The Joker, a supervillain in DC Comics and the archenemy of the superhero Batman, has been adapted in various forms of media. WorldCat (a catalog of libraries in 170 countries) records over 250 productions featuring the Joker as a subject, including films, television series, books, and video games. Live-action films featuring the character are typically the most successful.
The Joker has been portrayed by Cesar Romero in the 1966–1968 Batman television series and the 1966 Batman film; Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film Batman; Heath Ledger in the 2008 film The Dark Knight; Jared Leto in the 2016 film Suicide Squad and the 2021 director's cut Zack Snyder's Justice League; Cameron Monaghan in the Fox series Gotham; Joaquin Phoenix in the 2019 film Joker and the 2024 sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.
Ledger and Phoenix won the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively, for their performances, making the Joker one of the only three characters played by two actors to be awarded an Oscar for both portrayals (the others being Vito Corleone from The Godfather and Anita from West Side Story)."An offer they couldn't refuse: Joker enters unique Godfather club at the Oscars"."Joker Accomplishes Rare Feat at the Academy Awards With Joaquin Phoenix Win".
Mark Hamill, among others, has provided the Joker's voice in animation and video games.
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Television Live-action The Joker appears in Batman (1966), portrayed by Cesar Romero whose moustache remained visible underneath his facial makeup as he refused to shave it for the role.DeCaro, Frank (November 5, 2014). "Quick, Robin, to the Blu-ray Box! 'Batman,' the 1960s TV Series, Returns in a Collection." New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2015. This version is based on his comic book appearances in the 1960s as an elaborate prankster with a Vaudeville-esque sense of humor who wields harmless weapons."How The Joker Went From Cesar Romero to Jared Leto." Highsnobiety. August 25, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015 The Joker appears in the Batman OnStar commercial "Joker Face", portrayed by Curtis Armstrong.Lee, Will (April 7, 2000). "Batman Does Commercials." Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 13, 2015. The Joker appears in Birds of Prey, portrayed by Roger Stoneburner and voiced by Mark Hamill.Hein, David (December 22, 2012). "Retro Review: 'Birds of Prey.'" World of Entertainment. Retrieved October 13, 2015. The Joker's mythology is explored in Gotham through twin brothers Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, both portrayed by Cameron Monaghan. Believing that the Joker should not precede Batman, showrunner Bruno Heller initially did not want to use the character, but later decided to "scratch the surface" of his origin because "this is America — nobody wants to wait." Jerome is introduced in the first season as the mentally unhinged son of a nymphomaniac circus performer. Despite being killed at the start of the second season, he becomes a martyr for various Gothamites. While Monaghan was not comfortable drawing from the previous live-action actors who had played the Joker, he took influence from Mark Hamill in his performance as well as various comic books featuring the character. In the fourth and fifth seasons, Jeremiah was introduced, with the intention that he would represent different characteristics of the Joker. While it was never confirmed whether he would go on to become the Joker following the series finale, the DC FanDome documentary Joker: Put on a Happy Face included Jeremiah among the various iterations of the character adapted for film and television across his 80-year history. The Joker makes a cameo appearance in the Powerless episode "Wayne or Lose". The Joker makes cameo appearances in Titans, portrayed by Mustafa Bulut. The Joker appears in flashbacks depicted in the third season of Batwoman, portrayed by Nathan Dashwood. Similarly to Jack Nicholson's portrayal, this version's real name is "Jack Napier". Additionally, he was indirectly responsible for separating Kate Kane from her sister and mother, Beth and Gabrielle Kane, before Batman killed the Joker years prior. Before then, the latter exposed Marquis Jet (portrayed by Nick Creegan) to his joy buzzer, rendering him insane and leading to him attempting to continue the Joker's legacy in the present before he is defeated and has his sanity restored by Batwoman. The Joker appears in the Snickers commercial.Melrose, Kevin (June 2, 2016). Retrieved October 19, 2025. The Joker appears in the State Farm commercial, including an extended cut released later.Holmes, Adam (March 12, 2025). Retrieved October 19, 2025.
Animation The Joker appears in The Adventures of Batman, voiced by Larry Storch. The Joker appears in The New Adventures of Batman, voiced by Lennie Weinrib. The Joker appears in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, voiced again by Larry Storch. The Joker appears in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians episode "The Wild Cards", voiced by Frank Welker. Disguising himself as "Ace", he manipulates the Royal Flush Gang into helping him construct a portal to Apokolips before they are foiled and captured by Batman and Wonder Woman. The Joker appears in The Batman (2004), voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version sports a pronounced pointed-jaw, green dreadlocks, red eyes, and black fingerless gloves along with a purple and yellow straitjacket in his initial appearances. Additionally, he is more reliant on physical combat than his comical gadgets, using his feet as dexterously as his hands to increase his mobility. The Joker, based on his Silver Age design as drawn by Dick Sprang, appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Jeff Bennett. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom and the Jokers of All Nations who was inspired to pursue supervillainy by the Weeper. Additionally, a heroic alternate universe variant (loosely based on the Jester) utilized the Red Hood identity appears as well. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. The Joker appears in Young Justice, voiced by Brent Spiner. This version is a member of the Injustice League. The Joker appears in Robot Chicken, voiced by Mark Hamill in the episodes "But Not in That Way", "Catch Me If You Kangaroo Jack" and "Bugs Keith in: I Can't Call Heaven, Doug"; Aaron Paul in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special via a deleted scene; and Giovanni Ribisi in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise and Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom. The Joker appears in Teen Titans Go!, voiced by Jason Spisak. The Joker appears in Justice League Action, voiced again by Mark Hamill.Ching, Albert (January 29, 2016). "Conroy, Hamill return for 'Justice League Action' ". Comic Book Resources. The Joker appears in the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "What a Night, For a Dark Knight!", voiced again by Mark Hamill. The Joker appears in Harley Quinn, voiced by Alan Tudyk. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom. Throughout the series, he seeks revenge on Harley Quinn for leaving him to become an independent supervillain and join the Legion. However, his efforts culminate in him being exposed to acid that renders him "normal". While recuperating, he falls in love with a nurse named Bethany, who he pursues a relationship with despite eventually being turned back into the Joker. He is later be elected mayor of Gotham City and attempts to reform, only to return to supervillainy with support from his step-family. The Joker appears in DC Super Hero Girls (2019), voiced by Jeremiah Watkins. This version is a teenager and inmate of the Arkham Reform School. The Joker appears in Batwheels, voiced by Mick Wingert. This version sports white makeup instead of bleached skin and is accompanied by his Jokermobile Prank (voiced by Griffin Burns). The Joker appears in Suicide Squad Isekai, voiced by Yūichirō Umehara in the Japanese version and Scott Gibbs in the English version. The Joker appears in Batman: Caped Crusader, voiced initially by an uncredited voice actor and subsequently by Matthew Needham. Unlike most versions, this Joker is German, rarely smiles, and is shown to have a calm demeanor. He also calls Batman “Brother”. The Joker makes cameo appearances in Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. The Merry Little Batman incarnation of Joker (see below) appears in Bat-Fam, voiced again by David Hornsby. The Joker will star in an upcoming anime series titled Joker: Laugh Riot. The Joker appears in the DC Nation Shorts episode "DC's World's Funnest", voiced by Jake Burgess Rollo.Lovett, Jamie (August 26, 2014). Retrieved October 19, 2025. The Joker makes cameo appearances in The Simpsons.Sherlock, Ben (May 23, 2022). Retrieved October 19, 2025. The Joker makes cameo appearances in South Park, in the three episodes from the Imaginationland story arc, based on Heath Ledger's portrayal. The Joker appears in the Zellers commercial.Kendall, Gene (December 12, 2022). Retrieved October 19, 2025.
DC Animated Universe The Joker appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by Mark Hamill.Chrisman, Eric (July 17, 2015). "Mark Hamill Would Still Love To Be In The Killing Joke". Caped Crusades. Retrieved October 19, 2015.Kubin, Jacquie (April 1997). "An Interview with Mark Hamill". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
The Joker first appears in Batman: The Animated Series (1992), which also introduced his sidekick and lover Harley Quinn. The Joker appears in The New Batman Adventures. Additionally, a 1950s-inspired incarnation of the Joker appears in the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight", voiced by Michael McKean. The Joker appears in the Superman: The Animated Series three-part episode "World's Finest". He tries to get Lex Luthor's money to eliminate Superman. The Joker appears in Justice League. In the two-part episode "Injustice for All", he joins Luthor's Injustice Gang. In the two-part episode "Wild Cards", he frees the Royal Flush Gang from Project Cadmus' custody and pits them against the Justice League. Furthermore, an alternate reality variant who had been lobotomized by the Justice Lords appears in the two-part episode "A Better World". The Joker appears in the Static Shock episode "The Big Leagues". He tries to recruit a young group of Bang Babies before he's defeated by Static.
Film Live-action
The Batman (1966) incarnation of the Joker appears in the film of the same name, portrayed again by Cesar Romero.