Hamill taking on a new challenge as Knight Templar
Mark Hamill will forever be known as Luke Skywalker, but he’s no stranger to TV — and that doesn’t count a recent guest appearance on “The Big Bang Theory.”
Hamill has hundreds of television credits, mostly as a voice actor in the animated “Avengers Assemble,” “Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia,” “Miles from Tomorrowland,” “Justice League Action,” “Regular Show” and “Ultimate Spider-man.” Giving voice to the Joker in multiple Batman animated series has kept him busy.
His latest role is on the History Channel’s “Knightfall,” which explores a dark time in history from the Knight Templar perspective, embracing an authentically grittier, darker and more brutal medieval period than has ever been seen before. It also goes deep into the clandestine world of the legendary brotherhood of warrior monks to learn who the knights were, how they lived and what they died believing.
Hamill plays Talus, a battle-hardened Knight Templar veteran of the Crusades, who survived captivity for 10 years in the Holy Land and is tasked with training the new initiates to the Order. Talus has a moral conflict with Landry (Tom Cullen) as a Templar.
“I first was given sample episodes to watch of ‘Knightfall’ when they asked me to be a part of it,” he said. “I had no real intention of doing anything like that, but I got hooked immediately, and it was riveting. I mean, it transports you into this whole other world, and it’s so relatable.
“And I just thought, ‘I’ve never been offered anything like this before.’ I’d never done a character quite like Mark Hamill in “Knightfall”
this before, a religious zealot, a man of deep convictions and, yet, such a paradox. I remember thinking he’s lecturing the troops and he says, ‘Once you become a Templar knight you shall become God’s executioners.’
“How could there be such a thing? I thought, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ But that’s the thing.”
Hamill was flattered to be asked to tackle a character who is part soldier, sinner, teacher and leader. The way Hamill approached the character was as a medieval version of a drill sergeant. That fit the guideline Hamill has used through the years to not repeat himself when possible, and this was a huge change to take on a new challenge.
All the voiceover work Hamill has done helped him when he was coming up with the physical movements of the character.
“It really hit me when I went to my first wardrobe fitting and they just started putting on layers and layers and shoulder pads and a cape and a belt and an axe and a sword. It took upwards of two hours to be camera-ready,” Hamill said. “But it really helps because you look at yourself and Mark Hamill disappears, and you really feel like you can transform into someone completely different.”