With Joker: Folie à Deux opening in theaters, Joaquin Phoenix returns to the role that won him the Oscar as party clown turned vigilante Arthur Fleck, now institutionalized as he awaits trial for his crimes—and finding a soul mate in fellow detainee Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), soon to become infamous as Harley Quinn.
Since his debut in the first issue of Batman way back in 1940, the Joker has become the Dark Knight’s undisputed primary nemesis and opposite number—and since the Batmania TV craze of the mid-‘60s, he’s been an integral part of the Batman mythos in other media, whether played as a relatively benign prankster or homicidal lunatic. Whatever your stance on superhero movies, it’s telling that not one, but two actors—Phoenix and posthumously, Heath Ledger—won acting Academy Awards for inhabiting the same challenging comic book supervillain.
With that in mind, who’s your favorite of the many actors that have portrayed the Joker in movies and TV, whether live-action or voicing an animated project? Please vote below and share your comments!