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Many famous actors have career defining roles. Mark Hamill has two, fitting his initial live-action career then resurgence as a voice actor. He’ll always be best known as Luke Skywalker. But as a voice actor, he’s known for his countless turns as the Joker.
Debuting as the Clown Prince Of Crime in Batman: The Animated Series, Hamill is easily the most recognized, prolific, and acclaimed voice for the Joker. That said, there have been others. Both before and after Mark Hamill, some actors have given worthy performances as the Joker, and deserve some recognition alongside Hamill.
10 Frank Welker In The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
Frank Welker is the most prolific voice actor alive. Just a few line items on his resume include Fred Jones in Scooby Doo, Megatron and Soundwave in various Transformers incarnations, and Dr. Claw on Inspector Gadget. He also got a chance to voice the Joker in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.
The Joker makes his only Super Friends appearance in Wild Cards, leading the Royal Flush Gang in the guise of Ace. Welker plays the Joker as an erratic and giggling villain, reminiscent of his voice for Galvatron on The Transformers.
9 Anthony Ingruber In Telltale’s Batman Series
Telltale Games’ Batman duology reinvented several of Gotham City’s prominent characters, none more so than the Joker. When Bruce Wayne gets a temporary reprimand to Arkham Asylum in Chapter 4, the Joker is introduced as “John Doe.” He goes onto play a larger role in the sequel, The Enemy Within.
Anthony Ingruber, who rose to fame doing Harrison Ford impressions on Youtube, wasn’t an obvious choice for the Joker. Nonetheless, Ingruber was a good fit for “John Doe.” “John” is definitely creepy, but he’s not as malevolent as other versions. Depending on the choices the player makes, they can even prevent his turn to villainy.
8 Zach Galifianakis In The Lego Batman Movie
It’s not easy to parody a character who’s over-the-top to begin with, but that’s what The Lego Batman Movie does with the Joker. The Lego Batman Movie features all of Batman’s rogues gallery, A-List to D-List. Naturally, the Joker takes the spotlight. He’s voiced by Zach Galifianakis.
Galifianakis’ Joker is quite as excellent a parody as Will Arnett’s faux-baritone Batman, but his comedy background still comes in handy. Lego Batman being what it is (an animated children’s film), Galifianakis never crosses over into scary like many great Jokers do, but it works all the same.
7 Richard Epcar In Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe & Injustice
Injustice: Gods Among Us features one of the most despicable Jokers yet. It’s only fitting that his voice actor, Richard Epcar, turns up the evil. Epcar first debuted as the Joker in Mortal Kombat Vs The DC Universe.
Epcar was a natural pick to reprise the role once DC returned to fighting games. Epcar’s Joker voice is one of the deepest, and he doesn’t laugh so much as growl. It’s often reminiscent of Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger.
6 Michael Emerson In The Dark Knight Returns
Just as The Dark Knight Returns redefined Batman, so did it the Joker. Frank Miller built on Dennis O’Neil & Neal Adams’ 1970s lethal reintroduction of the villain, and wrote the most bloodthirsty Joker yet. Miller also queer-coded the Joker, which has defined his and Batman’s dynamic ever since.
In 2012, when TDKR was adapted to animation, Lost alum Michael Emerson was cast as the Joker. Emerson is in-line with Miller’s androgynous depiction of the villain. In his final scene, the infamous ‘tunnel of love’ showdown sees the Joker snap his own neck to frame Batman for the murder. Emerson drops the dandy voice and unleashes the monster within. “See you [Batman] in hell” is pure, sepulchral spite.
5 Jeff Bennett In Batman: The Brave And The Bold
On the exact opposite end of TDKR is Batman: The Brave And The Bold. A love letter to the Silver Age DC Universe, The Brave And The Bold is one of the lightest depictions of Batman’s world in recent memory. The Joker was voiced by Jeff Bennett, who entered enormously entertaining levels. The Brave And The Bold’s Joker looks ripped from the pages of Dick Sprang’s artwork.
This Joker is less lethal but no less cruel. Bennett even got a chance to sing during Emperor Joker – the clown steals the omnipotent powers of Bat-Mite and begins remaking the world in his image. To explain his ethos, he belts out the musical number Where’s The Fun In That?
4 Troy Baker In Arkham Origins, Assault On Arkham, And The Long Halloween
Mark Hamill reprised the Joker in three out of the four Batman: Arkham games. He stepped back for prequel Arkham: Origins. Origins, set nearly a decade before the original game Arkham Asylum, details Batman and the Joker’s first encounter. Therefore, the casting director wanted a younger voice for the Joker. They picked Troy Baker, and he delivered.
Due to differences in age and inflection, Baker speaks with a tad higher pitch. Baker nails the Joker’s cadence and theatricality. It’s totally plausible that Baker’s voice would age into Hamill’s.
3 Alan Tudyk In Harley Quinn
One of the most recent voices for the Joker was Alan Tudyk on Harley Quinn. Tudyk is famous for his comic relief roles, such as Wash on Firefly or Steve The Pirate in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. However, he’s played several vile villains as well. Tudyk has played Alpha on Dollhouse and Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph. These roles play on his harmless, affable persona.
All of these qualities make him perfect for the Joker. Harley Quinn‘s TV-MA rating and parodic tone are also right in Tudyk’s comedy wheelhouse. Tudyk excels in moments where the Joker is funny without intending to be (like when he complains to an unmasked Batman about his stalled pre-order on a WayneTech electric car).
2 Kevin Michael Richardson On The Batman
The Batman redesigned several classic villains, both in personality and mannerisms. The Joker’s personality was the classic version, but his design was more unhinged and animalistic. His hair was was messy, he went barefoot, he fought like an acrobat, and he wielded razor-sharp throwing cards as a counterpart to batarangs.
It’s a shame that fans’ misgivings about this Joker’s design overshadowed discussions of Kevin Michael Richardson’s superb performance. Richardson’s Joker was zanier than Hamill’s, but he walked the same line between menacing and hilarious. In the Joker’s introductory episode Two Of A Kind, Richardson even got to show off his singing talent with a cover of Setting The Woods On Fire.
1 John DiMaggio In Under The Red Hood
Sometimes, the best performances are against type. John DiMaggio usually plays either comedic characters (Bender on Futurama, Jake the Dog on Adventure Time) or ill-tempered action heroes (Marcus Fenix in Gears Of War). Yet, DiMaggio gave chilling performance as the Joker in Batman: Under The Red Hood. Under The Red Hood opens with the Joker’s most infamous crime, the murder of Robin II (Jason Todd). DiMaggio makes it clear the Joker is loving every second of it.
Under The Red Hood was released in the wake of Heath Ledger’s acclaimed performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. It’s clear this take influenced the animated feature’s depiction. He’s still got the sense of humor, but his usual theatricality is dropped in favor a more blunt approach. While Hamill’s Joker laughs with exuberant malevolence, DiMaggio’s does so with a bloodcurdling wheeze.
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