Mark Hamill's birthday
Many might know him as Luke Skywalker, but Mark Hamill is more than a lightsaber-wielding Jedi. Mark has made a name for himself on both big and small screens since the 1970s.
When and Where Was Mark Hamill Born?
Mark came into the world on September 25, 1951, in Oakland, California. He graduated high school just as man was landing on the moon in 1969. He then went to Los Angeles City College and scored his first on-screen acting role on The Bill Cosby Show. Some of his other early roles include characters in General Hospital and The Texas Wheelers, a comedy where he had a starring role.
Star Wars, Movie Career and Other Work
Hamill was lucky enough to be cast as the legendary Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope. After the film’s success he returned for the next two, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Later, he would go on to reprise his iconic role in the seventh, eighth, and ninth installations of the franchise: The Force Awakens; The Last Jedi; and The Rise of Skywalker — 42 years after the release of the first movie!
The original Star Wars movie was a huge success, much to the surprise of everyone involved, and it gave Hamill’s career its first major boost. It might not have been Oscar-winning, but his performance netted him the Saturn Award for Best Actor from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Mark was also very closely associated with his character. Fans loved him, but he wasn’t so pleased with being Luke Skywalker.
Mark chose to work on some different projects in the 1980s to distance himself from the role. These included several turns on Broadway, including Amadeus and Room Service. He took a break from film for a few years. Then he made a comeback in various projects throughout the 1990s, such as Midnight Ride and Village of the Damned. In the 2000s, he focused on other mediums, such as the play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, the mockumentary Comic Book: The Movie, as well as other various TV shows, stage works, and even voice acting in video games. At last he made a return to film in 2011 with the Hungarian sci-fi film Thelomeris: City of Darkness.
Skywalker is really his most well-known role, but the affable actor also has a huge number of other projects. They include both live-action movies and plenty of voice acting, including the Joker in several animated DC Comics works.
Mark Hamill is not just an actor and voice artist. He is also a writer. He was one of the creators of the comic The Black Pearl, and has even written a couple of The Simpsons Comics stories.
More About Mark
In his personal life, Hamill married Marilou York in 1978. He’s been happily married to the dental hygienist ever since. They have three children, Nathan, Griffin, and Chelsea. All of his kids have had cameo roles in Mark’s projects, in one form or another. All three appeared as Resistance soldiers in The Last Jedi.
Mark is an outspoken supporter of the Democratic party. He’s also a supporter of the English soccer team Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Showing his love for science, he’s an affiliate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry too. Hamill is an ambassador for the United24 fundraising platform and has participated in various other charitable efforts.
Mark is a familiar face on social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram. He can be seen chatting with fans and other celebrities often. Fans can sometimes be lucky enough to see him at various conventions, where they can get the chance to hear him speak and meet him in person, though his appearances are rare.
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