Deadline: ‘The Batman’ Actor Barry Keoghan Shares Riddler Audition Tape That Landed Him The Joker Role

Story from Deadline:

Barry Keoghan made a cameo at the end of The Batman as the Joker but the actor said he originally wanted to play The Riddler.

When Keoghan heard that The Batman was happening, he sent an unsolicited audition tape to Matt Reeves’ team as The Riddler.

“I wanted to be Riddler,” Keoghan told GQ UK.

However, when Keoghan met the producer Dylan Clark, he advised him that the role had already been taken by Jonah Hill at that point, and it would later go to Paul Dano. Four months went by and he got a call from his agent telling him, “The Batman wants you to play the Joker — but you cannot tell anyone.”

Although Keoghan’s Joker only appears for a moment at the end of The Batman, a deleted scene was made available later showcasing the work the actor did.

Keoghan said that his Joker was “a bit charming and a bit hurt” and a “broken-down boy,” adding, “I wanted some sort of human in there behind the makeup. I want people to relate to him…[to know] this is a façade he puts on.”

Future plans for The Batman sequel remain under wraps and Keoghan doesn’t know if he will ever reprise his role as The Joker. However, he’s ready to get back into the villain role “as soon as that call comes.”