8 Little Known Ways Jack Nicholson Made Burton’s Joker Awesome

6. Robin Williams Was Used To Convince Him To Take The Role

It's hard to imagine, given how much fun he had delivering great performance, but Jack Nicholson wasn't initially convinced about playing the character. In one of the most intriguing almost-casts of all time, the role was instead offered to Robin Williams. It'd be fun to theorise what the late comedian would have brought to the role, but he in reality he wasn't a full contender; it was all a trick to get Nicholson to sign up. This may sound less Nicholson adding something to the role and more Warner Bros. treating A-List actors like toys, but it actually had a big impact on how he approached the role. It was clear he was heavily desired to play Joker and thus he began to give out bigger demands - the aforementioned makeup design, a share of both box office and merchandise profits and some even more ridiculous things which we'll look at next. This wasn't the last time Williams would be linked to the role of a Batman villain; he was almost cast as the Riddler in Batman Forever.