Mark Hamill on ‘Star Wars’ AI Deepfakes and ‘The SpongeBob Movie’

Mark Hamill didn’t plan on having such an lively yr.

In January, the actor misplaced his dwelling in the Palisades fires and was pressured to relocate along with his household. Just months later, the 74-year-old actor discovered himself selling three major studio tasks: Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming fantasy drama “The Life of Chuck” (streaming Dec. 26 on Hulu), the adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” and now “The SpongeBob Movie: Searching for SquarePants,” during which Hamill voices the ghoulish Flying Dutchman.

“You can’t really control it, but this was a really, really active year,” Hamill tells Variety. “I don’t have anything lined up, so maybe next year won’t be so active.”

Hamill weighed the concept of retirement after reprising Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, wanting to hold up his cape while the going was still good. “As much as an actor appreciates a good entrance,” he says, “you want to find a way to end your career in a way where you can hold your head high.”

That outlook shifted when Mike Flanagan supplied him an element in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which reignited his pleasure for the craft. “It was a character part that would’ve been routine in voiceover,” Hamill said. “In voiceover, they don’t care what you look like, so you’re going to play many roles you’d never get on camera. They cast with their ears, not their eyes.”

Now firmly in his third act, voice performing has allowed Hamill to maintain playing those juicy roles untethered from age or physicality. But as AI reshapes Hollywood, he stays cautious of how his legacy — particularly in future Disney’s “Star Wars” tasks — will live on. “It’s hard to predict the future,” Hamill says, “but I may have to ask my family if they want me in a Star Wars movie 30 years from now after I’m gone.”

With Variety, Hamill discusses his strategy to the Flying Dutchman, shifting on from “Star Wars,” and why he give up Facebook.

You’ve had fairly the yr.

Yeah. When it rains, it pours.

How are you reflecting on the yr as a complete? The Palisades hearth in January, all these big motion pictures — it’s been lots of ups and downs.

It’s exceptional. I’m in the enterprise of escapism, and if I can take people’s minds off the horrible headlines — particularly for those affected by the fires — then I’ve completed my job. Plenty of issues are surprising. I did a present years in the past called “Regular Show.” It has a cult following, however it ran for eight seasons. I’ve never been on a present that comes again. We did 40 new episodes, and they wish to do 40 more.

Before “The SpongeBob Movie” begins, there’s this five-minute “Ninja Turtles” brief that performs. Did you see it?

I did.

It pokes enjoyable at society’s over-reliance on ChatGPT. Has it been unsettling seeing AI-generated movies of you or Luke Skywalker? I noticed one the other week of Luke speaking to Ben Kenobi’s Force Ghost and couldn’t consider how real looking it seemed.

I haven’t seen that. Is it live-action or animated?

It’s live-action. It performs like a deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi.”

Gee, I haven’t seen that. It’s one in every of those issues the place there’s a disconnect between the fan world and myself, in the sense that every actor does the job, and when the job is accomplished, they transfer on to the next project. They don’t actually hold on to it. And yet, “Star Wars” is such a significant ongoing franchise. [Disney] is doing rather well, and clearly, they’ve completed more materials since I left. But I had my time. Now I’m just a fan. I really like “Rogue One,” “Mandalorian,” “Andor.” They’re doing nice without me.

Disney has a new partnership with OpenAI, the place followers will now be capable of generate brief movies utilizing characters from the “Star Wars” universe. How does that sit with you?

It’s fascinating to see it develop, and I’m also apprehensive about how it is going to be used. The story of the AI-generated actress that received signed by a major company is mind-boggling. Is she going to remain 33, or no matter her age is, without end? It’s clearly onerous to foretell the future, however I suppose I’m gonna have to speak to my household about if they need me to be in a “Star Wars” film 30 years from now after I’m gone.

It’s cool to listen to you lend your voice to The Flying Dutchman. How did you strategy that iconic chortle, particularly given comparisons to the Joker?

When I accepted the provide to be the Flying Dutchman, I believed it was a new character created just for this film. I start to do my homework, and it’s a personality that’s been completed for years by Brian Doyle-Murray. I’ve been a fan of his since “Saturday Night Live.” I cherished him on Chris Elliott’s present “Get a Life.” He’s just terrific. But I used to be too intimidated to take heed to what he had completed. I believed I’d better do my version, and I’ll take heed to his later. With a personality like a ghost pirate in the world of “SpongeBob,” you may go as big as you need. It’s like kids’s theater. There isn’t any too big.

In phrases of the Joker, whenever you’re in the head of the character, I didn’t see the parallels. Now that I’m kind of distanced from it, I can see how people discover comparisons between the two. I really like each characters in different methods, and they’re each enjoyable to play.

Certain actors select the route of retirement, however you’ve stayed extremely lively. Do you assume you may retire?

A few years in the past, I began considering, “I’ve done a lot, maybe it’s time to make a dignified exit.” As a lot as an actor appreciates entrance, you wish to discover a strategy to end your profession in a method the place you may maintain your head high. The real turning point for me was assembly Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan about “The Fall of the House of Usher.” That made me excited about performing again because it was a personality half that would’ve been routine in voiceover. In voiceover, they don’t care what you seem like, so that you’re going to play many roles you’d never get on digicam. They forged with their ears, not their eyes.

You can’t actually management it, however this was a extremely, actually lively yr. I don’t have something lined up, so possibly next yr received’t be so lively. When you’re in your 20s and 30s, it’s onerous to think about your self in your 50s and 60s, however I definitely didn’t assume I’d be on digicam so long as I’ve been.

Are there any goals you haven’t achieved yet?

I wished to go to Broadway, I did that. I’ve wished to do animation ever since I discovered out that people did animated voices. In grade college, I noticed Clarence Nash do Donald Duck on a Walt Disney present, and I actually zeroed in on all my favourite exhibits. I discovered who Mel Blanc was. I cherished “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” I’d go to the document shops to have a look at the again of the document albums to put in writing down the names of the actors — because we didn’t have the web, you couldn’t Google it. It was one thing I aspired to. 

It’s a really distinctive job, and doing the Flying Dutchman is one in every of the causes I really like being an actor. And the fact that I received to play it in live-action segments. I imply, it was loopy enjoyable. If people have even a fraction of the good time that I’m having doing this character, they’re in for the time of their lives.

They say in the film that SpongeBob has the purest coronary heart of an harmless. Before SpongeBob, that was Luke Skywalker for lots of people. What gravitates you in direction of these optimistic characters?

I never neglect the fact that we’re in the enterprise of escapism. These are troubled occasions. The film is therapeutic in that regard. You go to one thing like “The SpongeBob Movie,” you allow all of your troubles behind. It’s healthy in troubling occasions to have an escape.

George Lucas mastered that escapism, however at its core, “Star Wars” is a really anti-authoritarian story. 

Well, that’s the factor. It’ll work on different ranges, relying on your age. And you’re proper about George. The authentic “Star Wars” was an allegory commenting on the Vietnam War. So there’s the resistance, the rebels, the Empire. It’s surprisingly related when you think about what’s going on in our nation today.

You’re in the enterprise of leisure, however you’ve also stayed very related to politics and charities. Why is that important to you?

If you’ve been fortunate sufficient to have the ability to do what you like and make a dwelling at it, you’ve got a accountability to pay again as best you may. That’s why I really like Make-A-Wish, and that’s what I exploit social media for. I’m not likely overtly political on discuss exhibits, however more so on Bluesky and Instagram. I left Twitter the day after the election because I didn’t wish to help something that Elon Musk is concerned in. I left Facebook in 2016 because I didn’t like the method Zuckerberg dealt with Hillary. But who cares that I left Facebook? It’s a real lesson that you’re only one voice in a rustic of over 300 million. So, get a grip and don’t take your self too significantly.