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Mark Hamill's 10 Best Roles Outside Star Wars

By Sean Morrison

Published Sep 3, 2024

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Star Wars movies, and his time as Luke Skywalker has had a huge impact on his career. While he's certainly best known for Star Wars, Hamill has also branched out into other franchises, genres, and even mediums. In fact, Hamill has played so many great characters in his career that narrowing down the best of them is quite a feat.

Plenty of Hamill even voiced some Star Wars characters who weren't Luke, and while they were all great in their own way, he's still played 10 characters who were better.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Star Wars and Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

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10 Sean - Wizards

Released: 1977

One of Mark Hamill's most unusual projects was the 1977 animated fantasy film Wizards. Hamill played the elf prince Sean in Wizards, and while it was a small role, it also stands out in his filmography. Wizards was only Hamill's third project as a voice actor, after The New Scooby-Doo Movies and the animated Jeanie show, but it makes a strong case for being one of his most unique. Part of the reason Wizards was so unique was because it mixed fantasy elements like wizards and fairies with a post-apocalyptic setting that included quite a few World War II references.

Though Sean died shortly after being introduced in Wizards, it was still a proof of concept for Hamill. Wizards was an early example of how Hamill was willing to take risks in his acting career, and that he was willing to still give his all to minor characters. On top of that, as his third voice acting role ever, Wizards helped set a trend that would last for the rest of his career. Sean may not have been the best or most memorable character, but it may have been a very important role for Hamill.

9 Professor Arnold - Kingsman: The Secret Service

Released: 2015

Mark Hamill also had a small but notable role in Kingsman: The Secret Service, but as he did in Wizards, he made it memorable. Hamill played Professor Arnold in Kingsman, a character who was most known for a scene where his head exploded. While he didn't have many scenes, Arnold was quite important to the plot of Kingsman, as his death helped Eggsy realize just how deep the conspiracy went. Arnold also went out with quite a bang, but most of the reason such a minor character remains so memorable is because of Hamill himself.

Hamill had long since proven that he is a tremendous voice actor before Kingsman, but the spy thriller gave him a chance to show off another talent: accents. Arnold was a British man, so Hamill got to have a very impressive British accent in all of his scenes. Arnold was also a different type of character than the roles Hamill usually takes in live-action, as he was much more reserved and sheepish than the soaring heroes and villainous antagonists he usually portrays. Hamill brought a lot of nuance and skill to the role, and he proved he could shine in even the smallest of parts.

8 Ted/Brigsby Bear - Brigsby Bear

Released: 2017

If Wizards wasn't proof enough that Mark Hamill is willing to take part in unusual movies and shows, then Brigsby Bear should be. Hamill played both the titular cartoon bear in Brigsby Bear and the role of Ted, James' father. One of the reasons Brigsby Bear is such an unusual film for Hamill is because it combines his talents for both live-action acting and voice acting. James quickly learned that Ted created Brigsby Bear himself to entertain his son, and after Ted was arrested, most of Hamill's role in the film comes from voicing the titular bear.

The reason Brigsby Bear is one of Hamill's best non-Star Wars roles is because it almost serves as a snapshot of his entire career. In the same film, Hamill performs in both live-action and through his voice, and he plays both a hero to James and one of his greatest villains. Brigsby Bear is almost an homage to Hamill's unusual path from live-action star to animation star, but it also features a staple of most of his work. Brigsby Bear, for as strange and dark as it is, also tells an incredibly hopeful and earnest story, which has been a hallmark of most of Hamill's work.

7 Skips - Regular Show

Ran From: 2010 - 2017

Though its title indicates the opposite, Regular Show also added to Mark Hamill's list of odd projects. Hamill played Skips on Regular Show, an immortal yeti who worked as the groundskeeper of a public park. That description alone made Skips one of the most fun characters Hamill has ever played, but Regular Show put Skips into several more entertaining situations. Hamill is no stranger to voicing characters for children's television, but Skips was one of his best - and longest-running - roles.

A big reason Skips is so memorable among all of Hamill's various characters is because of both his personality and the absurd situations Regular Show put him in. Whether it was arm wrestling Death or fighting a physical manifestation of his own stress in the Himalayas, Skips almost always had something interesting to do. The way Hamill played Skips, with his low, rumbling growl of a voice, also made those situations even funnier. Hamill was also able to transform him from a whacky yeti into a beloved but grumpy uncle-like figure.

6 Fire Lord Ozai - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ran From: 2005 - 2008

For all the heroics Luke Skywalker is known for, Mark Hamill is possibly better known for his villainous roles. One of the best villains Hamill ever played was Fire Lord Ozai in the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Ozai was obsessed with destroying the Avatar and ruling the four kingdoms using the fire-bending powers he gained from a once-in-a-lifetime comet. Hamill has played obsessive villains before and after Ozai, but something about his performance in Avatar: The Last Airbender remains special.

Hamill got a very special chance because of Ozai: he has so many different character traits and motivations, and all of them are evil. He's essentially the Avatar version of Emperor Palpatine in his wickedness, and Hamill clearly had fun with the role. Whether it was abusing his children, plotting to overtake the world, or displaying his immense ego, Hamill gave every part of Ozai 100% of his effort. The result was a uniquely easy to hate villain, and a uniquely memorable one.

5 Art Rosenbaum - Invincible

Running Since: 2021

Voicing villains isn't the only way Mark Hamill has surprised audiences outside Star Wars, however. In Invincible, Hamill plays the decidedly goodhearted Art Rosenbaum, the man who made both Omni-Man and Invincible's costumes. The twist with Art is that instead of playing a supremely powerful good guy, he's just a normal man. Art doesn't have any powers, and he can only help those that do. While Art is a far cry from Luke Skywalker, one of the most powerful Jedi ever, the role helped show an excellent side of Hamill's acting.

Hamill's roles usually put him in a position of power, though whether his character uses them for good or evil often changes. Invincible allowed Hamill an opportunity to show that he can give an otherwise unremarkable character some very interesting and very compelling characterization. Art isn't one of the best characters in Invincible, but he's also much more than a footnote. The way Hamill played him, from his mannerisms and inflection to the emotion he puts into his voice, helped make Art much more than just a tailor for superheroes.

4 Skeletor - Masters of the Universe: Revelation & Revolution

Running Since: 2021

Hamill has a unique ability to make the villains he plays into iconic characters, but Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution proved that he could also step into an already-famous role flawlessly. Hamill played Skeletor in the recent Masters of the Universe sequels, a role which was already made famous by the 1980s show focusing on He-Man. Even though Skeletor already had a well-recognized voice and an established history, Hamill did quite a bit to bring his own flavor to the character.

Mark Hamill was probably the perfect actor to update Skeletor and bring the classic villain into the modern era for a new generation of viewers. The range of voices he's capable of, coupled with his proven track record of playing classically villainous antagonists, meant he could handle anything Skeletor needed to do in the sequels. Masters of the Universe could even prove that his future endeavors will be successful, as Hamill will play the Flying Dutchman in a SpongeBob SquarePants movie, which will let him update another iconic cartoon villain.

3 Muska - Castle in the Sky

Released: 1991

Many of Mark Hamill's roles let him get very expressive and over-the-top with his villains, but Castle in the Sky showed that he doesn't need to play exaggerated people to make them fascinating characters. Hamill voiced Muska in the English dub of Castle in the Sky, but many viewers didn't realize it was him until the credits rolled. That's because Muska was one of Hamill's most subtle and reserved performances, and he did a great job of making Muska into a worthy villain.

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Even though Hamill didn't go overboard in playing Muska, that didn't mean he wasn't capable of making his villain intimidating. If anything, Muska's calmness and straight-laced demeanor made him even more frightening for a children's movie, and Hamill tailored his performance perfectly for the film. Hamill also got to inject some of his classic villain elements into the character, though, and he got to use his signature villainous laugh a few times in the film.

2 Private Griff - The Big Red One

Released: 1980

Mark Hamill's best live-action performance outside Star Wars came very early in his career. In 1980, Hamill played Private Griff in the World War II movie The Big Red One. War movies were extremely common in the 1970s and 1980s, but The Big Red One managed to stand out in a few very important and effective ways. The Big Red One isn't a story about heroes or action, but rather about real people and the effects war has on them. That's not an easy theme to put on film, and Hamill was a big reason The Big Red One managed it at all.

Hamill's Griff began The Big Red One as a sniper who was opposed to killing. By the end of the film, however, Griff becomes a hardened military vet, and one who's not afraid to take down his enemies. One of The Big Red One's main messages is that survival is the most important thing in war, more important than sides, honor, or morals. Hamill's performance as Griff was moving, it was human, and it provided quite a bit of legwork in delivering the movie's theme. It's easily one of his best movies, Star Wars included.

1 The Joker - Various Batman Projects

From 1992 to 2024

Of all the villains Mark Hamill has voiced over the years, one stands above the rest: the Joker. Hamill has voiced the Clown Prince of Crime in dozens of animated DC movies, shows, and video games since 1992, when he ed the cast of Batman: The Animated Series. The Joker is by far Hamill's best and most iconic character who isn't named Luke Skywalker, and most fans of animated Batman stories will instantly recognize his voice. The Joker has always been popular, but it's difficult to say if he would be the sensation he currently is without Hamill's work.

There's a reason Hamill has played the Joker for so long, and it's because he's fantastic as the homicidal antagonist. Everything about Mark Hamill's voice, from his cackling laugh to his ability to sound both flamboyant and terrifying in the same breath, made him perfect for the role. He's often considered one of the best Joker actors of all time, and he's never even played the part in live-action. Mark Hamill has played quite a few great characters outside Star Wars, but the Joker easily secured the number one spot.

Mark Hamill

Birthdate: September 25, 1951
Birthplace: Concord, California, USA
Height: 5 feet 9 inches
Notable Projects: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi
Professions: Actor, Voice Actor, Writer, Producer

Discover the latest news and filmography for Mark Hamill, known for Star Wars and Batman: The Animated Series.