The most iconic supervillain of all time, DC's Joker has appeared in numerous animated movies and television shows. While Marvel is now well known for its iconic live-action movie universe, the MCU, DC has been known for producing much better-animated series and movies.
In these various appearances of the Joker, many different voice actors have lent their talents to the role. Some of these actors gave ok performances. Others, on the other hand, helped add to the iconic madman's legacy. Here are the ten best Joker voice actors, ranked.
10 Jason Spisak
Jason Spisak just recently got his chance to play the Joker in the DC Animated Movie Universe Film Batman: Hush. Based on the classic Batman storyline of the same name, this film is one of the best in a long line of great DC Animated Movie Universe movies.
While Spisak's time in the role was short, the voice actor did show a lot of promise for, hopefully, showing up in future installments to the franchise.
9 Jeff Bennett
Batman: The Brave And The Bold is one of the more unique Batman series out there. Rather than showcasing the dark, gritty, grounded Batman that we have all grown accustomed to, this show decided to instead portray the character as goofy and hokey.
Bennett's eerie voice is fitting for the homicidal clown. He balances the scary roots of the character quite nicely with the lighter tone of this particular show.
8 Brent Spiner
The Joker in Young Justice is portrayed as being especially creepy. Some voice actors prefer to lean into the stand-up comic/performer side of the character. In this show, Joker is much more of a nonsensical maniac.
While Spiner only appeared on the show for a few different stories, in that time he did prove to be a haunting iteration of the Joker. Hopefully, Spiner gets a chance to play the character on the show again in future seasons.
7 Zach Galifianakis
The Lego Batman Movie was much better than most audiences had been anticipating. Rather than simply a dumb kids movie, The Lego Batman Movie turned out to be a comedic roller coaster ride that could be enjoyed by kids and their parents alike.
No one could have expected that Zach Galifianakis could be a good Joker. Those who thought so were right in a way: he wasn't just a good Joker, he was a great one. While this version was geared more toward a child-audience, Galifianakis nevertheless was able to capture the essence of the Joker and his obsession with Batman perfectly.
6 Troy Baker
Famous for his many great video game performances, Troy Baker got his first shot at playing the Batman arch-nemesis in the prequel video game Batman: Arkham Origins. Since then, Baker has gone on to play the cackling villain in a series of other television shows, animated films, and video games.
Most notably, Baker portrayed the Joker in the prequel to the Batman: Arkham series of games as well as in Batman: Arkham Assault. Baker took cues from several different voice actors who had worked on the Joker in the past. Combining all of these elements, he was able to craft a uniquely terrifying portrayal of the character.
5 Kevin Michael Richardson
Following the cancelation of the DC Animated Universe shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s that were so spectacular, there became a growing need for a new animated DC show. That's when CW's The Batman popped up on the scene.
Richardson's Joker is much more high-energy than all of his counterparts, constantly bouncing off of walls and running all over the place. This energy is matched by the performance of Richardson and his strong voice.
4 Alan Tudyk
In the hit new DC Universe series Harley Quinn, Alan Tudyk is proving himself to be an actor fully capable of playing the Joker. Tudyk's voice performance is so spot on that it almost makes us wish he would play the Joker in live-action.
Between this performance and his time playing another supervillain on the DC Universe series Doom Patrol, Tudyk is quickly becoming an iconic figure within the DC community.
3 John DiMaggio
One of the best animated Batman movies out there is Batman: Under The Red Hood. In all honesty, it is probably the best animated Batman movie in existence. The key antagonist in this movie, after the Red Hood, is the Joker. This Joker is very different when compared to most other portrayals of the character.
The lower, more gravely sounding voice coming from DiMaggio is completely unique to the Joker character. Typically, the maniacal clown has a high pitched voice and has a certain level of charisma. DiMaggio's Joker is much more menacing.
2 Michael Emerson
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 & 2 are based on some of the greatest comic books of all time. When Frank Miller first wrote the Dark Knight Returns comic, he had an absolute masterpiece on his hands. Showcasing an older Batman coming back out of retirement, many of the other characters in this movie have aged much from their classic depictions.
Emerson's Joker has the voice of a socially obtuse weirdo who wants to shoot up a public space. In the movie, that's exactly what his Joker does. If the heads of DC animated projects have any sense, they'll try to find a way to give Emerson another crack at the role.
1 Mark Hamill
Was there any doubt that Mark Hamill was going to be on the top of this list? Of course not. Throughout the last several decades, Mark Hamill's voice performances as the Joker have helped define the Joker in modern-day pop culture.
Hamill described the Joker's laugh as an instrument. Instead of having just one laugh, Hamill's Joker had dozens. These laughs would help illustrate the villain's many moods. Such a brilliant choice is why Mark Hamill was able to craft one of the greatest supervillain performances of all time.