Movies - TV
The Simple Reason Jack Nicholson Became The Joker For Tim Burton's Batman
By LYVIE SCOTT
Jack Nicholson had a strong connection to the Joker ever since he was young. He told MTV, “The Joker comes from my childhood. [...] It's a part I always thought I should play.”
Although Nicholson was drawn to the Joker ever since he could remember, it was the vision of director Tim Burton that first inspired him to take the part in the 1989 film “Batman.”
Burton's tenure with Disney animation is well known, but Nicholson also got his start as an office assistant for MGM Animation. Thus, they both had “similar ideas” for the Joker.
Nicholson told MTV, “Tim Burton's a genius. [...] I did the movie based on a single conversation with him [...] Tim said [the Joker] should have a humorous dark side to him.”
Subsequent Batman films have left Nicholson unmoved: “I don't think they ever really captured Tim Burton's spirit. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground.”
Nicholson also isn't in a rush to see “The Dark Knight.” He said, “I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch up with it somewhere.”