Every Joker actor, in order
Four film Jokers who get a name, a fifth who does not, and no two of them in the same story.
Updated 9 August 2026 · 7 titles tracked
The Joker is the clearest case on the site of a character with no continuity at all. Four actors have played him in film, in four separate runs, and not one of them acknowledges another.
That is unusual even by DC standards. Batman at least has continuities that people argue about connecting; the Jokers do not overlap even in principle.
Every film with a Joker in it, in release order
Four continuities across seven films, and the continuity column is the one to read.
- 1Batman1989 · DC · Burton & Schumacher
- 2The Dark Knight2008 · DC · The Dark Knight Trilogy
- 3Suicide Squad2016 · DC · The DCEU
- 4Joker2019 · DC · The Joker Duology
- 5Zack Snyder’s Justice League2021 · DC · The DCEU
- 6The Batman2022 · DC · The Batman Saga
- 7Joker: Folie à Deux2024 · DC · The Joker Duology
The four, and their continuities
Nothing carries from one to the next. Each is a fresh reading of the character.
- Jack Nicholson: Batman (1989). Tim Burton’s continuity, opposite Michael Keaton. Given a definite origin and a definite ending.
- Heath Ledger: The Dark Knight (2008). The Nolan trilogy, and pointedly given no origin at all. One film only.
- Jared Leto: Suicide Squad (2016), and again in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), where he appears in the Knightmare epilogue and shares a scene with Ben Affleck’s Batman for the first time.
- Joaquin Phoenix: Joker (2019) and Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). A continuity with no Batman in it to speak of, and the only Joker run that is about him rather than about someone fighting him.
The fifth, who is not named
An unnamed Arkham inmate speaks to the Riddler at the end of The Batman (2022), credited only as "Unseen Arkham Prisoner" and played by Barry Keoghan. Director Matt Reeves has confirmed the character is the Joker, and a longer deleted scene between him and Batman was released afterwards.
He is left off the count above because the film itself never names him. He is confirmed to return in The Batman Part II, at which point he stops being a footnote.
Why none of them connect
Each Joker was cast for a Batman, and each Batman belongs to a continuity built to replace the last one. Nicholson answers to Keaton, Ledger to Bale, Leto to Affleck and Keoghan to Pattinson.
Phoenix is the exception in a different direction: his films have no ongoing Batman at all, which is precisely what lets them be about the Joker rather than about the response to him.
Where to start if you only want one
The Dark Knight, and it is not close. It needs nothing before it, it is the performance the others are measured against, and it is a complete film on its own.
If you would rather have the character as the subject than as the antagonist, Joker (2019) requires no Batman knowledge whatsoever. It deliberately assumes none.
Common questions
How many actors have played the Joker?
Four named film Jokers: Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix. Barry Keoghan plays an unnamed Arkham inmate in The Batman who the director has confirmed is the Joker, and who returns in The Batman Part II.
Are the Joker films connected to each other?
No. All four runs are separate continuities, and none of them acknowledges another. Joaquin Phoenix’s two films are the only pair by the same actor in the same story.
Do I need to watch a Batman film before Joker (2019)?
No. It assumes no knowledge of any other film and has no ongoing Batman in it. It is the most self-contained entry point on this page.
Which Joker film should I watch first?
The Dark Knight. It requires nothing before it, and Heath Ledger’s is the performance every other version gets compared with.
Who plays the Joker in The Batman?
Barry Keoghan, credited as "Unseen Arkham Prisoner". The character is unnamed in the film, confirmed as the Joker by director Matt Reeves, and returns in The Batman Part II.