Mark Hamill on His Chuck Cameo & Discovering the Show

AOL TV caught up with Mark Hamill recently and got the scoop on his cameo in the Chuck season premiere plus how he became a fan of this show that’s “so hard to categorize.” Warning: minor spoilers ahead!

I am so excited to see you on ‘Chuck’!
Thank you! I mean, I thought that since it was sort of a cameo that it’d be nice to keep it secret.

Well there are no secrets at Comic-Con …
I know — I was shocked! I didn’t say anything, but when they announced it at the panel, Twitter and all the different new media went on alert. I was surprised … I’m only in one scene. It’s a dream come true because not only is it a really delightful show, but the scene I’m in is like a James Bond scene. I’ve seen these spy things before, but I never thought I’d be a part of one. I’m playing this arch-villain holding these two young people hostage, forcing them to jump off a cliff. It’s wonderful. I had a great time.

Do you realize that when you sign up for something so steeped in geek culture that it’s a huge deal, even for just a cameo?
No! It always surprises me. The thing is, I knew of ‘Chuck”s reputation, that it’s a very sort of cult show that people just absolutely adore, but it was my kids that said, “You’ve gotta do this!” [Laughs] So I said, “I really don’t know the show that well,” so they sent me a package of all these DVDs and we just had a ‘Chuck’ marathon and watched five, six, seven in a row and it was just an astonishing revelation to me. I said, “Where has this show been?” I mean, it’s so hard to categorize … it’s so unique, there’s really nothing else like it on television.

And the cast — they’re all so much fun.
The cast is just tremendous. I have to tell you, you know, you can tell when you go on set … I’ve been in very high-tension situations where this one’s not talking to that one, etc. But the crew, the cast, all of them are just like one big happy family, so it was a lot of fun.

And this being their last season, you’re sort of the guest star pinnacle for their final hurrah.
Well, we’ll see what happens. I did say to them, “Isn’t it odd that I’m just doing a cameo?” And … I don’t want to say anything, but who knows what’ll happen.

So it leaves it open to maybe have you back for more?
Yes, that’s what they said … we’ll see. Please, I don’t want to get anybody started! [Laughs]

(Read more from Mark about his voice work as the Joker and in Sushi Girl…)