When Heath Ledger passed away, the comic book to film world lost someone who was, in my eyes at least, the most incredible version of Joker to date. Many thought that no one could ever surpass Ledger’s performance and many think that no one should even try. But with the new crop of DC films coming out, not to mention that Fox series “Gotham,” and the fact that Batman has been recast as an aging, world-weary type (didn’t Affleck play Daredevil with sort of that depressed, Charlie Brown shuffle also?), there have been rumblings that maybe it could happen, if they can just find the right actor to play him.

Before Heath there was Jack Nicholson. Tim Burton’s idea of Joker was a bit campier than the Christopher Nolan incarnation.  But Jack did have the right facial features for it:  a really huge creepy smile, his signature pointy eyebrows and the ability to play a psycho, all aspects of which were very apparent in The Shining.  Although, Jack’s version never quite won me over, there are plenty of fans out there that loved what he did with the character.

So who should play Joker now? Out of respect, they shouldn’t try to find a Heath imitator. Should he be a more literal joker, finding the absurd hilarious and busting himself up over it all?  Or will they try to find someone that resembles Joker from the comics? And in that case, which artist’s conception should be the model?  Alex Ross drew a really badass Joker.

I think Greg Capullo’s Joker from the New 52 is virtually impossible to portray without CG or at least a lot of make up effects.

Should he be younger, more of a contemporary of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Robin? He could be in his twenties on the “Gotham” TV show since Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle are pre/teenagers (wtf!). Or should he be older like he is in the comics?  Maybe somewhere in between? Let’s take a look at three popular American actors who might do the character some justice.

I’m sure the thought of, well, any High School Musical alum playing Joker might probably cause a bit of a furor among die-hard fans. But if the time comes in the future when they decide to go younger (like in Heath’s case) , then Zach Efron might not be a bad idea… Before you shoot me, let me explain why. The guy’s not a bad actor. In fact, he’s actually pretty good. He also seems to really want to break away from his High School Musical image. If you’ve seen him in the film The Paperboy, which I recommend, you’ll know what I mean. He has the ability to go dark and given the right push, I think he could rise to the occasion.

Now if they want to go a bit older they might check out “Mad Men”’s Jon Hamm. We’ve already seen his ability to dabble with the dark side as the Mad Man Don Draper and he was hilarious as the main character’s booty call in Bridesmaids. I think Hamm could also give us an interesting take on the Joker if he was given the right material and was surrounded by the right people (i.e. director).

Somewhere in between, and in my opinion – the best option out there, is Bradley Cooper. We’ve seen shades of his sadistic/comedic side as the upper-crust, douchebag fiance in Wedding Crashers.  We’ve also seen him play a borderline-crazy/romantic lead in Silver Linings Playbook.  I think he’s got the right facial features and is a good age for Joker.  Plus, he has the acting chops to pull off something we’ve never seen on-screen yet. More specifically, and due to the popularity of Harley Quinn, it’s time to see the two characters together in a film. Of course, they would have to find the right actress for Harley.  But that’s a topic for another article…

 

 

 

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