Actor and filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, famed for his 2003 drama The Room, teased last month that he’d like to play The Joker amid reports that Joaquin Phoenix was being considered for the role in a Warner Bros. origin movie. That ignited plenty of online jokes, but Wiseau gets the last laugh in a new “audition tape.”
To help promote the Blu-ray and DVD release of The Disaster Artist, the comedy-drama that chronicles the making of The Room, Wiseau dons Heath Ledger-inspired Joker makeup and attire to offer his own take on The Joker for The Nerdist. He channels Ledger’s “Why So Serious” from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, talks about dancing with the devil (and liking it), improvising Jack Nicholson’s Joker from Tim Burton’s Batman, and sings “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells.”
The gravel in Wiseau’s voice mixed with his erratic mannerisms translate into a Harlequin of Hate that could be a contender for the planned gritty Joker origin film.
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Directed by Todd Phillips, the Joker origin movie has no release date or concrete casting information at this time, but actor Phoenix has been reported as a top choice for the title role. Although Jared Leto portrays The Joker in the DC Comics Extended Universe, this film would be released under a separate banner.
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