1. Cesar Romero (Batman the Movie)-1966-1968
From 1966 to 1968, Cesar Romero played the joker for 22 episodes on the rather brilliant action- packed show that was Batman and starred in the movie. Romero takes the title as the first to ever play joker, something he did incredibly well. While many people may see the joker as a wounded soul, someone misunderstood who hides behind pasty clown makeup and a maniac laugh, he was initially an extroverted goofball, someone who went from crime to crime with glee. Whether he was playing prison baseball, challenging Batman to a surfing contest, or hijacking a television broadcast, Romero always ended with a fiendish laugh, something that set him apart from the others.
2. Jack Nicholson (Batman)- 1989
At the time of its release, Batman wasn’t necessarily being praised by critics, so you could imagine their shock when the Oscar award winning actor Jack Nicholson decided to participate in the movie, starring alongside Michael Keaton as Batman. Nicholson’s joker was one that balanced all the qualities of joker equally. You can imagine that with the genius of Tim Burton along with Nicholsons wonderful acting. Before we got Nicholson, all we had was Cesar Romero’s goofy version, but Nicholson brought something new and refreshing.
3. Roger Stoneburner (Birds of Prey)-2002-2003
In WB’s Birds of Prey series, Roger Stoneburner makes a brief appearance as the Joker. Even though he didn’t really make much dialogue, or conversation, his role was notable, as he fired the bullet that paralyzed Dina Meyer’s Batgirl, and a lot of his dialogue was dubbed by no other than Mark Hamill, a beloved man in the Batman Universe.
4. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)-2008
Heath Ledgers Infamous take on the joker is one that is undoubtedly one of the most captivating, dark, and disturbingly iconic film performances of all time. His performance remains one of the most memorable and well-known portrayals of the misanthropic villain. Heath died on January 22, 2008, just six months before the film’s release, due to a fatal mixture of prescription medicine. Playing the role took quite a toll on the actor’s mental health, with heath himself stating that he was only getting about two hours of sleep every night. That in itself should tell you something about the dedication, and sheer effort that he put into this role, which ultimately became one of the best and most recognized roles of the Joker.
5. Cameron Monaghan (Gotham)-2014-2019
This may be a technicality, or not really an accurate inclusion, but Gotham follows 20 episodes of two brothers, Jerome and Jeremiah, who simply wanted to watch the world end in flames. While Jeremiah was never technically named the Joker, one can assume that he either was going to go on as the joker, or he already was.
6. Jared Leto (Suicide Squad)-2016
When suicide squad came out, Jared Leto had begun making headlines for all the wrong reasons, from weird gift giving to being overall hostile on the set. It was reported that he distanced himself, gifted Margot Robbie a live rat, and gave the cast a dead pig as a gift. Honestly, no one loved Leto’s gum wrapper grills, or peel and stick tattoos. And after David Ayer’s Suicide Squad underperformed, there was no chance that Leto could possibly get a solo movie. It was also reported that Leto was furious after Joaquin Phoenix was given the role for a solo movie.
7. Nathan Dashwood (Batwoman)-2019-2022
Like Roger Stoneburner, Nathan Dashwood plays a faceless joker. But still, he manages to make his lasting impact. Without spoiling much, he basically terrorizes most people that come within his path.
8. Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) 2019 (Joker: Folie a Deux)-2024
When Joaquin Phoenix first played the joker, he was the second ever to win an Oscar for playing the titular role. The film followed Arthur Fleck, a disgruntled comedian with a neurological disorder that caused him to go into fits of laughter. What made this movie different was that instead of painting the Joker as this ruthless, cold-hearted killer, we were able to see something else underneath his violent exterior.
9. Connor Storie (Joker: Folie a Deux)-2024
(Spoiler & another technicality) At the end of this film, we see Arthur Fleck finally being incarcerated for his crimes and placed in Arkham state hospital. His inmate offers to tell Arthur a joke, one whose punchline was indeed a killer: he stabs Arthur several times, presumably killing him. As the camera goes in on Arthur taking his final breaths, we can see the inmate out of focus, carving a jagged smile onto his face as he laughs manically. Could this be the real joker? Someone who was inspired by the heinous crimes of Arthur. We’ll have to wait and see what DC gives us.
10. Barry Keoghan (The Batman)- 2022
We see Keoghan appear for a brief minute at the end of Mat reeve’s batman. He appears for a while in the Arkham state hospital, where we see him coerce the Riddler into rallying against Robert Pattinson’s Batman. Even though we can barely see him, and he was credited at the end of the film as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner”, we can still see his scarred face, green hair, and hear his rattling laughter. We can’t wait to see how this may be factored into the sequel.