Jack Nicholson is hailed by several fans as one of the greatest portrayals of the iconic character- Joker. It is a character whom we have seen repeatedly in uncountable adaptations and undoubtedly most of them were commendable in their own way. According to Nicholson, he only agreed to portray his widely praised version of Clown Prince of Crime in the 1989 Tim Burton movie for a specific reason.
Tim Burton’s version of a Batman movie was quite different from the adaptations we saw afterward. But the unique take was also subjected to praise due to several reasons such as the performances of Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson as the titular character and the Joker, respectively, along with the production design and Burton’s direction.
Why did Jack Nicholson agree to play Joker?
Just as Michael Keaton’s Batman is considered an amazing and accurate portrayal of the Caped Crusader, Jack Nicholson‘s Joker also received immense praise. It can’t be denied that the character shown by Tim Burton was quite different from what Nolan depicted in The Dark Knight or Todd Phillips in Joker.
The Shining actor said to MTV News that the humorous dark approach taken by Tim Burton in the movie is the main reason why he agreed to play the role. The character of Joker has always been very close to him since childhood and he considers Burton’s take to be most accurate.
“Tim Burton’s a genius. He had the right take on it. That’s why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas. Tim said [the Joker] should have a humorous dark side to him.”
The Jack Napier fame also praised the filmmaker by saying how well he can handle his projects without taking any pressure. He believes that the studio ruined the franchise by moving forward without Tim Burton.
While Tim Burton has always been affiliated with animation, Jack Nicholson also started his career as an office assistant for MGM Animation. Thus both of their history with animation led to both of them having a similar vision of the character. The Oscar-winning star even wanted to portray the character in a sequel but unfortunately, the chance was, much later, bagged by Heath Ledger.
Jack Nicholson isn’t a fan of Heath Ledger’s Joker
Heath Ledger‘s performance as Joker is regarded as phenomenal and often movie lovers fall short of words to describe his excellence as the character. Unfortunately, he passed away before getting to witness how his role impacted the audience in such a way that even led to the late actor winning an Oscar for the role.
But Jack Nicholson doesn’t agree with all as he couldn’t accept Ledger portraying the Clown Prince of Crime. It was also evident that he was furious over the studio not calling him for the sequel.
“Let me be the way I’m not in interviews. I’m furious. I’m furious. [He laughs.] They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.”
The One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest actor explained that he was connected with the character from childhood and couldn’t accept anyone else playing the part.
“Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That’s how I got involved with it in the first place. It’s a part I always thought I should play.”
Later in the interview, Jack Nicholson added how he was not much interested in checking out The Dark Knight which was not released when the interview was taken. However, he promised to watch the movie if it turned out better than his expectations.
Batman (1989) can be streamed on Max.
Source: MTV News
