10 Times Two Actors Perfectly Executed The Same Character

The Joker is unquestionably the standout villain of Batman's rogues' gallery and one of the most iconic in comic book history. He was first portrayed on screen by Cesar Romero in the camp sixties TV show, and for many years his interpretation remained the only version that fans got to see. That all changed in 1989 when Tim Burton brought the first major big budget Batman movie to the cinema. Jack Nicholson applied the make-up and played an unforgettable street-hoodlum version of the villain, putting his own uniquely vivacious stamp on the character.

The Batman movies would eventually descend into farce as director Joel Schumacher took over from Burton, and after the disastrous Batman & Robin (1997) the series seemed dead in the water. Then came the Christopher Nolan-directed trilogy, which provided a gritty and grounded take starting with Batman Begins (2005), teasing the return of Joker in the very final scene of that movie. Then, The Dark Knight (2008) followed, starring Heath Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime and widely considered to be the finest comic book movie ever created.

Matching the gritty realism of the film, Ledger’s take was sinister and unlike any Joker we had seen on screen before, taking influence from the very darkest of the Batman graphic novels. Ledger’s performance was truly remarkable and has forever been immortalised by his tragic death, which came a short time after he had finished filming and prior to the movie's release, gaining him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.