Mark Hamill recalls how he got cast as the Joker in the animated Batman series

Star Wars fame Mark Hamill recently got candid about his selection for the voice of the Joker in the Batman projects, recalling that he “was sure” he wouldn't be cast as the antagonist.

“When I went in [for the Joker role], I thought, ‘You think they’re gonna hire Luke Skywalker to play the Joker? The fans will lose their minds!’ I was so sure that I couldn’t be cast. I was completely relaxed,” he told Movieweb.

He continued recalling the audition, adding, “A lot of times there’s performance anxiety because you want the part, here I knew I couldn’t get the part, so, who cares? I drove out of the parking lot thinking, ‘That’s the best Joker they’ll ever hear, and it’s too bad they can’t cast me.’ And as soon as they did cast me, it reversed. I was like, ‘Oh no, I can’t do this!”

However, Hamill did become the voice of Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, which had 85 episodes and aired from 1992 to 1995 on Fox Kids.

The beloved actor went on to share how he found the confidence to play the role when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, which was an unusual choice at the time.

“I had a confidence that really helped me,” Hamill said, “because there was this big outcry that Michael Keaton was gonna play Batman. ‘Oh, he’s Mr. Mom, he’s a comedy actor.’ I mean, they hadn’t even seen him [in the role] and they didn’t realize how great he would become. But, there was great controversy.”