Nicholas Cage Says He’s the ‘Perfect’ Actor to Play the Joker
Could he top Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger?
Nicholas Cage’s insane spending habits have left him a little strapped for cash, but he’s got just the marquee role in mind to refill his bank account: the Joker.
His aspiration to play the conniving Batman villain surfaced during a recent interview he gave to JoBlo while promoting his new sci-fi thriller, The Humanity Bureau.
“I’m on to other things, but I always thought I’d make a great Joker,” he said.
“It would be the perfect one for me to go even more off the rails than I’ve ever done before and, y’know, it’d be fun.”
It’s a prospect made more interesting when his many past “off-the-rails” roles are taken into consideration. This is the same colorful actor who played a borderline psychotic vigilante in Kick-Ass and chowed down on a real cockroach in Vampire’s Kiss.
And who could forget his meme-spawning scream in The Wicker Man.
Then again, he’d be filling massive shoes. A recent survey conducted by Casumo.com didn’t just name Jack Nicholson the greatest Joker of all time, but the top comic book villain ever portrayed on the silver screen.
The fact that Heath Ledger earned a runner-up spot for his chilling take on the same character makes Cage’s ambitions seem even more daunting.
Here’s the full list if you’re curious:
The Top 10 Comic Book Villain Movie Portrayals
- Jack Nicholson – The Joker
- Heath Ledger – The Joker
- Danny DeVito – The Penguin
- Gene Hackman – Lex Luthor
- Tom Hiddlestone – Loki
- Ian McKellen – Magneto
- Tom Hardy – Bane
- Arnold Schwarzenegger – Mr Freeze
- Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn
- Terence Stamp – General Zod
Does Cage have what it takes? Maybe, but Martin Scorsese’s Joker origin story starring Joaquin Phoenix sounds a little more interesting.
h/t: BroBible