snagging a role like the Joker is
something that can make or break your
career it's a daunting task and easy to
mess up but what happens after you wash
all the green dye out of your hair
from Cesar Romero to Joaquin Phoenix
here's where all the actors who played
the Joker are today Cesar Romero stepped
foot in Hollywood in 1934 the
self-proclaimed Latin from Manhattan was
known as a professional dancer and
though he would have excelled as a
leading man most of his major roles were
supporting parts he was cast as the
Joker in the cheesy 1966 Adam West
Batman series marking him as the first
actor to ever put on the characters
purple tuxedo Romero refused to shave
his famous mustache for the role so the
crew simply had to slather the lip hairs
with white makeup thereby creating the
good ole can you spot the Joker's facial
hair drinking game hey he did have a
great mustache but don't confuse
Romero's protectiveness of his facial
hair with prima donna behavior he loved
camping it up as the Joker and
reportedly wasn't a fan of how later
interpretations took the character in
the darker direction by all accounts
Romero lived a long fulfilling life
passing away in 1994 at the age of 86
Jack Nicholson's Joker might seem campy
today but back in 1989 his snarky and
murderous depiction of a gangster clown
shocked the world and redefined the
Joker in a big way
insanely enough when Warner Brothers
first quarter nickel sent for the role
he balked at in order to push Nicholson
into a decision the producer started
talking to Robin Williams about the park
and soon Jack came back with an
unconventional proposal he agreed to
take a substantial pay cut on his salary
so long as he earned a percentage of the
film's total earnings merchandise
included when Batman mania swept the
nation Nicholson earned over fifty
million dollars he can make a good
decision when you drive
Nicholson's career was already huge free
Batman and his post Batman career
continued steadily the particular
highlight being his 1997 Oscar win for
as good as it gets
sadly in recent years he's disappeared
from the public eye and rumor had it
that memory loss was to blame Nicholson
however
the Sun in 2013 that he was just simply
being more selective with the roles he
was taken to most people mark Hamill's
defining role is Luke Skywalker
but for others his defining role will
forever be the Joker a character he's
voiced for almost three decades back
when the 1992 animated series was first
in production though Hamill wasn't
exactly the producers first choice
they'd already hired Tim Curry
but when curry came down with bronchitis
the part opened up and Hamill came in
swinging
since then Hamill has become one of the
most prolific voice actors in the
business
he played Chucky in the child's play
remake the Hobgoblin and spider-man the
animated series and the scientists and
Dark Crystal Age of resistance but when
it comes to the world of voice acting
the Joker is still his touchstone roam
he's the voice that fans always want to
hear coming from the clown's mouth and
he's referred to his time in the role as
being an honor
most recently he let loose with his
Joker voice on Twitter reading aloud
some of President Donald Trump's more
bizarre tweets his trademark cackle
including too many enemies now that
superhero movies are coming out left and
right
it's crazy to imagine comic book fans
getting excited over a silly commercial
back in the early 2000s though the
Batman franchise had been thoroughly
assassinated by the 1997 flop Batman and
Robin so it was a big deal when the Dark
Knight starred in a series of
advertisements for OnStar the end car
communication service one of which
featured actor Chris Armstrong is the
Joker
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does this guy look familiar to you
behind the makeup and should many will
recognize him as booger and Revenge of
the Nerds but he's had roles in all
kinds of movie and TV projects he never
got to extend his Joker performance to
the big screen but recently Armstrong
managed to snag another quirky comic
book character he recently voiced
Ezekiel cockroach in the DC Universe
series Doom Patrol today
DC's birds-of-prey is about to become a
big-budget film but back in 2002 the
property was adapted into a middling TV
series that well didn't go so well but
you can't fault it for trying the show
depicts a post Batman new Gotham City
where fat man's daughter Helena teams up
with Black Canary and Oracle the former
Batgirl to fight crime the joker appears
in the first episode mainly just to
reenact the infamous Killing Joke
sequence where he paralyzes Barbara
Gordon though the Joker's voice here is
very obviously that of Mark Hamill guy
on the screen as a stunt performer named
Roger stone burner
ow
tennis wait why have Hamel dub the role
instead of just playing it outright who
knows but hey at least a cave stone
burner a fun opportunity since then he's
continued doing stunt work for such
films as Step Brothers in Ocean's
thirteen remember that hold dearth of
Batman cinema in the early 2000s this
bad starvation is why people got so
revved up about Batman dead-end glassy
fan film that premiered at Comic Con and
even garnered praise for Batman mega fan
Kevin Smith in retrospect the short is
rather silly considering it ends with
Batman facing off against the Alien and
Predator of all things
however dead ends creepy depiction of
the Joker as played by Andrew Koenig was
widely praised and at one point it even
initiated a brief fan campaign to get
Kanak cast in a feature film version
Kanak by the way wasn't new to acting
the son of Star Trek alum walter Koenig
he famously played Richard boners to
bone on the TV sitcom growing pains
Kanak tragically died in 2010 reportedly
taking his own life after struggling
with depression the 2004 cartoon the
Batman had some big shoes to fill as the
heir to the acclaimed Batman the
Animated Series in order to stand out it
had to reinvent the wheel nowhere was
this more evident than indeed Batman's
radical take on the Joker which broke
from classic interpretations to depict
clown as a nightmarish barefoot
acrobatic figure with a voice of Kevin
Michael Richardson that set the show's
decision not to cast Marc camel shaped a
lot of fans one of whom was Richardson
himself takes after his paw wouldn't you
say in an interview with geek mom
Richardson said that he was so deeply
upset about Hamill losing the part that
he poured all of his grief and rage into
his joker audition
which ironically resulted in such a
fascinating performance that he was cast
Hamill aside Richardson's Joker voice
was one of the most unique and layered
offerings the character has had
Richardson loved playing the role
besides it's cheaper to hire a new one
Richardson has continued doing voice
work ever since with some of his bigger
roles being Betina
Mutant Ninja Turtles bad guys shredder
animated version of groups a few parts
in various transformer projects the 2008
animated series Batman The Brave and the
bold was a throwback to the zany Silver
Age comics of the past complete with a
smiling Batman at night and for the
first time in a long time
not so lethal Joker who at one point
even teams up with Batman to stop a
fellow criminal mastermind from upstage
again I always blow away the competition
hey no matter what era you're in those
sorts of ego-driven shenanigans are pure
Joker with an authentic 60s design
inspired by the work of dick spray this
Joker's voice was supplied by veteran
voice actor Jeff Bennett now whether you
know Bennett's name or not you've heard
his work most famously he was the voice
of Johnny Bravo in the 90s cartoon of
the same name he's also supplied voices
for many other popular franchises since
them including scooby-doo Young Justice
Kung Fu Panda Heath Ledger's depiction
of the Joker is arguably the most iconic
version of the character to date when
interviewed by Empire ledger said he
prepared by reading all the relevant
comics locking himself in a hotel room
writing his own Joker diary and
experimenting with voices until he found
the perfect Joker within needless to say
his portrayal ended up being a stunning
win betting the actor a posthumous
Academy Award how about a magic track by
now everyone knows about the sleep
deprivation that ledger suffered while
he was playing the Joker and the tragic
fact that he died from an accidental
overdose of prescription sleeping
medications however the common belief
that Ledger died because of some
inherent darkness and the Joker role for
a Joker purse is false as his sister
later explained he loved playing the
Joker had an amazing sense of humor and
certainly wasn't depressed about it his
insomnia issues and reality went much
farther back John DiMaggio is a former
stand-up comic best known for his role
as the alcoholic robot bender on
Futurama though he's played live-action
roles in shows like NYPD Blue and
Chicago Hope he voiced the Joker in the
animated film Batman under the Red Hood
which tells the story of a former Robin
Jason Todd rising from the ash
becoming a vengeful vigilante with his
sights set on the Joker's death in an
interview with comic Mex DiMaggio
acknowledged that like Heath Ledger
before him he also looked toward a
certain stanley kubrick gun for
inspiration describing his Joker as
being like quote Cesar Romero if he was
in a Clockwork Orange since playing the
Joker
DiMaggio has continued mostly working as
a voice actor in cartoons like Ben 10
and American Dad stating that he
generally prefers the laid-back studio
experience of voice acting the constant
patience required for live-action roles
to most viewers Michael Emerson will
forever be the villainous Benjamin Linus
from lost though others might recognize
him as Harold Finch from person of
interest or accept handled from saw
either way if you don't know his name
you definitely know his face and you
might not realize that back in 2012 he
voiced the Joker for the two-part
animated film adaptation of Frank
Miller's The Dark Knight Returns it's
true playing Joker
be still yes Ben Linus really played the
Joker and yes he did a fantastic job
Emerson reportedly admitted that playing
the Clown Prince of Crime is one of the
most intimidating ventures that he ever
undertook after all the characters
legacy is hard enough to grapple with
but when you combine it with the sheer
number of excellent performers who've
done it before
it's hard not to bulk out it since
hanging up his animated Glazer amber
says stayed in the DC Universe going on
to play Kidd and James on arrow if
you've ever tried to figure out what
exactly was going on with the would-be
future Joker's storyline on the Batman
prequel series Gotham
well good luck basically it involves a
young maniacal psychopath named Jerome
Valeska who seems like a pretty Joker
ish individual and dies but not before
turning his twin brother Jeremiah
velasca into a pale skinned equally
unhinged figure who later becomes the
real Joker eventually it's time to stop
taking ourselves
wonky plots aside if there's one thing
that everybody can agree on
it's that actor Cameron Monaghan made a
fine Joker even when he wasn't being
called them Monaghan earned acclaim from
fans for his interpretation of the
Jeremiah role convincing the producers
to lean deeper into the Joker storylines
than they initially intended based on
Monaghan's
successful Gotham work it's likely that
he'll have a whole bunch of new job
offers lined up soon when Texas musician
and voice actor Troy Baker was hired to
play a younger version of Mark Hamill's
Joker for the prequel game Batman Arkham
origins knew he had big shoes to fill
as a big fan of Hamill's performance he
knew the stakes but his performance has
been well received Baker has gone on to
play the Joker on multiple occasions
since also voicing the likes of Harvey
Dent and Jason Todd in other games in
the arkham series you'll get to see him
reprise one of his best-known roles Joel
in the Last of Us and that game sequel
in 2020 these days it's undeniable Jared
Leto's messy bizarre performances the
Joker in Suicide Squad did he turn out
well for anyone least of all humors he
was barely in the movie and Mosley made
an impact from the long promotional lead
in which Leto was alleged to have sent
strange and disgusting gifts to all his
co-stars it was way too much far too
little all at the same time while Leto's
Joker has his defenders the character
mostly came across as an unhinged /
stylized weirdo so now he's looking for
redemption and yet another comic book
club while it was reported in 2018 that
a solo movie for his version of the
Joker's and developments of first star
in Sony's burgeoning spider-man expanded
universe as the antihero Morbius the
living vampire Zach Galifianakis voiced
the Joker in the Lego Batman movie now
sure Lego Batman might have starred
little animated toys as characters but
still tapped into the unrequited love
story between Batman and the Joker and
lots of Batman media that kind of thing
is more subtext and the lego movie it's
the central plot there is no Batman
without the Joker we go together like
coffee and doughnuts lapell flowers and
rubber chickens mayhem and destruction
it's been reported that when
Galifianakis was first offered the Joker
role he immediately agreed before
realizing that he was being offered a
LEGO version of the character rather
than a live-action part if he was
disappointed he got over it and turned
in a fine performance as the toy clown
Prince already high-profile when he took
the role he's remained famous since then
going on to win widespread acclaim and
an Emmy nomination for his role as a
clown in the TV series baskets finally
the ball is passed to Joaquin Phoenix
who stars in the 2019 film Joker while
Phoenix certainly isn't the first person
to play the clown and won't be the last
his portrayal is a little different
while most actors usually play the Joker
as a suave master criminal Phoenix is
giving us a tragic embarrassing failure
named Arthur Fleck his performance has
drawn critical acclaim it's a joke to
you
after Heath Ledger Phoenix has been the
first big-screen joke or the truly turn
heads and the movies premiere at the
Venice Film Festival earned eight
minutes of applause
with Vance's performance seeming to be a
key element to dive into the role it's
been reported that Phoenix purposefully
lost 52 pounds which caused him to and
his words start to go mad Phoenix also
said the Joker's bizarre and
unpredictable nature fascinated him
throughout production even on the last
day of filming who claims to have still
been discovering new aspects of the
character what about all those guys who
played the Joker in various animated
series directed video films and video
games over the years here is what
they've been up to strap in
Lenny Weinreb voiced the Joker and mr.
freeze on the 1997 animated series the
new Batman adventures he passed away in
2006 after giving voice to captain croak
in McDonald's commercials
scrappy-doo on Scooby Doo shows and the
Tile character on the wacky HR Pufnstuf
weirdly the Joker showed up on the new
scooby-doo movies in the early 70s at
this time voiced by a notable TV
character actor of that era Larry Storch
he's best known for his role as corporal
agarn on F Troop and he continues to
work into his 90s acting in plays and
working through the personal appearance
circuit in the 2014 animated small
screen film son of Batman veteran voice
actor Dee Bradley Baker took a turn to
portraying the Joker for a very brief
cameo appearance he's likely far more
recognizable for his work as talking
east-german fish klaus on american death
animation wouldn't be the same without
frank welker
playing the Joker on Superfriends is
just one of the prolific voice actors
classic credits alongside scooby-doo
hefty Smurf
Curious George Megatron on transformers
and nibbler on Futurama he also voiced
grimace and the McDonald's commercials
in 2016 he was awarded an Emmy for
lifetime achievement
brent Spiner voiced the Joker on Young
Justice
but he's still best known as data from
Star Trek The Next Generation
he recently reprised his role of an
researching scientist and Independence
Day resurgence and was a regular on
Cinemax is outcast and in 2020 he'll
return to the role of data and Star Trek
Picard there is perhaps only one villain
who can match the Joker and being both
terrifying and amusing the Cryptkeeper
the ghoulish puppet host of Tales from
the Crypt john kassir voiced the
character and in 2010 he joined the
world of Batman for traying the Joker
and series of Superfriends shorts he's
also appeared in hundreds of projects
most recently major animated fare like
the Angry Birds movie to the emoji movie
and the Grinch 2016 s Batman return of
the caped crusaders marked the return of
the cast of the campy sixties Batman
Adam West and Burt Ward with Jeff
Bergman taking on the role of Joker
replacing the late Cesar Romero this was
a break from his regular succeeding Mel
Blanc as the voice of many Warner
Brothers counties including Bugs Bunny
Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
a gifted mimic he also plays Donald
Trump on Showtime's our cartoon
president series the fabulously named
Lloyd Floyd worked steadily in video
games and animation for nearly 20 years
before he portrayed the Joker in DC
Super Friends that's about the last
major credit for the voice actor who
also recently portrayed Luke Skywalker
in the video game Disney infinity 3.0
it's weird how much those two have in
common is the dark side stronger check
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