Considering his legendary film career, it’s hard to imagine Mark Hamill ever getting intimidated by a role these days. According to the 67-year-old actor, though, that’s exactly what happened when he agreed to play Chucky in the upcoming reboot of Child’s Play.
It’ll mark the first official project in which the killer doll will not be voiced by series mainstay Brad Dourif and Hamill, a longtime fan of the original source material, is well aware that the pressure is on him to live up to lofty expectations:
“When I agreed to it, and it sunk in that they wanted me to do this, I felt intimidation like I hadn’t felt since I did the Joker. I thought, when I auditioned for the Joker, there’s no way they’re going to cast this icon of virtue, Luke Skywalker, as the Joker. Forget about it. So I had no performance anxiety because I knew they couldn’t hire me.
It’s only when they hired me that I really thought, ‘Oh no, I can’t do this because so many people have expectations of what he’s supposed to sound like.’ I didn’t feel that kind of intimidation until it sunk in that I was doing this. I love Brad. It’s a great responsibility, so I’m anxious to see how people react because it’s not the Chucky that we all know from before.”
It’s comforting to know that someone who’s made it so big still gets nervous and cares about what audiences think. Plenty of others in his shoes would simply show up for the paycheck and Hamill has always seemed to be someone who wants to do the best he possibly can in order to please the masses.
He’s certainly endeared himself to plenty of fans with his iconic performances, most notably as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise and the Joker in several Batman movies. Even if his Chucky interpretation isn’t well-received, his legacy likely won’t suffer for it. A terrifying portray, though, could serve to even further his already impressive list of accomplishments.
Analysts are predicting a modest box office debut for the film, which will premiere alongside Toy Story 4. Though there’s no way it earns even close to enough to compete with the animated Pixar movie, strong reviews and star power could still be enough to make Child’s Play a successful reboot for the classic horror franchise.
