Joaquin Phoenix is putting on the white makeup and a smile on his face to bring the clown prince of crime back to the cinema. Much like the Joker’s origins, Joaquin Pheonix is going to bring his own take on the Joker. A down on his luck man that sees the world as a scary place that needs to change. This will be the fifth big-screen actor to portray the Joker, but the 22nd actor to play the role in any medium. So in honor of the new Joker, I will be raking The best Joker performances. For this list, I will be looking at movies, TV shows, and video games, however, if the actor played Joker more than once I will count it all as one performance. I am not looking at the depiction of the character, I am looking at the voice and the man behind the makeup that brought the Joker to live. I am also excluding Jered Leto’s Joker because he really doesn’t do enough to justify his character.
5. Zach Galifianakis/ Lego Batman (2017)
Here is one of the Joker performance that might never get the credit it deserves. When it comes to delivering a wacky Joker the go-to example has always been the legendary Cesar Romero’s Joker. However, when looking back at that performance it is one of those so bad is good. Romero’s Joker is wacky, yes, but Galifianakis’ Joker is great because it digs deeper into the character. The biggest plot point of the Lego Batman movie is Bruce Wayne’s relationship with everyone including his relationship with Joker. One of the best scenes of the movie is when Batman treats Joker like a girlfriend that he has to break up with, and Zach delivery is amazing.
Zach Galifianakis brings his own unique charisma into a role that has a history of gritty violence and turns it into one of the scariest family-friendly Joker ever. In the long run, people will always look at Cesar Romero, but I believe that Zach did it better. Also, he did not have to shave his facial hair.
4. Michael Emerson/ The Dark Knight Returns (2012)
The Dark Knight Returns is one of the most comic book accurate Batman film. The idea that Batman has long since retired and as a result, the world starts changing as anarchy starts to overshadow the city. The movie is split into two parts. The first has Batman return from retirement and sends shock waves into the world. He builts his own army ready to take the fight to the mutants. The second part shows the aftermath of Batman’s return. Joker, who has been in unresponsive for years suddenly starts to talk again. Michael Emerson brings a new voice to the Joker, An older man with an almost Hanibal Lecture delivery. Emerson Joker laugh is also intense, and the character actor definitely brings one of the best-animated Jokers. His final lines after killing himself will always bring a shiver down my spine.
3. Jack Nicholson/ Batman (1989)
Jack Nicholson Joker is an iconic movie villain, a gangster who falls into radioactive fluids which transforms him into the joker. With a performance that is miles ahead of Romero, Jack Nicholson’s Joker is a true criminal, a man that gets ahead by killing off his old boss and ascending into the top of the criminal underworld. What makes Jack Nicholson’s performance so amazing is his humanity, you see him as a regular criminal killing Bruce Wayne’s parents creating a fresh take of the Batman/Joker dynamic. Jack Nicholson is the perfect balance of crazy and dangerously intelligent bringing in the same energy that he brought to The Shinning. This isn’t a man that does things for no reason, he is a criminal that wants to take the world and see how much he steal from it.
2. Mark Hamill
The definitive voice of Joker, Mark Hamill has voiced the Joker for multiple reincarnations of the character. From the legendary Batman the Animated Series (1992-1995), and The Arkham Video Game Series. Whenever Mark Hamill voices Joker, you know he is about to steal the show. However, despite being one of the best, the reason why he is not number one is because of the inconsistencies of his performance. When Hamill is at his best you get a legendary performance, but when he phones it in you get The Killing Joke. While it is not fair to compare Hamill who played the role multiple times, against the other members on this list who played the role once. Mark Hamill will always go down as the best voice of Joker, however, when looking at performances only one can claim number 1.
1. Heath Ledger/ Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight is not only the best superhero movie ever made, but it is also one of the best movies ever made. The story, the action, and of course the Joker. A tour de force performance, Heath Ledger’s Joker is the perfect movie villain, a performance that set the benchmark for comic book movie villains to come. Only Infinity War (2018) Thanos would come close, and the fact that it took that long for a performance that can go against Heath is a testament to the power of his performance. It is a shame that we will never get to see how far the character would have gone due to the untimely death of Heath Ledger. However, as a stand-alone Heath Ledger will always be the best Joker performance of all time,