One of the coolest things about seeing Star Wars for the first time was that the heroes were just as amazing as the villains.
In fact, Darth Vader’s one of the coolest villains ever. The designs of all the Star Wars creatures and costumes were great, and Darth Vader had a fantastic look. Of course, James Earl Jones’s voice and heavy breathing was also another great touch.
Recently Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, told Canada.com, “I remember reading [the] Star Wars [script] and thinking, ‘Boy, I wish I could be playing Darth Vader – that’s the part,” but Mark is too much the all American boy not to play Skywalker.
He’s perfect to play a hero, but as Canada.com tells us, he’s playing a villain in his next film, Sushi Girl, and as most Bat-fans know, he’s the voice of the Joker for animated Batman and the Batman video games.
“It was a great kick to be cast as The Joker because he’s an icon 180 degrees away from Luke,” said Hamill. “You’re messing up the chance for good to succeed and that’s a lot of fun.”
With Sushi Girl, he’s starring with Tony Todd from Candyman and Platoon, and Hamill said playing an evil character who “kind of whistles while he works” is “just creepy.”
We’ve seen the Star Wars cast in many different roles, so Mark Hamill playing a bad guy should be accepted easily by the fans. I think these days we’re quite used to seeing actors stretch and try different things, and audiences are more accepting of stars reprising against type roles.
Then again, the characters in Star Wars were so clearly black and white, and Hamill remarks that Skywalker is “an icon of virtue,” so it could still be somewhat of a surprise for some fans.
We recently ran a story about the importance of genre casting, and how the right or wrong person in an appropriate role can make all the difference in the world. It’s also great to see people successfully play against type, like Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People (actually almost everyone in that film was cast against type), Michael Keaton in Batman, Robin Williams in One Hour Photo, and more.
Will Mark Hamill be capable of playing a successful villain? Frankly, I’m just a little more than curious to find out myself.
