Leto, Nicholson, Ledger, Hamill: What It’s Like to Play the Joker
Jared Leto, the newest actor to take on playing the Joker, in the forthcoming movie Suicide Squad, has recently spoken about the difficulty of playing the psychopath, saying it was like “giving birth out of my prick hole.” Well, with that visual in mind, it’s safe to say the Joker is a very taxing character to play, so we’re taking a look at what it was like for other actors in the role.
Cesar Romero’s Joker from the TV series was, admittedly, just like a clown. Not much of a deep dive into the character’s psyche as much as squirting flowers and making puns.
Jack Nicholson’s Joker, while not Method, did require him to experience being someone he wasn’t. Having read the comics as a child, he understood the character, and so he let the character run away with him once the cameras started. He danced unusually and let himself be inappropriate — to the point where he was too embarrassed to see the footage.
Mark Hamill’s Joker apparently required a lot more energy than a normal voice-acting role. He was the only member of the cast who stood while recording his lines. Hamill has since retired from the role — several times. He’ll be reprising the Joker in the animated movie The Killing Joke. He’s great at the voice, just bad at retiring. We’re fine with that.
Heath Ledger’s Joker is infamous for taking a toll on his health. Adopting the character entirely, he kept a journal of Joker things and was apparently sleeping only two hours a night because of the restlessness of getting into the Joker’s head.
That brings us to today. Jared Leto spoke to Empire magazine about how playing the Joker was an intense experience since he stayed in character most of the time. He describes himself as being “detached” and recounts having to play painful “psychological games.”
Every portrayal of the Joker has been as different as the experiences the actors have put themselves through. It seems like with every new version, expectations rise that the actor playing him will burrow ever deeper into his own psyche, in an attempt to access the chaotic, wild-eyed dark side of America’s love affair with gangster myth. We’ve loved almost every portrayal, and we look forward to seeing what kind of Joker Jared Leto brings to the table in Suicide Squad.
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