Barry Keoghan recently explained how he auditioned for the Riddler role in The Batman but was picked up as the Joker, with a special request.
The Batman has been out for less than a year with fans loving the current leads: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano and Colin Farrell. But the special scene at the end with Pattinson’s Batman talking to the Joker was what hyped fans up for the second movie—revealing that Barry Keoghan was ready to take on the Joker role for the hopeful iteration of The Batman 2. Keoghan recently noted in an interview with GW about what he wants to bring with his Joker depiction in the next film.
The interview detailed Keoghan’s career in independent and blockbuster films. From Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk to smaller roles in American Animals and The Green Knight. Most movie watchers will remember Keoghan for his role as the psychopathic kid, Martin in The Killing of the Sacred Deer. His biggest and most recent role was, of course in Eternals, playing Druig.
He discussed more details about how he initially auditioned to play The Riddler, which was filled by Jonah Hill then went to Dano. It was four months later where he was contacted to do the small, secret scene for his new take on The Joker at the end of The Batman.
The audition tape of Keoghan’s Riddler has been online on his Vimeo channel for the last three years, titled “Directed by Barry Keoghan.” It was fascinating to see his take on The Riddler since he was dressed in black formal wear and green suspenders, along with a cane and bowler hat. It showed him walking out of an elevator and stalking the narrow hallways with a bloodied handprint and a grimacing grin on his face.
Keoghan continued the interview explaining how he had one request for the makeup crew who designed his version of The Joker’s face in The Batman. He persuaded the makeup team to keep his natural blue eyes the same, noting how he wanted to show some human aspect to the character hidden beneath The Joker persona. He shared, ““[The Joker is] a bit charming and a bit hurt. I wanted some sort of human in there behind the makeup. I want people to relate to him. . .[to know] this is a facade he puts in. [The character is] a broken-down boy.”
The Batman 2 has not been greenlit yet, but we can hope for the best as the film was well-received. Many Joker iterations have graced the big screen, from Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, to another recent hit performance from Joaquin Phoenix. Joker 2 has been greenlit, so the two Jokers may be at battle with each other in their separate worlds and versions. Sounds like a great joke—two Jokers walk into a bar…you can fill in the rest.
