Mark Hamill says he is done voicing the Joker, which follows the death of Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy a year ago.
Of course, the pair are known for perhaps the best renditions of the characters, having voiced them in Batman: The Animated Series and many other shows and movies.
Kevin Conroy died at the age of 66 on November 10, 2022 due to cancer.
“Without Batman, crime has no punchline”
While appearing at the Fan Expo San Francisco this weekend, Mark Hamill told the fans he won’t be voicing Joker “unless it’s opposite Kevin Conroy’s Batman” and quoted his Joker stating, “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”
Hamill first started to talk about Carrie Fisher in Star Wars and then continued about Kevin Conroy.
“She was someone like I said that touched us all and maybe it’s just not wanting to face reality but to me, she’s very much in the present,” said Hamill (via YouTube). “Kevin Conroy the same thing. I mean I realize now I don’t have my partner… There’s so many great Jokers out there. I mean there’s… I don’t know, half a dozen… I thought, ‘Wow, what a great version of…’ I never thought of doing it the way Jeff Bennett does or the way Kevin Michael Richardson does or on and on and on. Michael Emerson. I mean so many great versions…”
He cited his Joker quote "Without Batman, crime has no punchline"
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) November 25, 2023
— @MarkHamill
“Kevin Conroy was perfection”
In a previous interview with Empire Magazine, Mark Hamill also talked about how he doubted voicing Joker without Kevin Conroy and how they are partners.
“They would call and say, ‘They want you to do the Joker,’ and my only question was, ‘Is Kevin Batman?’ If they said yes, I would say, ‘I’m in,'” Hamill said. “We were like partners. We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn’t seem to be a Batman for me.”
Following the death of Kevin Conroy, Hamill said his friend was perfection.
“Kevin was perfection,” said Mark Hamill in a statement at the time, who redefined the Joker playing opposite Conroy’s Batman. “He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him – his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.
“Kevin was a brilliant actor,” Hamill added. “For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery – that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner – it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.”
