Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill (born September 25, 1951 in Oakland, California) is an actor and voice actor, best known for his portrayal of farmboy-turned-Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars films. Hamill's film career since Star Wars has been mostly connected to lower-budget science fiction movies that went straight to video, but he has been successful on Broadway, as a voice actor in animation and video games, and as a comic book creator.

In January 11, 1977, on the way to shoot one of the final scenes needed for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Hamill was involved in a car accident that caused substantial damage to his face. A double was used for the scene of Luke racing across the desert in his landspeeder while Mark was hospitalized. Supposedly, he was told by his surgeons that although facial reconstruction surgery could save his career in the short term, it would have only temporary results. Over time, the scarring would become increasingly visible, and he would have to rethink his acting career.

As a result of this scarring, Hamill wore an extensive amount of facial makeup when he reprised his role as Luke for The Star Wars Holiday Special, which was released in 1978.

Hamill married Marilou York in the same year; they have three children - Nathan Elias, Griffin Tobias and Chelsea Elizabeth. Mark Hamill is also the co-writer of The Black Pearl, a comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics.

Trivia

 * Mark Hamill also played several animated characters in the past decade such as Firelord Ozai on the hit cartoon series Avatar:The Last Airbender, The Joker on Batman: The Animated Series & Justice League, and Hobgoblin on Spider-Man: The Animated Series.