Mark Hamill

Mark Richard Hamill (born September 25, 1951) is an American actor, voice actor, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy – Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) – a role he reprised in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Hamill also starred and co-starred in the films Corvette Summer (1978), The Big Red One (1980), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015). Hamill's extensive voice acting work includes a long-standing role as the Joker, commencing with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.

Early life

Mark is a son of Virginia Suzanne (née Johnson; 1927–1998) and U.S. Navy Captain William Thomas Hamill (b. 1927). He is one of seven children, including two brothers, Will and Patrick, and four sisters, Terry, Jan, Jeanie, and Kim. Hamill was raised as a Roman Catholic. His father had English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh ancestry and his mother was of half Swedish and half English descent. His father's changes of station, and attendant family moves, led to the Hamill children changing schools often. In his elementary years, he went to Walsingham Academy and Poe Middle School. At age 11, he moved to the 5900 block of Castleton Drive in San Diego, California, where he attended Hale Junior High School. During his first year at James Madison High School, his family moved to Virginia, and Hamill attended Annandale High School. By his junior year, his father was stationed in Japan, where Hamill attended and was a member of the Drama Club at Nile C. Kinnick High School, from which he graduated in 1969. He later enrolled at Los Angeles City College, majoring in drama.