Mark Hamill Talks About His Trepidation About and the Weight of Accepting the Role of CHUCKY
At a recent press conference for the upcoming film Child’s Play, the beloved Mark Hamill talked a bit about voicing the part of the infamous doll Chucky. Den of Geek reported the following response from Hamill when he was asked how the role came to him:
“I got a letter from Lars. He already laid out his vision for the film, before I read it. And then they sent me this script and I thought the crucial element that was different from the original, which I love -- I'm a huge fan of Brad's interpretation -- Chucky has a different origin. So it's not the soul of a serial killer, but someone deliberately goes in and alters his operating system and takes off the safety measures.”
So he found the changes to the classic character appealing. He then went on to add that finding the balance for the character was the trickiest part:
“We always try and be guided by the script. It was a really sort of open collaboration because I would try maybe five (takes) in a row, and do slightly different nuances. The interesting thing is to see them assemble it and what choices they made…it's really like giving them jigsaw puzzle pieces that they can assemble later to their liking.”
He continued:
“He was really like an innocent child, really, just learning from what goes around him," explains Hamill. "But I thought that was crucial.”
It’s all pretty interesting to hear someone take such a deep dive into the role. It seems pretty simple, but he proves that a lot more does go into the character. Hamill also went on to discuss how intimidating it is to take on a role that people already know, and compares it to when he took on the role of the Joker that he—and his voice—are now so intrinsically tied to:
“When I agreed to it, and it sunk in that they wanted me to do this, I felt intimidation like I hadn't felt since I did the Joker. I thought, when I auditioned for the Joker, there's no way they're going to cast this icon of virtue, Luke Skywalker, as the Joker. Forget about it. So I had no performance anxiety because I knew they couldn't hire me. It's only when they hired me that I really thought, ‘Oh no, I can't do this because so many people have expectations of what he's supposed to sound like.’”
“I didn't feel that kind of intimidation until it sunk in that I was doing this,” continues Hamill, adding that he was nervous about following in Brad Dourif’s footsteps. “I love Brad. It's a great responsibility, so I’m anxious to see how people react because it's not the Chucky that we all know from before.”
Mark Hamill is just the best, isn’t he? He really brings everything to each role he plays. Are you happy with Hamill in the role of the voice of Chucky? Check him out when Child’s Play hits theaters next week on June 20th.
via: Den of Geek