The Character Everyone Forgets Mark Hamill Played On Criminal Minds
With a career spanning over five decades, Mark Hamill has lent his talents to all facets of the entertainment world. Most famously, he has made himself a big-screen icon through such recognizable characters as Luke Skywalker in both the original and sequel Star Wars trilogies, the bloodthirsty doll Chucky from the 2019 Child's Play reboot, Donald Swan in Comic Book: The Movie — a feature Hamill directed and produced — among a bunch of other productions. Though he has built an impressive legacy at the cinema, he hasn't shied away from making the jump to the television world whenever the opportunity arises.
To this day, many recognize Mark Hamill for his generous voice acting contributions on the small screen. His tenure as the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series was unforgettable, and his time as Skips on Cartoon Network's Regular Show, Fire Lord Ozai from Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more solidified his place among the greats of the vocal acting game. All the while, Hamill has kept up appearances in the live-action realm too, popping up on everything from History's Knightfall to The CW's The Flash, making it known that there are few genres or roles he won't take a crack at.
That includes a brief run nearly a decade ago as a major antagonist on the crime drama Criminal Minds that many likely forgot about completely.
Mark Hamill didn't hold back as the calculated John Curtis
Introduced in season 8 of Criminal Minds, Mark Hamill's John "The Replicator" Curtis went on to become one of the program's most dangerous criminals. Armed with a genius IQ score of 172, Curtis was at one time a brilliant FBI Special Agent until his career took a turn for the worst. A series of demotions and professional stumbles for which he placed the blame on various BAU personnel — chiefly his former partner, Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson) — inevitably led to his downfall and turn to a life of murder. Before meeting his demise in an explosion, he managed to take the lives of six different people.
Taking into account the jovial, happy-go-lucky presence Mark Hamill brings with him behind the scenes, one would imagine that portraying a serial killer would prove a challenge for him. In reality, that couldn't have been further from the case, as he channeled a dark and vengeful persona that came to define John Curtis and his heinous crimes. Apparently, the actor quite enjoyed the role, seeing as he immediately took to Twitter to post "I'm unconvinced! Where's the body? You got it see you next season!!" as the episode depicting Curtis' death premiered. It's plain to see he was hoping to spend more time with his villainous alter-ego.
Curtis never did reemerge during Criminal Minds' initial run, but perhaps he could resurface on the series' impending revival. Even if he doesn't, fans can look back and applaud Mark Hamill for bringing "The Replicator" to life so viciously, ensuring the fictional rogue will live in infamy forevermore.