12 Actors Who Should Play The Joker In Scorsese's Origin Movie

10. Freddie Highmore

For all of the appeal of seeing Leonardo DiCaprio channelling his inner Daniel Day-Lewis and bringing an intense Joker to the screen, there's also a huge draw in the idea of someone more understated playing the young villain as a sort of intrigued psychopath.

One version of the Joker's origin suggests that he showed signs of dangerous psychological removal from a very early age, and while Warner Bros would have to be careful to avoid going too close down the Young Hannibal road, seeking to emulate some of what worked in Bates Motel might not be the worst idea.

With that in mind, the idea of casting Freddie Highmore and watching him develop from the same starting point as his Norman Bates but become something altogether more grotesque is delightful.