3. Mark Hamill
A person that not only brought Joker to life, but also made sure that he would be able to retain the same kind of charisma in animation as well as in live-action, Mark Hamill is the ultimate persona of the Joker.
Since the time that he had lent his voice to the voice-over of the Batman animated series, Mark Hamill has been able to create a person out of Joker through only his voice. Yes, much like the computerized voice of Luke Skywalker, the voice of Mark Hamill went on to become one of the characters that is not only psychotic, but glorifies the persona on-screen. Apparently, it was left to Mark Hamill to understand how further you would like to go with the character, and given the shower of accolades that is falling on him; you realize that he has taken his art very seriously.
That has not been a single transition of the Joker from the animated series to the live-action that has been able to gather a fan following of this nature. Mark Hamill not only made sure that he would be able to gain a certain sense of freedom in this character, but then this character went on to devour him, ensuring that he would be one of those people that would be immortalized in the comic world as the person that had the golden voice of the Joker.
2. Jack Nicholson
Before Christopher Nolan took over the Batman franchisee; there was Tim Burton and his portrayal of Batman. Well, it did not go on to become a huge success as that of the Dark Knight series, but then there is no doubting the fact that Jack Nicholson made for a terrific Joker. After all, along with Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson was one of the most favorite characters in the Batman franchisee, and went on to grab a lot of eyeballs with his portrayal of this unique character without any kind of problems. Rather, he took to it like fish on water.
Jack Nicholson is a terrific actor; there is no doubt about it. However, when this actor takes on a comic book character, there are bound to be a lot of naysayers. However, looking back at what Jack Nicholson brought to the table, this not only made Joker one of the most beloved super villains in the comic book franchisee, but it brought a certain sense of belonging to the people that would go to idolize Joker is one of the best villains in this decade. Audience finally got to see a character in the shade of what they would like in Joker.
As a bonus, Jack Nicholson also got some of the best catchphrases in the film, making up for any kind of tardiness that would be found in the overall screenplay of the movie. One can only say that Jack Nicholson not only stole the show, but went on running away with the words that would obviously have been the typical catchphrases for many people for years to come.
1. Heath Ledger
You know that there is something special about a person and his acting finesse if he has been in only one film of the Batman series, and goes on to take the number one position as the top Joker portrayals in the Batman series. There were a lot of people that mentioned about Heath Ledger and his inability to take on the portrayal of the Joker in the Batman series, and boy were they wrong. Not only did this person run away with all the awards, but upon his death tragically after the completion of the Dark Knight, he was posthumously awarded the Oscar for his portrayal of this character.
To any person watching the Batman series in this decade, Heath Ledger would not only be their ultimate portrayal of the Joker, but there would not be any other portrayal of this villain for many years to come. Yes, such was the impact of Heath Ledger and his acting on Joker that it went on to create a wonderful caricature of how Joker would look on various other characters, but then no one could even come close to what Heath Ledger has been able to accomplish with just a single film.
The portrayal of the Joker is not only psychotic, but borderline chaos-creating persona that is hell bent on making sure that Gotham could have its fair share of quality villains. Yes, the Joker realized very early that without Batman, he is nothing, and vice versa. So, you realize that Heath Ledger not only brought about a certain sense of villainy to this character, but he has been able to give a new whole meaning to what villains could and should be able to achieve in any superhero movie.
