Mark Hamill didn’t plan on having such an active year.
In January, the actor lost his home in the Palisades fires and was forced to relocate with his family. Just months later, the 74-year-old actor found himself promoting three major studio projects: Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming fantasy drama “The Life of Chuck” (streaming Dec. 26 on Hulu), the adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” and now “The SpongeBob Movie: Searching for SquarePants,” in which Hamill voices the ghoulish Flying Dutchman.
“You can’t really control it, but this was a really, really active year,” Hamill tells Variety. “I don’t have anything lined up, so maybe next year won’t be so active.”
Hamill weighed the idea of retirement after reprising Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, wanting to hang up his cape while the going was still good. “As much as an actor appreciates a good entrance,” he says, “you want to find a way to end your career in a way where you can hold your head high.”
That outlook shifted when Mike Flanagan offered him a part in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which reignited his excitement for the craft. “It was a character part that would’ve been routine in voiceover,” Hamill said. “In voiceover, they don’t care what you look like, so you’re going to play many roles you’d never get on camera. They cast with their ears, not their eyes.”
Now firmly in his third act, voice acting has allowed Hamill to keep playing those juicy roles untethered from age or physicality. But as AI reshapes Hollywood, he remains wary of how his legacy — especially in future Disney’s “Star Wars” projects — will live on. “It’s hard to predict the future,” Hamill says, “but I may have to ask my family if they want me in a Star Wars movie 30 years from now after I’m gone.”
With Variety, Hamill discusses his approach to the Flying Dutchman, moving on from “Star Wars,” and why he quit Facebook.
You’ve had quite the year.
Yeah. When it rains, it pours.
How are you reflecting on the year as a whole? The Palisades fire in January, all these big movies — it’s been a lot of ups and downs.
It’s remarkable. I’m in the business of escapism, and if I can take people’s minds off the horrible headlines — especially for those affected by the fires — then I’ve done my job. A lot of things are unexpected. I did a show years ago called “Regular Show.” It has a cult following, but it ran for eight seasons. I’ve never been on a show that comes back. We did 40 new episodes, and they want to do 40 more.
Before “The SpongeBob Movie” starts, there’s this five-minute “Ninja Turtles” short that plays. Did you see it?
I did.
It pokes fun at society’s over-reliance on ChatGPT. Has it been unsettling seeing AI-generated videos of you or Luke Skywalker? I saw one the other week of Luke talking to Ben Kenobi’s Force Ghost and couldn’t believe how realistic it looked.
I haven’t seen that. Is it live-action or animated?
It’s live-action. It plays like a deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi.”
Gee, I haven’t seen that. It’s one of those things where there’s a disconnect between the fan world and myself, in the sense that every actor does the job, and when the job is completed, they move on to the next project. They don’t really hang on to it. And yet, “Star Wars” is such a vital ongoing franchise. [Disney] is doing really well, and obviously, they’ve done more material since I left. But I had my time. Now I’m just a fan. I love “Rogue One,” “Mandalorian,” “Andor.” They’re doing great without me.
Disney has a new partnership with OpenAI, where fans will now be able to generate short videos using characters from the “Star Wars” universe. How does that sit with you?
It’s fascinating to see it develop, and I’m also apprehensive about how it will be used. The story of the AI-generated actress that got signed by a major agency is mind-boggling. Is she going to stay 33, or whatever her age is, forever? It’s obviously hard to predict the future, but I guess I’m gonna have to talk to my family about if they want me to be in a “Star Wars” movie 30 years from now after I’m gone.
It’s cool to hear you lend your voice to The Flying Dutchman. How did you approach that iconic laugh, especially given comparisons to the Joker?
When I accepted the offer to be the Flying Dutchman, I thought it was a new character created just for this movie. I start to do my homework, and it’s a character that’s been done for years by Brian Doyle-Murray. I’ve been a fan of his since “Saturday Night Live.” I loved him on Chris Elliott’s show “Get a Life.” He’s just terrific. But I was too intimidated to listen to what he had done. I thought I’d better do my version, and I’ll listen to his later. With a character like a ghost pirate in the world of “SpongeBob,” you can go as big as you want. It’s like children’s theater. There is no too big.
In terms of the Joker, when you’re in the head of the character, I didn’t see the parallels. Now that I’m sort of distanced from it, I can see how people find comparisons between the two. I love both characters in different ways, and they’re both fun to play.
Certain actors choose the route of retirement, but you’ve stayed incredibly active. Do you think you could retire?
A few years ago, I started thinking, “I’ve done a lot, maybe it’s time to make a dignified exit.” As much as an actor appreciates a good entrance, you want to find a way to end your career in a way where you can hold your head high. The real turning point for me was meeting Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan about “The Fall of the House of Usher.” That made me excited about performing again because it was a character part that would’ve been routine in voiceover. In voiceover, they don’t care what you look like, so you’re going to play many roles you’d never get on camera. They cast with their ears, not their eyes.
You can’t really control it, but this was a really, really active year. I don’t have anything lined up, so maybe next year won’t be so active. When you’re in your 20s and 30s, it’s hard to think of yourself in your 50s and 60s, but I certainly didn’t think I’d be on camera as long as I’ve been.
Are there any dreams you haven’t achieved yet?
I wanted to go to Broadway, I did that. I’ve wanted to do animation ever since I found out that people did animated voices. In grade school, I saw Clarence Nash do Donald Duck on a Walt Disney show, and I really zeroed in on all my favorite shows. I learned who Mel Blanc was. I loved “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” I’d go to the record stores to look at the back of the record albums to write down the names of the actors — because we didn’t have the internet, you couldn’t Google it. It was something I aspired to.
It’s a very unique job, and doing the Flying Dutchman is one of the reasons I love being an actor. And the fact that I got to play it in live-action segments. I mean, it was crazy fun. If people have even a fraction of the good time that I’m having doing this character, they’re in for the time of their lives.
They say in the movie that SpongeBob has the purest heart of an innocent. Before SpongeBob, that was Luke Skywalker for a lot of people. What gravitates you towards these optimistic characters?
I never forget the fact that we are in the business of escapism. These are troubled times. The movie is therapeutic in that regard. You go to something like “The SpongeBob Movie,” you leave all your troubles behind. It’s healthy in troubling times to have an escape.
George Lucas mastered that escapism, but at its core, “Star Wars” is a very anti-authoritarian story.
Well, that’s the thing. It’ll work on different levels, depending on your age. And you’re right about George. The original “Star Wars” was an allegory commenting on the Vietnam War. So there’s the resistance, the rebels, the Empire. It’s surprisingly relevant when you consider what’s going on in our country today.
You’re in the business of entertainment, but you’ve also stayed very connected to politics and charities. Why is that important to you?
If you’ve been lucky enough to be able to do what you love and make a living at it, you have a responsibility to pay back as best you can. That’s why I love Make-A-Wish, and that’s what I use social media for. I’m not really overtly political on talk shows, but more so on Bluesky and Instagram. I left Twitter the day after the election because I didn’t want to support anything that Elon Musk is involved in. I left Facebook in 2016 because I didn’t like the way Zuckerberg handled Hillary. But who cares that I left Facebook? It’s a real lesson that you’re only one voice in a country of over 300 million. So, get a grip and don’t take yourself too seriously.