The iconic look? Green hair, a pale face and a disturbing smile encompassing the famous scar. A complex and disturbed character, the Joker has the reputation of abusing the actor who plays him, plunging him into a devastating mimicry. From Jack Nicholson to Heath Ledger, arriving at Joaquin Phoenix's latest attempt, take a look back at 5 transcendent interpretations of Batman's mythical enemy.
Cesar Romero in 'Batman' (1966)
The first Joker was played by the American actor Cesar Romero in Leslie H. Martinson's film Batman as well as the 1966 to 1968 series of the same name. A portrayal of pure clown buffoonery true to the comic strip aesthetic, Romero's Joker focused on staging and burlesque comedy, to the detriment of the more interesting psychological aspect that his descendants would embrace with much more force over the years.
Jack Nicholson in 'Batman' (1989)
Jack Nicholson's nasal voice is recognizable among thousands. We don't know much about this great actor's personality but we know a lot more about his legendary roles like that of Jack Napier (better known as the Joker) in Tim Burton's first Batman or as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (just to name a few). When you think of Jack Nicholson, you visualize this face that has become a popular culture element in its own right, the eyebrows raised on a piercing look and the equivocal smile that is almost worrying. Who else could have played this crazy Joker in the colorful three-piece suit in Tim Burton's version where he creates a hard life for Batman (Michael Keaton) and his girlfriend (Kim Basinger) in a villainous Gotham?
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Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight' (2008)
On February 22, 2009, the late Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Tragically, the actor had died one year earlier from an overdose. A fragile, tortured and possessed character, many say that the Joker is a role that will haunt you for life. But what appears on screen remains a lesson in cinema rarely seen as Heath Ledger was inhabited by this character that little by little took over his body, with inspirations of Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols and Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. The few times he appears in the film, out of breath, were enough to make his performance legendary.
Jared Leto in 'Suicide Squad' (2016)
Playing the Joker in the cinema is a high-profile challenge, especially as Heath Ledger set the bar so high in 2008. We therefore had incredibly high expectations for the interpretation of Jared Leto in Suicide Squad, which brought together a team of bad guys like deadshot, the enchantress or and even Harley Quinn. With a flawless performance from Margot Robbie, the Joker has some good company. Slicked back neon hair, a silver grill on the teeth, and the iconic smile tattooed on his hand, this Joker's bling borders on caricature. Some went so much as to call him the worst Joker in history. However, it has to be noted that some scenes featuring the Joker were deleted from the movie, which did not help the actor to seduce the critics. Accustomed to radical transformations - his performance of the transgender junkie in Dallas Buyers Club earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 - here, Jared Leto plays what some claim to be one of the worst roles of his career.
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Joaquin Phoenix in 'Joker' (2019)
On Saturday, September 7, 2019, the Jury of the Venice International Film Festival, chaired by Argentine director, screenwriter and producer Lucrecia Martel, presented the Golden Lion, the most prestigious award of the competition, to the Joker film directed by Todd Phillips. The film which draws a psychological map back to the birth of DC Comics' biggest villain, is already a hit in the American box office. With Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker at the height of his art (who lost 51 pounds to play the psychotic Arthur Fleck), the Joker revisited by Todd Phillips charts the obscure origins of Batman's enemy, in a Gotham of the early 80s in the grip of a social crisis. The film looks back on the obscure origins of Batman’s enemy, from his psychologist sessions to his complex relationship with his mother and his gradual entry into madness. The most fascinating and delirious of DC Comics' antagonists reveals a sensitive side and a fragility that we never knew he had. It's as if Todd Phillips had wanted to make him a martyr, rejected by society and traumatized from childhood. It's a sharp psychological shift which is often disturbing, and which dares to contrast with the different Jokers immortalized through time. One thing is for sure, it places Joaquin Phoenix high up in the running for an Oscar.
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