Famous actors who almost played the Joker

With the release of Todd Phillips’ standalone comic book adaptation joker, Joaquin Phoenix joins the ranks of Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill to take on DC’s absolutely iconic and completely insane Clown Prince Of Crime.

But pop culture could have looked very different: In the past, for example, Willem Dafoe, Robin Williams and, according to rumors, even David Bowie were considered for the role of the villain.

Here are the A-list celebrities who almost scared the citizens of Gotham City…

Willem Dafoe

With his inimitable bone structure and ability to display such extreme intensity, it’s no surprise that Dafoe has made a name for himself as a villain and especially evil genius in comics. See: his role as the Green Goblin in 2002’s The Last Man Spider-Man, It was directed by Sam Raimi, but long before that he was apparently in talks to play the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 film, Batman.

Read more: How each actor prepared for the role joker

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dafoe revealed that the screenwriter had spoken to him about the role, but he never received an official offer. He said, “(Screenwriter Sam) Hamm said I was physically perfect for the role, but they never offered it to me.” The role was later made famous by Jack Nicholson.

Johannes Lithgow

The The crown Star was once in line to play the Joker in an unmade Batman film from the 1980s. In the early 1980s, before Tim Burton’s Batman and on the back of the success of Richard Donner’s Superman: The MovieWarner Bros. had plans for a Batman film directed by Gremlins“Joe Dante. Dante turned down the project, but he had Lithgow in mind for the role of the Joker, who would have been one of the few villains in the piece.

However, Dante said he was so well suited to the role that he gave it as a reason for his complete exit: “I wanted to hire John Lithgow for this role because I knew him well. Twilight Zone – The Hidden World film. And for some reason I started to feel more attracted to the Joker than to Batman. And in fact, I woke up one night and said to myself, “I can’t do this film – I’m more interested in the Joker than I am in Batman, and it shouldn’t be like this.” If only he had known that a standalone Joker film was possible…

Ryan Gosling

According to The Wrap, Ryan Gosling was originally slated to play the role of Joker in 2016. Suicide Squadbut declined because he didn’t want to commit to a multi-film contract. Apparently, Jared Leto was only approached for the heavily tattooed incarnation of the character after his rejection, for which he famously did not do things by halves – he delivered a dead pig to the first cast read, sent his colleagues anal beads as a graduation “gift” and refused to be called by his real name on set, instead asking only to be called “Mistah Jay”.

Robin Williams

Robin Williams revealed in an interview with Empire in 2010 that he was in the running for not just one, not two, but three various Batman villain roles on the big screen. In the 1995s Batman forever, He was in the running for the role of the Riddler (as was Michael Jackson, who reportedly lobbied hard for the role), but the role ultimately went to Jim Carrey. The late comedy legend was also considered for the role of the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. Batmanbefore the role went to Jack Nicholson.

Williams, a dedicated Batman comic book fan, was considered for the Joker role a second time when Christopher Nolan, who had directed Williams in 2002’s The Batman: The Joker, insomniacame to the casting The Dark Knight rises. This time, the role went to Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for it. Although Ledger’s character is considered one of the most iconic Jokers in film history, Williams’ interpretation of the role could have been incredible. Imagine his chaotic comedic energy combined with the creepiness he brought to films like ” One hour of photography.

David Bowie

Before Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, and before Joe Dante’s unrealized film, There was another Batman movie that was never made. 1985 The Batman Directed by Ghost Hunters Directed by Ivan Reitman, it stars Bill Murray in the title role of the Dark Knight and Bowie alongside him as the Joker. Eddie Murphy was also set to play the role of Robin in the film, so it’s safe to say it’s pretty much the best Batman movie never made.

Since then, comic book writer Grant Morrison has spoken about how the music icon played his version of the Joker in his Batman – Rest in Peace plot, with one comic book issue featuring the Joker even being titled “The Thin White Duke of Death“.

Author Neil Gaiman said in an interview with Wired in 2009 that Bowie was his first choice for the role of the Clown Prince in an adaptation of Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, while screenwriter Sam Hamm reportedly wanted Bowie to play the Joker again in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. Batman.

Adrien Brody

The The pianist The Oscar winner has been linked to the role of Batman’s main antagonist on more than one occasion. He was apparently in talks to play the Joker in 2008’s The Joker. The Dark Knightbefore the role finally went to Heath Ledger.

Then, in 2017, when Zack Snyder’s Justice League movie was in the works, he told Metro newspaper of his interest in reprising the role, saying, “I would do it if I felt I could bring something valuable and the role would be interesting to me. I find the villains really funny!”

“But (studios) don’t offer me such roles. If there is an opportunity to do something like that and play a comic book hero or villain, I’m not against it in principle.” The Joker did not appear in Justice League but in the end.

Tom Hiddleston

Playing the role of Loki in the MCU and the Joker in the DC film universe may have been a difficult proposition, but in 2014 there were rumors that Hiddleston was in the running for the role in Zach Snyder’s film. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Of course, the villain did not appear in the film in the end, but if he had, Hiddleston would have been the arch villain of all Superhero movie universes. As it turns out, he was keeping it rather low-key. (Sorry.)

Tim Curry

He is already famous for his role as a psychotic, white-faced clown in his cult role as Pennywise in It, So it is perhaps no surprise that Tim Curry was chosen to provide the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series He only filmed four episodes before he was recast because he was way too scary. Instead, he was replaced by Mark Hamill.