Mark Hamill Talks Playing The Trickster Again In ‘The Flash’ — Explains ‘Star Wars’ Reference
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill reprised his decades-old role as the Trickster on Tuesday’s episode of The Flash. According to Entertainment Weekly, at a press screening, Hamill recently revealed his delight at getting the chance to play the Trickster again, which he claims is a rare privilege in the film industry.
“Just the idea of being asked to play a part [again] decades later, that never happens,” Hamill said.
The funny thing about the star’s comment is that he’s actually been given the opportunity to play the two different roles over again, since Hamill was cast to reprise his role as the iconic Luke Skywalker in the new Star Wars film. But since The Force Awakens is still months away, Hamill’s fans will have to sink their teeth in his portrayal of the Trickster on The Flash series.
Hamill claims he was a fan of the CW’s reboot of the superhero long before they asked him to play the Trickster.
“I was very skeptical, but then I called Andrew [Kreisberg] and the one thing that impressed me about this show is how smart the writing is. It’s got the comic book element, but it’s really strong in characters.”
And Hamill as the Trickster is not a one-off cameo for The Flash show. Hamill is slated to return as the Trickster in future episodes, according to the executive producer of the show, Andrew Kreisberg.
“Yes, that is the plan,” Kreisberg said of Hamill as the Trickster. “What’s so fun for us and why we were so grateful to Mark for wanting to be part of this, is when I sit down and I think about Wentworth Miller and Mark in a scene together and watching the dichotomy of them.”
Another interesting coincidence about Hamill as the Trickster is that the actor is well-known for playing the Joker in the Batman cartoons, a comic book character similar to the Flash villain. Despite Hamill’s experience with cheerfully psychotic bad-guys and his excitement to play the Trickster again, he claimed it wasn’t easy for him to prepare for the role.
“I didn’t want to show up and ruin a series I liked. That’s the danger. I thought if it’s really terrible, it’s only one episode, so they can survive me. It was terribly intimidating until I got there. Once you get into the spirit of it, it’s like slipping into a comfy old pair of tennis shows.”
According to Variety, Hamill was even allowed to slip in a reference to Star Wars, which did not go unnoticed by fans. Hamill, as the Trickster, informs his son “I am your father.” You can watch the clip below.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Star Wars nod came about in rehearsal.
“In rehearsal I said ‘I am your daddy,’ which got a big laugh at the table read,” Hamill explained. “I’m sorry I didn’t give them the option in filming, because I think it would have been funny to self-parody the line. But it got a big laugh.”
