Most Recent Joker in Movies
The most recent live-action Joker in a major theatrical release is Joaquin Phoenix, who portrayed Arthur Fleck in the 2019 film Joker directed by Todd Phillips. The movie grossed over $1.07 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the time of release, according to Forbes. Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, and the BAFTA for Best Leading Actor for the role. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and distributed globally by Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal Pictures in select international markets.
Before Phoenix, the last live-action Joker in a wide theatrical release was Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2016), which earned $746.8 million worldwide, and in the sequel The Suicide Squad (2021), which earned $167.4 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Leto's portrayal was part of the DC Extended Universe, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and its affiliates. While no new live-action Joker film has been officially greenlit with a confirmed release date as of the latest public information, Phoenix's version remains the most recent and most commercially successful interpretation in cinemas.
Most Recent Joker in Television
The most recent live-action Joker in a television series is Mark Hamill, who voiced the character in Batman: The Animated Series and its successor The New Batman Adventures, which aired from 1992 to 1995 on Fox Kids and later in syndication. Hamill's portrayal became the definitive voice of the Joker for a generation of viewers and has been reprised in numerous animated projects, including Batman: Arkham video games developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
In live-action television, the most recent actor to portray the Joker is Cameron Monaghan, who played Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska in the Fox series Gotham, which ran from 2014 to 2019 and was produced by Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment. The series concluded with Monaghan's characters serving as the primary antagonists, setting up the emergence of a Joker-like figure in Gotham City. The show aired across five seasons and 100 episodes, drawing an average of 4.5 million viewers per episode in its first season, according to The Futon Critic.
Other Notable Actors Who Played the Joker
Historical Portrayals in Film
Cesar Romero originated the live-action Joker in the 1966 Batman television series, produced by Greenway Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, and later reprised the role in the 1979 animated series Batman and the Super 7. Jack Nicholson played the Joker in Batman (1989), directed by Tim Burton and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, earning a Golden Globe nomination and grossing $411.3 million worldwide. The film was based on the DC Comics character and remains one of the highest-grossing adaptations of the Batman franchise.
Voice Actors in Animation
Mark Hamill has voiced the Joker in over 400 animated episodes and video games, spanning series such as