He was cured all right…Before he was cast as the Joker in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, actor Barry Keoghan sent in an audition tape for the role of the Riddler. But he took inspiration from an unlikely place — no, not Jim Carrey but rather Stanley Kubrick.
Barry Keoghan’s look in his Riddler tape clearly takes some cues from A Clockwork Orange’s Alex DeLarge with the cane, bowler hat and eyeshadow, but he also framed it in a way that would intentionally call to mind the trademarks of Stanley Kubrick. Keoghan recently told Esquire, “I just made it up. I wanted to make it Kubrick-y: symmetrical, the X on the back, the square doorframe, everything square. I just wanted swag to come across. Swag and endearing. It was just me giving my idea. And then I’s like, I’ma send this in!” You know, just like Kubrick used to say before submitting his final cut.
Of course, Barry Keoghan would land a cameo as the Joker instead while Paul Dano got the Riddler, bringing his own level of Zodiac-esque menace to the part. But one can easily see Keoghan carrying the Clown Prince of Crime forward and bringing his own touch — something that can stand outside of the Oscar-winning turns from Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. Come on, you saw what he did as a teenage character in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, imagine the derangement he could bring to one of the most charismatic, sadistic villains out there.
Outside of his dip into the DC realm, Barry Keoghan has had a stellar — and much-deserved — run as of late, entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Eternals the year before and earning his first Academy Award nomination with The Banshees of Inisherin. He can next be seen in Saltburn from Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell.
As for the whereabouts of the Joker, Phoenix is set to reprise Arthur Fleck with next year’s sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, with Lady Gaga stepping in as Harley Quinn.
What did you think of Barry Keoghan’s Riddler audition tape? How do you think he would do handling the Joker as a primary antagonist? Chime in in the comments section below.