Joker Actors Ranked

 

Joker Actors Ranked

The Joker was created in DC comics 81 years ago. Joker has been one of the most iconic movie and comic book villains of all time. So today, I’m going to be ranking the 7 Joker actors. For this list, I only counted actors who played the Joker in a theatrical released movie. So now actors from Gotham or any other DC tv shows. 

7. Caesar Romero (Batman the Movie): Now, I don’t hate this version of the Joker. He’s good...for the movie that he is in. I think the movie and tv show both feel very 1966. So he might have been great back in the 60s. But as somebody who grew-up watching Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, seeing Romero’s take is very jarring to see. Beyond that, it’s pretty well known that he didn’t want to shave his mustache. So it’s also weird to see Joker with a mustache, and it’s distracting to see whenever he is on screen. Once again, for people that grew-up watching Adam West as Batman, they might like this verison a lot more. But for somebody like me that was born in the 21st century, this version of the Joker just doesn’t work for me. Again not a bad verison of the character by any means. 

6. Jared Leto (The DCEU): I know a lot of people don’t like Jared Leto as this character, I’ve never understood that hate. They were in a tricky situation because they needed to find a way to make him different from Heath Ledger’s legendary performance. But, the changes they did make didn’t work. When Joker has tattoos that say “damaged” and has a grill on his teeth, it feels off and not like the Joker. The script in Suicide Squad didn’t give him anything to do, they made him a side character. His relationship with Harley is great, but they don’t develop his character enough. But, his cameo in The Snyder Cut is one of the best Joker scenes ever and I wish we get to see more of this version of the character in The Nightmare world. So a bit of a mixed bag. 

5. Zach Galifianakis (The LEGO Batman Movie): If Jared Leto’s Joker is the most mixed one on this list, Zach’s verison (I don’t want to spell his last name), is the one that is there for me. He didn’t do anything that was particularly bad, but didn’t do anything that made me laugh at this version either. What’s most interesting about him is that he helps with Batman’s character in the movie (in a funny way). So when the villain helps change our hero, I think you have to give him some credit. Zach Ga...ah forget it is good as the character, he brings a lot of really funny lines to the movie, and in a lot of ways the funniest of the Jokers. So a version of the character that I think is good and hope we get to see in a sequel. 

4. Mark Hamill (Various DC Products): Mark Hamill has been both Luke Skywalker and Joker, that is pretty great! He’s appeared in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, I’ve only seen that movie once but I thought he was great, and liked how he was used in the story. But he’s also appeared in the Batman Arkham Games, which he’s fantastic in. Batman: Arkham City, maybe my favorite video game of all time. And some people might not even know that Luke Skywalker is the voice of The Joker in various DC movies, tv shows, and video games. So, it’s heartbreaking that he is at number 4, because I think he’s great. His lower placement shows that we have had some fantastic Jokers. He doesn’t do anything wrong, I wish he could be top 3 but not everybody can. 

3. Jack Nichsolson (Batman): For me, I think is the most comic accurate representation of the character. He’s a gangster that likes cracking jokes, and even his costume is pretty comic book accurate. I like that about this version, it fit well in the time period that this movie came out in. And that is what the character was like. Jack Nichsolon is having so much fun in this role playing this character. He is absolutely up to the challenge of playing this character. And he steals every scene that he is in. But the pieces come together and you get a legendary actor playing a legendary movie character. Now, I think his love for art and the Prince music doesn’t really work, and it knocks him back. But if this version is at number 3, then 1 and 2 are pretty incredible because I love this version of The Joker. 

As we move into the top 2, this is so difficult. I think this is easily the hardest top 2 I’ve had to decide. Because I love what both Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix brough to the role. But they are very different takes on the character. So if I’m ever going to update this list, it could change but number 2 is… 

2. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight): Like I said...it was really difficult to pick which one goes at number one and which goes at number two. But, I still love this version of the Joker and think that Mr. Heath Ledger did a fantastic job. Prior to The Dark Knight, Ledger was a teen heartthrob and when they announced him as The Joker, people thought it sounded terrible. But he does such a great job of playing this force of chaos for Gotham. He knows that Batman doesn’t kill, but he keeps on pushing and pushing Batman into a corner and gets to the point where Batman has to think about killing Joker. Part of that is the writing, but part of that is Heath Ledger. I like his look, and all of the little jokes that he makes are nice editions to his character and the movie. I love this version of The Joker, and wish that Ledger didn’t pass away and we got to see more of him. 

1. Joaquin Phoenix (Joker): I got to experience his performance for the first time on the big screen opening weekend of the release for this movie. Maybe that is somewhat why he is at number 1 is the experience. But Joaquin Phoenix is just pretty fantastic as this conflict character. The story where you have a good natured man keeps on getting bullied and bullied, and this pushes him down a dark path and the Joker is born. While the writing is great, I think Joaquin Phoenix elevates the story and the movie as a whole. The scene where he goes on the talk show is creepy, thrill inducing, and you know something bad is going to happen but you're not sure what it is. And I think that is Phoenix’s best acted scene of the movie (which is saying a lot because he’s fantastic in every scene). It was a difficult choice but Phoenix comes in at number 1. 

There you have it, my rank of the 7 Joker Actors. What is your favorite version of The Joker? Also, I’ve down a lot of DC rankings and reviews, so if you liked this ranking. Then you find another DC ranking that you enjoy. Thanks for reading!