as the savior of the galaxy when he was Luke Skywalker. Fans of the Star Wars franchise will remember that Darth Vader may have wanted to turn Luke to the Dark Side. While it did not happen in the Return of The Jedi; we got to see what could have been with Mark Hamill Ozai. That’s not the only time Hamill has been a villain, however; as he has donned the cloak of evil quite a number of times after.
The number of times he has been a baddie is quite surprising; seeing as he was such a force for good as the ever-positive Luke Skywalker. Maybe his turn at evil was a bid to balance the world. That’s not important though. What IS important is this list of times where Mark Hamill Ozai where he turned to the Dark Side.
Mark Hamill Ozai Voiced The Joker In Batman: The Animated Series, and the DC Animated Universe
For decades, DC’s attempt at animating its characters has been filled with much acceptance and fanfare. The Batman: Animated series was definitely one of the highlights of this project; with intricate storylines and well-rounded characters.
But one of the most important parts that fans loved was the depiction of the Joker; not just in Batman the animated series, but also in the DC Animated Universe movies. This success can be attributed to none other than Mark Hamill Ozai; who brought the Joker to life through stellar voice acting.
And really, who can forget that freaky laugh of the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series?. His way of delivering tense dialogue was in perfect contrast to whatever atrocities he was committing on screen. This helped to accentuate the already psychotic demeanor associated with the character.
Mark Hamill Ozai’s turn as the Joker is perhaps the most memorable of the animated Jokers; so much that he played the role for over 10 years. He even went on to menace the Justice League as the Joker in the animated series of the same name (set in the same universe), taking them all on with his Royal Flush Gang.
So good was his depiction, that many members of the fanbase have compared his voice acting; to the perfect real-life portrayals of other actors – even though much of it was off-screen.
He Played The Trickster In Both The 1990 & 2014 series of DC’s The Flash
Any serious fan would be either familiar with the original 1990 series for the Flash; or the CW’s superhero drama The Flash that has aired since 2014. While decades apart, both shows have had several connections, from plotlines to actors. One of the latter is Mark Hamill Ozai, who portrayed the Trickster in the 1990 series and reprised his role in the 2014 series.
In playing another DC villain, the Trickster; Mark Hamill Ozai is a sort of Joker; just in a watered-down form. You could say he was rehashing the role; but where other actors would have just been putting a shift at work, for Hamill it is serious.
That’s why it is so cool that he was able to play the two different live-action versions of the same villain — battling The Flash in 1990, and in the modern-day series. Not many actors can lay claim to playing the same character in two different TV series, and still body it like Mark Hamill Ozai
Mark Hamill Ozai Was Also Darth Bane In Star Wars: The Clone Wars
You could say Luke Skywalker never heeded his father’s calling and turned to the Dark Side; but it would be inaccurate to say that Mark Hamill Ozai did not dine with the forces of evil in the Star Wars franchise. He actually did, in his portrayal of the evil Sith Lord, Darth Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In this role, we finally get to see Mark Hamill Ozai literally voice the Dark Side. The Clone Wars animated series involves a plot with the ghost of Darth Bane. If that name does not ring any bells; well, he is the Sith Lord who mandated that there can only ever be two Sith Lords in existence.
Prior to his ruling, there could be more than two Sith Lords roaming around the galaxy, and his rule came to be known as the Rule of Two. Wherever evil Sith Lord souls go, Darth Vader would have been happy to know that his son by proxy did turn to the Dark Side; even if it happened technically in a galaxy and at a time long ago.
Mark Hamill in Avatar and Some Other Roles Played
- Alvin the Treacherous (DreamWorks Dragons): Spending the first season wanting to displace Stoick, this Viking was finally able to make peace with the commune, learning to control dragons in the process.
- The Malevolent Entity (Adventure Time): Mark Hamill did several voices in the show, though possibly the most memorable is that of the malevolent entity who wants Finn to kill a friendly ant in the episode The Enchiridion!
- Stickybeard (Codename: Kids Next Door): Candy pirates were a regular problem for The Neighborhood Kids, more so with a leader as hungry as Stickybeard.
- Von Nebula (LEGO Hero Factory): Let’s just say this show isn’t very entertaining, but Mark Hamill shows he is made for making priceless baddies, adding Von Nebula to his long track record.
- Ricochet Rabbit (Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law): Ricochet was, after all, a pretty destructive character. Attorney Harvey tried to defend him, but chaos was inevitable.
- Arnim Zola and more (Ultimate Spider-Man): Lots and lots of celebrities participate in this show, so Mark Hamill couldn’t miss it, playing villains ranging from Zola to Nightmare, and characters like the dragon Shou-Lao.
- Darth Bane (The Clone Wars): An evil spirit from times of yore, Bane makes his appearance in the show as a vision of Yoda on the Sith planet Moraband.
- Luke Skywalker (Robot Chicken): We couldn’t miss the opportunity to mention the actor’s repeated appearances as his famous character in this sitcom. At times he also played Harrison Ford and Chucky.
- Senator Stampington (Metalocalypse): Stampington appears frequently to inform the Tribunal of what Dethklok is doing. Mark Hamill also voices several members of the Tribunal itself.
- Skips (Regular Show): This yeti is an entertaining part of the show, even if he has his tragic story behind him. Mark Hamill provides voices for extra characters in the show as well.
- Larry 3000 (Time Squad): Not many remember this hilarious cartoon, but those who do surely have in mind the dashing Larry, his accents, and amusing personality.
- Bad Cat (The Powerpuff Girls): Remember the cartoon episode where the girls rescue a kitten, only to discover that this is the real villain? Well, that feline was Mark Hamill.
- Joker (different Batman series): Mark Hamill’s first official credit as the Joker is in Batman: The Animated Series, an iconic role that he reprised throughout the character’s history, including the future film The Killing Joke.
- Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender): Could we have a worse bad guy than Ozai? Hamill didn’t need to make him sound unhinged to be villainous, the character’s actions spoke for themselves.
No One Would Guesss Mark Hamill in Avatar Would Be Done So Well
Villains must be very striking, having much to do with the appearance; what stands out, differentiates, and stands out from the other villains is the personality and character that this one possesses, unique to the character and that can only be seen in him. Whether erratic and intelligent or brutal, you have to have the perfect mix of characteristics to form a being of terror for series.
Of course, a villain is only as interesting as his dynamic with the protagonist, and one of the things that make their relationship genuinely deep is the contrasts that can be seen in their actions. In Ozai’s case, all of these factors are fulfilled.
Even though the fire lord’s appearances were rather sparse during the series than Azula and Zuko, no one can question Mark Hamill’s performance playing the Fire Nation’s ruler. And how the legend of Aang presents the story makes the main antagonist somehow neither Zuko nor Azula nor Ozai himself. The real antagonist in the legend of Aang is war, which has been destroying the balance of the world and corrupting all its inhabitants for 100 years. So it is no wonder that Ozai is shown to be so evil as the heir to this war.
Thus ends the story of Ozai, heir to a war he inevitably lost, a truly diabolical villain, a heartless genocide, a villain who made the bravest tremble only to end up imprisoned and die of old age. Mark Hamill will always be remembered for his flawless performance in this great series.