Every Joker actor, from Jared Leto to Joaquin Phoenix, ranked

Posted on by Vaseline

  • Joaquin Phoenix is ​​one of two actors to win an Oscar for his role in Joker.
  • But that doesn’t mean he’s the best version of the DC villain.
  • Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and Cameron Monaghan all gave great interpretations of the villain.

Joaquin Phoenix may have won an Oscar for playing the Joker, but that doesn’t mean he’s the best portrayal of the iconic antihero.

Phoenix played the DC villain in two solo films, 2019’s ‘Joker’ and the new sequel ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’.

The first film was released in a big year for superhero films and grossed over $1 billion. Director Todd Phillips’ approach to making the Joker a more realistic and human character appealed to critics and the film won two Oscars.

The sequel film, on the other hand, has bombed with critics and fans alike and currently has a Rotten Tomatoes rating score of 39%.

In August, Phillips seemed to suggest to Variety that there would not be a second Joker sequel when he said, “I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.”

Now that Phoenix’s role as Joker appears to have come to an end, here’s how he compares to actors who played live-action versions of the role before him.

(For anyone wondering, we didn’t include Barry Keoghan because he only appeared in one scene in 2022’s “The Batman.”)