Batman vs. Superman: 8 Actors Who Could Play The Riddler

2. John Hawkes

John Hawkes' chief virtue that makes him stand out in this fantasy casting race is that he would look incredible in the Riddler's iconic outfit, but that would perhaps ignore the fact that he is easily one of the most accomplished and critically lauded actors on this list. He has the pedigree to pull off the kind of villainous part that stays with audiences, burrowing under the skin the same way that Ledger's Joker and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin memorably did: his Oscar-nominated Winter's Bone performance proves that succinctly, and there is a lot in his performance as the sinfully ethereal cult leader in Martha Marcy May Marlene that suggests his appropriateness for the role. Since the added attention afforded him in the wake of Winter's Bone, Hawkes' career has been building with greater speed than before that watershed moment, culminating in another critically beloved turn in The Sessions, and it would be great to see him tackle a completely different, and far more animated role in the shape of the Riddler. If his facial expressions and the emotion of his The Sessions performance are enough to warrant an Oscar nomination, you have to wonder what he would do with something as colourful as that character.