Everyone Forgets There's Two Joker Actors In The 1989 Batman Movie

Published Aug 23, 2026, 12:55 PM EDT Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The original 1989 Batman movie has not one actor but two play the role of the Joker, though this detail is often forgotten thanks to the way the DC film handles this matter. While many actors who have played the Joker are some of the most famous figures in the world of superhero movies to date, there are also plenty who have taken on some form of the role and been less well-known by the general public. Take, for example, Cameron Monaghan's time in Gotham, wherein the actor technically played two different versions of the Joker to some degree, as he appeared in the show as the twins Jeremiah and Jerome Valeska, who clearly both serve as the series' iterations of the Joker in their own different ways. That said, this track record has some much older examples, as one of the first and biggest Batman movies also features an actor who plays the Joker who's often overlooked in the wider scheme of things - though their role in Batman is crucial in terms of making its story and depiction of its central villain work so well in the long term, and has helped make the movie a cornerstone of superhero movie history. Jack Nicholson Is Not The Only Actor To Play The Joker In The 1989 Batman While Jack Nicholson is remembered best for playing the Joker in the 1989 classic Batman movie, it's worth noting that he wasn't the only actor we see performing as the DC character during the course of the film's story. Though it's often forgotten, the overarching story of the Joker is told in 1989's Batman by both Jack Nicholson and Hugo E. Blick, who appears as a young Jack Napier before he is transformed into the Joker. Crucially, this means Blick is playing Napier for the scene wherein he kills Bruce Wayne's parents, and for an iteration of the iconic "you ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?" line that appears in this scene also. Ironically, because Hugo E. Blick bares a striking visual similarity to Jack Nicholson in the film, it's easy to overlook the fact they are two different figures - and indeed, the movie magic of Batman and its story works best because of this, even if it's interesting to watch or rewatch with this fact in mind. The Joker Being Played By Two Different Actors Helps Make His Movie Story Even More Effective Even though Jack Napier is shown to be just as capable of hurting others and doing immoral things as he is when he becomes the Joker and commits to more over-the-top villainy, having the two be played by different actors really helps to emphasize just how drastic the difference between Napier and his eventual supervillain alter ego really are. Of course, this makes sense first and foremost because Jack Napier is shown in flashback sequences that require a younger version of the character to appear alongside the then-child Bruce Wayne and the living Martha and Thomas Wayne. That said, given the Joker's clown look means it could have been possible for Nicholson to play Napier, it's all the more useful that he didn't, given this allows for an even sharper difference between the two versions of the character, as they are literally played by different people. Blick and Nicholson play even similar moments from the character in different ways, cementing the idea that Batman's Jack Napier effectively died when he was transformed into the Joker, and that someone new and altogether more sinister has taken his place. Batman 9/10 Release Date June 23, 1989