Ranking the people who played Joker

Hey all, I thought I'd list all of the actors who've played Joker in the past 20 years and rank them from worst to best. Sorry if I forget any!

-Uncredited voice actor (the Gotham Gals anime)

Whoever voiced the Joker in his two-minute appearance in the Poison Ivy episode. I really couldn't leave him out of this list, although I wish I could because I'm sorry to say he just wasn't very good. Perhaps the reason he is uncredited on IMDb is because even he is too ashamed to own up.

-Larry the Cable Guy (Joker 2)

This follow-up to the 2020 Oscar winning blockbuster Joker was, to put it lightly, a joke. Larry's performance failed to please, and led to a loss of 400 million dollars.

-Dylan Sprouse (Arkham Angels)

Sprouse played Michael Kelly, a heartthrob gang leader known as "Joker" in this edgy-but-easily-forgotten early 2020s CW series. It was a fresh, interesting spin on the villains we all love to hate. Unfortunately, it was too focused on the intimate relationships of the characters to give us real arcs, and thus was doomed to fail.

Dylan did an alright job with the script they gave him, but it was a performance that the terrible writing overshadowed, not unlike his twin's show Riverdale. Unfortunately for Dylan, his series didn't go on to last 17 seasons like Riverdale did

-Jeff Probst (Survivor: Midwest E6)

In the Midwest season of Survivor, 'eliminated' contestants were exiled to an asylum, until they were either 'terminated' or voted back into the game. As contestant Stacee had listed one of her biggest fears as "the Joker", Jeff decided to pull a prank and come in dressed as him. It was cheesy but everyone loves Jeff so I can't exclude him.

- Russell Crowe (Batman and Robin: the Musical)

Mr. Crowe had quite the notorious reputation in musical films, with credits like Javert in Les Miserables and Dan in Next to Normal. But I have to say he truly found his heart in this role. And although he only had two songs, his performance definitely left me wanting more.

-Keanu Reeves (SNL)

'Saturday Night Live' Season 47 Episode 7 was hosted by Keanu. The Batman skit missed the mark writing-wise, and many fans found it unfunny. That said, everyone agreed that Keanu delivered a fantastic and convincing performance, as always.

-Joaquin Pheonix (Joker)

I know, this one's lower on the list than you hoped, but I'm not nixing his solid, fantastic, Oscar-winning performance! I just liked so many other portrayals better.

-John Mulaney (voice, Baby Justice League)

Not only was this one of his funniest roles, but it also marks his return. After his 4-year hiatus, Mulaney took to social media to announce his return. He announced two projects: his live reunion special "I'm Not Dead, Why Are You Crying?" (which was filmed and adapted for Netflix), as well as his film Baby Justice League. This would be the first voice acting role for him since the Into the Spiderverse trilogy, and the first ever animated movie to be fully written and produced by him!

(Also, on the topic of Mulaney, his new special "Okay, Maybe I Am Dead" premieres on August 7th, his alleged death date. Let's hope he doesn't die!)

-Heath Ledger deepfake

How could we forget about this one? Super Bowl LVII, for the internet, was less about Bears vs Cowboys, and more about The People vs Geico. Why? The commercial that sparked one of the biggest pop culture controversies of the decade. This commercial debuted the Heath Ledger deepfake, simply appearing to ask the gecko "Why so serious?" And while many fans found it funny or unique, others found it insensitive.

Geico later issued an apology, and removed the video from their social media accounts, but a copy of it on YouTube accumulated nearly 38 million views.

As if that weren't enough, meme videos featuring Heath Ledger deepfakes became a popular trend on YouTube, with one of the most popular being "Heathy Distance", a video in which the deepfake covers Harry Styles' song "Healthy Distance", sporting Harry's iconic floral jumpsuit and all.

Fans of Black Mirror found this situation chillingly similar to the scenario of Season 8 episode "Fritter", in which a serial murderer used deepfake technology to maintain his victims' online and on-air presences. (This episode was released before the mainstream use of deepfake technology was a big thing.) Others argued that the Heath Ledger situation was "nothing like that", stating "This is a Geico commercial. You're talking about murder. Loosen up."

So while it may not be a true portrayal, it definitely got people talking, which is why I'm electing to include it on this list.

-Jake Gyllenhaal (Wayne, Bruce Wayne)

The James Bond ripoff that surpassed all the James Bonds. Who ever thought this would work? At first, fans were outraged that The Joker was being portrayed as a sleek well-mannered arms dealer. But after seeing Gyllenhaal's portrayal, mostly everyone was in agreement. It worked well.

-Angela Lansbury (Lady Joker)

Come on, we all know she was the best.