- Mark Hamill is beloved around the world for his charming interviews and role as Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" movies.
- Fewer people know that he's provided the voice for some of your favorite animated and video game characters.
- In honor of Mark Hamill's excellence, here are some fascinating things you didn't know about him.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
He might be in his late 60s, but the legendary Jedi isn't slowing down anytime soon. In 2019 alone, Mark Hamill has at least 16 projects completed, in the works, or recently announced, including the upcoming installment of the "Star Wars" franchise.
Known for his witty Twitter presence and honest interviews, Hamill is one of the most iconic actors of the 20th century. In fact, he was recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in early 2018 for his contributions to the arts throughout his lifetime.
So, in honor of Hamill and his iconic roles over the past few decades, here are 10 things you probably didn't know about Mark Hamill.
He trained as a swordsman to perfect his lightsaber skills.
Hamill trained with former Olympic fencerBob Anderson to perfect his lightsaber skills while filming "Star Wars." Anderson also acted as a stunt double in the film for some scenes with Darth Vader, joining Hamill on screen in the notable lightsaber fight.
He has a strong, decades-long connection to a popular cartoon show.
Since 1972, Hamill has been voicing characters in the ever-popular and beloved cartoon show "Scooby-Doo."
He first voiced a few random characters in "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" in the early '70s. He voiced Snakebite Scruggs in 1998's "Scooby-Doo Zombie Island," Steve in 2000's "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders," and most recently, an unknown character in 2019's "Scooby-Doo Guess Who?"
He was in "The Little Mermaid"— kind of.
In 1993, Hamill provided the voices for both Hans Christian Anderson and Zeus in the animated TV series "The Little Mermaid."
This was nearly twenty years prior to Disney purchasing the "Star Wars" franchise, making Hamill a part of the Disney family long before the rest of his "Star Wars" costars.
He's connected to "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
More specifically, Hamill voiced several characters on the animated show, including Firelord Ozai. He was a part of the show from 2005 to 2008 and went on to voice Ozai in the video game "Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno."
He lent his voice to several video game characters.
From Master Eraqus in "Kingdom Hearts III" and The Joker in "Lego DC Super-Villains" to Wolverine in "X2 - Wolverine's Revenge" and Py-Ro in "Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex," Hamill has made a career for himself as a video game voice master.
To date, he's lent his voice to over ten different games, although he's never voiced Luke Skywalker in a video game.
He met his wife at the dentist.
No, really. His wife, Marilou, was a dental hygienist where Hamill was a patient. The two began dating after meeting in the waiting room, broke up temporarily after the release of "Star Wars," and have since been married for 40 years.
The couple has three children together.
He appeared in two episodes of "Criminal Minds."
In 2013, Hamill made a guest appearance on two episodes of "Criminal Minds" playing John Curtis, aka The Replicator. Hamill's daughter is reportedly a big fan of the show and was excited when she found out her father was guest-starring as the big-bad of the season.
A car accident may have changed one of the "Star Wars" films.
Long a cinematic mystery, people have wondered for three decades whether or not a car accident Hamill was in influenced the Wampa scene in "Empire Strikes Back."
The car accident, which required Hamill to have part of his nose reconstructed, changed the way the actor's face looked. People have long speculated that the injuries to the star's face influenced the facial injuries his character Luke receives in "Empire Strikes Back."
While George Lucas says the scene wasn't written because of the accident, Carrie Fisher said it was. Hamill hasn't confirmed either story.
He plays a lot of villains.
Unlike Luke Skywalker, a Jedi hero, Hamill has found a successful as an animated villain.
Based on his IMDB track record, Hamill has played cartoon villains like The Joker on "Batman: The Animated Series," and the pirate Stickybeard on "Codename: Kids Next Door" to name a few.
He went to high school in Japan.
Hamill attended Nile C. Kinnick High School in Japan, which is now located on Yokosuka Naval Base. While a senior in high school, Hamill played Henry Aldrich in the school's production of "What a Life" by Clifford Goldsmith.