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07th Nov 2017

Hamill on Trump: ‘I’ve played The Joker for so long, I recognise demented thinking when I see it’

Rory Cashin

He actually broke out The Joker voice mid-interview, and we totally geeked out.

In the lead-up to the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, we were lucky enough to have a long sit down with Luke Skywalker himself, Mister Mark Hamill, and while we obviously chatted at length about the upcoming movie and the history and influence of the Star Wars series, we also talked about a lot of other stuff, too.

If you missed it, we already talked about how much Hamill absolutely loved filming the new entry in Ireland, thanks to everything from the local crisps to pulling pints of the black stuff, but we got down to serious business when the topic of the current American president came up.

Hamill has never been shy about his dislike of Trump, openly deriding him on Twitter, but what must the reaction from the Trump supporters who also love Star Wars be like?

“The thing is, I thought about this, because we’re such a divided country right now, and I’m very forthcoming on my social media because I feel like its a combination of a diary, a chat room, electronic fan-mail in a way… and I just like to express myself.”

“In public, I’m in the escapism business. I want everyone to enjoy the film, regardless of their political persuasion, and I’m not trying to convince anybody. I think if they think that that is someone who is right for the job, that is their right. I disagree, is all.”

“Some of the responses I get, Oh my God, scorching hate-tweets, I mean, I don’t have tell you, they’re really brutal. But what I love is, 99% of them, you look and they’ll say “You’re a washed up, old horrible actor, and you’ll never be as popular as Harrison Ford.” And then you’ll look at the note that says ‘Follows You’. It makes me- are you kidding me? Wouldn’t it be easier just to go ‘Click!’ [and unfollow me]?”

“That’s the reason I feel free to express myself on Twitter, because it is so easy to ignore me, or unfollow me. But if you get on television and you start proselytizing, thats when it gets annoying. And I love people who say “What gives you the right to give your opinion just because you’re an actor?”. Well, I’m a voter, I don’t think anybody should be restricted. Whether you’re a teacher or a librarian or a butcher, a baker or a candle-stick maker, it just doesn’t really make much sense.”

“And I say to people, when they ask if I think I’m so important? No, I’m just another crank on the internet. When I see a really brutal hate tweet, I like it, just to befuddle and annoy them.”

Previously, Hamill had taken to reading out some of Trump’s tweets in the voice of The Joker – which he had provided for The Animated Series as well as the Arkham City video games series – but where did the inspiration for that come from?

Clip via Tech Insider

“Basically, what happened was I’ve been playing The Joker for so long, that I realised [that I recognised] truly demented thinking when I see it, and I thought “Oh, this dialogue is too rich!” I mean, when he attacked [Mayor Of London] Sadiq Khan, are you kidding me? Two days after a terrorist attack!”

And then… it happened. Hamill broke out the voice: “Oh, it’s got to be The Joker!”

And just like that, he’s back to Hamill: “So I’m just having some fun. I have my fun.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in cinemas on Friday 15 December.

Clip via Star Wars