In 1940, one year after Batman debuted in the pages of Detective Comics #27, a clownish-looking villain named The Joker came to Gotham City to wreak havoc in Batman #1. It didn’t take long for him to become the Dark Knight’s arch-nemesis in the comic book pages, to the point that all these decades later, Joker is arguably just as well known as Batman himself. With that fame, of course, has come numerous adaptations of the Clown Prince of Crime, most prominently on the big screen.
To that point, we’re here to rank all the major movie portrayals of The Joker. And to be clear, this list will only be discussing live-action and animated versions of the character who’ve appeared in DC movies that had theatrical runs. There’s a lot more to keep track of if we count the numerous direct-to-video DC movies that have been released, but keeping our scope narrowed to big screen offerings keeps things at a more manageable level.
8. Barry Keoghan
The only reason Barry Keoghan’s Joker ranks in last place on this list is because we’ve barely seen him. He’s only heard and indirectly shown for roughly a minute within the finalized cut of The Batman, and then there was the deleted scene between the villain and Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader released shortly after the movie.
Still, all we know so far about this version of the Clown Prince of Crime is that he’s heavily disfigured, and that he and Batman tangled sometime prior to The Riddler’s reign of terror. No doubt Keoghan’s ranking on this list will be higher if he plays a prominent role in The Batman: Part II, but for now, there just isn’t material to work with and make a proper judgement.
7. Jared Leto
Suicide Squad marked the first time Joker appeared in a movie that didn’t revolve around him fighting Batman, and that was for the best. The execution for the Clown Prince of Crime didn’t work, from the strange choices with his physical appearance (especially that “Damaged” forehead tattoo), to him barely contributing to the story in any notable way, to Jared Leto’s performance not feeling intimidating in the slightest.
It’s almost as if the actor was trying too hard to play the character weirdly, which he continued to do during his few minutes of screen time in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Let’s breathe a sigh of relief that the Leto-led Joker movie never happened, and that with the DCEU now over, we’ll almost certainly never see him again.
6. Zach Galifianakis
There’s nothing particularly wrong with Zach Galifianakis’ Joker, it’s just that he feels more like a standard baddie in The LEGO Batman Movie rather than one giving off the vibes of Batman’s arch-nemesis. For one thing, this spinoff to The LEGO Movie was, like its predecessor, comedic and chiefly geared towards children, so this Joker was presented as more clownish and goofy rather than sinister and terrifying.
There’s nothing wrong with that, as it clearly worked for the story being told about Joker enacting his biggest plan yet after learning that Batman didn’t see him as an important villain in his life. But when held up against the other portrayals on this list, Galifianakis’ Joker comes across as generic.
5. Cesar Romero
Like another version of The Joker on this list, Cesar Romero primarily portrayed the character on television, namely the live-action Batman TV series that ran from 1966 to 1968. But shortly after Season 1 aired, Batman: The Movie hit theaters, and as such Romero qualifies for the rankings.
This movie saw Joker teaming up with Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman, and just like the TV show, it leaned heavily into the campy tone. So, while this Joker will appeal more towards people who like the Silver Age of Comics and don’t mind him being more playful rather than a frightening threat, as far as performing this version of the character went, Romero continued to knock it out of the park.
4. Joaquin Phoenix
In 2019, Joker showed audiences how the Clown Prince of Crime’s origin story would unfold if Batman wasn’t around. Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was depicted as a party clown and failed stand-up comic suffering from mental illness, and a few too many traumatizing events led to his descent into madness and adopting his clown-like criminal persona.
There’s no question that Phoenix gave a stellar performance, as evidenced by him winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. However, since this is a Joker who’s about as far from his comic book roots as possible, it’s hard to put him above the final three men on this list. Still, there are plenty of people looking forward to seeing more from him in the 2024 movie release, Joker: Folie à Deux.
3. Jack Nicholson
More than 20 years after Caesar Romero hammed it up as Joker on the Batman TV series, Jack Nicholson put a more unsettling twist on the character in Tim Burton’s Batman. Although this version of Joker’s original identity was known from the start rather than kept shrouded in secrecy as is usually the case, knowing that he started out as gangster Jack Napier, who murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents, didn’t detract from watching him become a theatrical lunatic after falling into that vat of chemicals during his first encounter with Batman.
Granted, there are times where it feels like Nicholson is just playing a more unhinged version of himself, but overall, his performance still holds up quite nicely after all this time.
2. Mark Hamill
As with Caesar Romero, Mark Hamill’s exploits as The Joker are chiefly known from TV, specifically the DC Animated Universe incarnation of the character he voiced in Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures and other projects. But because Batman: Mask of the Phantasm shifted from a direct-to-video release to a theatrical one, we can thankfully mention him on this list.
Not only did Hamill bring the same delightful blend of comedy and terror that he did on the small screen, but because this movie didn’t have to deal with the same broadcast TV restrictions, his Joker was finally able to kill and drop some more suggestive lines. Even just judging Hamill’s Joker within the lens of only this movie, he’s more than earned ranking in second place. It’s also a reminder about what a shame it is he’ll never voice Joker again.
1. Heath Ledger
Anyone who followed along with the news cycle surrounding The Dark Knight’s production will remember that many were skeptical Heath Ledger would deliver a compelling Joker performance, especially once it was revealed this version of the character would look much different than how he’s usually depicted. Well, not only did Ledger prove the doubters wrong, he’s still considered by many to be the definitive cinematic Joker, and he went on to posthumously win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Granted, this version of the villain didn’t drop a ton of actual jokes, but watching him envelop Gotham City in chaos and try to prove that no one is incorruptible not only earns him the #1 spot on this list, but makes him one of cinema’s most iconic villains across all genres.
There will be more actors who play Joker on the big screen in the years to come, and once we see their performances, come back here to see where they rank amongst their cohorts. Until then, use your Max subscription to stream many of Joker’s film and TV appearances, both live-action and animated, to your heart’s content.
