Why so Serious?

 

Cesar Romero, The Original Joker, in Batman (1966)

Cesar Romero was the first to take on the Joker role in 1966, playing in the original Batman. He appeared in a series of episodes, with a quite funny appearance because of his refusal to shave his mustache. With this, his white makeup was smeared over his face. The Joker was its own person in itself, not just a character, understanding the history coming behind the character. During the casting of his role, everyone wanted to be the mysterious clown villain… including Frank Sinatra! Alas, Romero was already casted, but truly nobody could’ve done this role better.

​

Jack Nicholson, An Iconic Revival, in Batman (1989)

One of the first iconic Joker roles was Jack Nicholson's performance in the 1989 Batman film. Nicholson made an effort to make his performance heavily stand out from the others. To begin, he gave the Joker his own unique spirit with a deep, sinister voice, separating him from the other Jokers because they carry on a lighter, clown-like sound. Moreover, his death was a huge plot twist at the end of the film, being the only Joker that had an unforgettable death scene. He died when grabbing a helicopter ladder, falling in the hands of Batman. As he laid on the ground, a soundbox of his menacing laugh plays as he keeps the chilling grin on his face. 

 

Jared Leto, The Black Sheep, in 2016’s Suicide Squad 

Whomp, whomp whooomp. Jared Leto’s Joker is unquestionably the worst. For one, let's consider the cringe-worthy, almost comical “damaged” tattoo written on his forehead. His awful appearance was an attempted modern take at the Joker--a complete failure because of seemingly random choices like the grille on his teeth and the unusual outfit choice. This Joker had no correlation to past Jokers since he did not follow the true Joker persona and attitude, not even getting close to nailing the true Joker laugh. On a side note, Jared Leto wanted to completely dedicate himself to his Joker persona by staying in character while on set. He even made sure to send each cast member a Joker style gift, one rumored that he gave a dead rat to Margot Robbie… yuck! Leto… at least you tried. 

 

Joaquin Phoenix, The (Maybe) Actual Joker, in Joker (2019)

Joaquin Phoenix is the most recent portrayal of the Joker, appearing in the 2019 Joker film. He transformed himself into this character by dropping a whopping 52 pounds... What dedication! He didn’t look at the past interpretations of the Joker because he wanted to make this role his own, even occasionally discovering new things about this character himself. He followed his own rules and disregarded any feedback he received, as he only cared for his interpretation of the character. Obviously, his Joker’s most important characteristic was his iconic laugh, perfecting it over the course of many hours, which he accomplished fairly well, despite the extreme difficulty.

​

Heath Ledger, The Real Clown Prince of Crime, in The Dark Knight (2008)

Heath Ledger’s 2008 Dark Knight appearance was undoubtedly the most iconic Joker. His performance was easily the most unforgettable, especially with his monstrous laugh ringing in your ears. His role is certainly the most respected Joker portrayal as well, simply because of how well he made the character come to life in his own unique way. He took the character to an entirely new level, introducing the dark knight film with a robbery scene to assert his unsympathetic character for the rest of the film. This was evident during the entire movie, as he has a very obvious, discomforting presence. He was like this in all of his other films as well, not just The Dark Knight, suggesting that he truly did want to watch the world burn, making him perfect for this role. Over the course of producing The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger was mentally and physically drained, sleeping for only around two hours a night. He dedicated himself to the role by locking himself in a room for weeks, to make his performance appear as though he truly was a maniac. This dedication, in fact, very well may have led to the drug overdose that killed him the same year that The Dark Knight was released. Jack Nicholson warned Ledger about the possible dangers of this character, which was likely a factor leading to the beloved actor's death, but he walked away with the most iconic performance out of all the Joker films.

​

​