May 302016
 

..and we fans love him for that.

And that is because Mark Hamill, is the best known voice of the Joker in animation and video games.

He started voicing the Clown Prince of Crime in BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) in 1992 after the original voice actor for the role, Tim Curry, was deemed too scary for the role.  Once Hamill took the helm of the role he made him his and came to be portrayed on subsequent animated series like SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, STATIC SHOCK, and the JUSTICE LEAGUE. His haunting, maniacal, and crazed laugh is likely forever stuck in the heads and became the trademark of the character.

He even voiced the Joker in several animated movies like BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM, BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER  and the BATMAN SUPERMAN MOVIE.

Not satisfied with the animated media, Hamill made the jump to the video game industry when he was cast as the voice of the Joker first for the game BATMAN: VENGEANCE based on his BTAS character and lately for the ARKHAM ASYLUM/ ARKHAM CITY/ARKHAM KNIGHT video games series.  He also went on to voice the Clown for other animated games like DC Universe Online.

Hamill then retired but was open to return for voicing Joker in an animated adaptation of THE KILLING JOKE

getthelastlaughwithMarkHamill

…that has finally been completed and ready to hit the stores in August 2, 2016.  But that has not stopped Hamill who is supposed to return to his character once more for the Cartoon Network TV show, JUSTICE LEAGUE ACTION, which will likely premiere sometime in the next year.

As Hamill has played the Joker longer than any other actor, it’s no surprise that he’s spent more than a bit of time trying to get inside the Clown Prince of Crime’s warped head. In the most recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, he had this to offer about arguably the most intriguing super villain of all time:

Opening quote

Joker is always frustrated because he doesn’t think of himself as a villain…He thinks of himself as an under-appreciated genius. The citizens of Gotham City don’t accord him the reverence and the acclaim he feels he deserves. I give him that theatrical impresario voice, like the Jose Ferrer character in Enter Laughing. The Joker has a flamboyance that appeals to me. He enjoys what he does so much. I just can’t quit him.

Closing quote

Of course, the most exciting bit out of this is that it would seem Hamill has no intentions of giving up the role anytime soon, which will no doubt make a lot of fans very, very happy. However, the glimpse into the Joker’s mind that he also offered fans with this quote is also quite intriguing as well.

Anyone who’s watched Hamill’s version of the Joker knows that this description fits him perfectly. He does have more of a classic criminal attitude about him than some other iterations (such as Ledger’s anarchist), but the reason he ultimately does all of the crazy things that he does is to show off his comedic, criminal genius.

(Based on original article by Zain Charkawi for OUTER PLACES which you can read HERE)
Aug 132015
 

While checking the internet, saw that COMIC BOOK RESOURCES announced that DC has signed a new voice for their collaboration with LEGO for a BATMAN MOVIE to be released in  February, 2017. Joker’s new voice for the movie will  be done by (Hangover) Zach Galifianakis.

And it took me by surprise. WHY?

NewJokervoice

Well, it is obvious for those of you (me included) who had played the LEGO BATMAN games that the Joker was voiced by Clown Prince veteran Christopher Corey Smith.  His voice acting, to my taste, was excellent, being both funny and intense (by this I mean that it sounded as if he “felt” the character and enjoyed it).  After successfully voicing the Clown in  two video games and a DVD movie I really believed that Cory Smith had become synonymous with the LEGO Joker (much like Mark Hamill became synonymous with the BATS Joker).  Or was he really?

On behalf of Mr. Galifianakis I have to say, he is a  voice actor on his own right with an extensive resume, especially having voiced The Simpsons’ Lucas Bortner  and Puss in Boots’ Humpty Alexander Dumpty , but does he have what it takes to voice Joker?  * scratches head*  True, this is just a LEGO movie, not the Killing Joke or anything, no biggie…right? Well, yes…but there are voice pairings out there that just do not work (I’m still trying to reconcile Brent Spiner’s voicing Joker in Young Justice which made my head spin, though it was probably most likely due of the poor dialogue that was written for the character to begin with).

I will stop now.

Truth is I have no frame or reference to throw an opinion on the subject.  Just wanted to express how I felt about Corey Smith not being a part of this new LEGO Batman movie, but I hate to pass judgement before hearing Galifianakis’ Joker, so… I will just sit back and wait for the first glimpses of his voice acting that will surely start appearing sometime next year.  Hopefully it will be a refreshing change….*crosses fingers*

(Original article  and unedited picture on COMIC BOOK RESOURCES HERE)

Feb 162014
 

lordjazoryoutubeIt’s been a while since I have updated this site, but the new place is keeping me very busy, still I have for you a treat. Talented voice actor LordJazor has released another little Joker video, this time an original piece entitled THE JOKER’S REVERSE THERAPY HOUR. Hope you all like it…

 

(For more of Lord Jazor’s great voice acting work, please visit his YouTube Channel HERE)

Sep 052012
 

According from reports by TV GUIDE and CBR, actor Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest) will take on the role of voicing the Joker in the upcoming direct to video  part 2 release of  Frank Miller’s classic tale. (TDKR part 2 will be realesed in early 2013).

jokersvoice

According to the reports:

Michael Emerson‘s latest gig is no joke. The man best known as Lost’s über-manipulator Ben Linus and Person of Interest’s calculating Harold Finch is taking on one of pop culture’s most iconic villains, the Joker, in the upcoming animated DVD-movie Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. In the film, a harrowing adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 DC Comics series, the depraved Clown Prince of Crime renews his rivalry with an aging Batman, who has just reemerged in Gotham City after a decade

I have to admit, I was nerver a fan of the LOST series and don’t recall seing any of Emerson’s work before, so I had to do a little net research to grasp an idea of what this actor can bring forward to the character.

Emerson, who started as a performer in Broadway (in lighter comedic roles), made his turn in the dark side portraying a sinister serial killer for the series THE PRACTICE (2001), role for which he earned an Emmy.

Since then he has been seen in shows like THE X-FILESLAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT and movies like THE LEGEND OF ZORRO and SAW.

In 2006 he took part of the LOST series, portraying the enigmatic  Henry Gale, a character who lied to the survivors.  His role in the series was praised and earned him anonther nomination for an Emmy which he unfortunately lost.

I was amazed by his acting background and his turn to the darker, creepier character has definitely not diminished the quality of his work, knowing how hard it is to portray a believable, compelling heavy on TV or stage.  Villains are never easy.  But what most surprised me was his vision on the Joker, that he seems to understand very well as a character:

“He’s one of those great villains that an actor like me likes to play because he has layers — he has a face for the world and a face for himself,” the Emmy-winning star of CBS’s “Person of Interest” told TV Guide. “He is, in a way, a villain who is a natural actor. All of that is that is delightful and confounding at the same time.”

Playing the unbridled fervor of the Joker was a switch from some of the more emotionally controlled roles on Emerson’s resumé. “It’s freeing because of the largeness of it,” he says. “When he laughs, there’s nothing subdued about it. When he screams in rage, there’s nothing controlled about it. The amp is turned to 11 at all times.”

I think Mr. Emerson has definitely gotten a grasp of what moves the Clown to be Joker.  Maybe  for once we have found someone that can portray this character with the dignity he deserve and become as legendary as other actor voices befor him.  I still have to hear him and see if he can transport me to that space were I can “flesh” out the Joker just by listening to him, but I have a hunch that the character might be in good hands.

Now I understand why my friend Jason Marnocha, a young talented voice actor who has had his deals with the Joker’s voice himself (very successfully I may add) was so pleased with this choice.  I trust your judgement, Jason…I also aprove of this selection for the Joker’s voice…for now.

If you want to know more about Michael Emerson; you can watch this interview from PBS I am including here.

. See more fm Tavis Smiley in his site: MEET MICHAEL EMERSON