Back in February, The Room director and star Tommy Wiseau posted on Twitter that he would like to play The Joker in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). And now, Nerdist has taken him up on the suggestion and created an audition tape.
Yes ! I want to be THE JOKER !
Fan art by @aitesamfarooq02 pic.twitter.com/dteVXDikgm
— Tommy Wiseau (@TommyWiseau) February 11, 2018
Now, Wiseau’s audition here is mostly a meme-ability exercise. (Though both his signature “heh heh” laugh and idiosyncratic rendition of “Jingle Bells” here are admittedly creepy-funny as hell, so it wasn’t all bad.) As I watched, I started to giggle at the good-sport attitude and absurdity of the audition, but then I remembered the Joker performance that actually made it on-screen for Suicide Squad.
Tommy Wiseau may be silly here, but Lord, what are our alternatives?
Warner Bros. is reportedly planning both a Suicide Squad sequel and a Joker origin story. While they’re in talks with other actors like Joaquin Phoenix to play the Joker for that origin story—apparently much to Leto’s annoyance—Leto could potentially return as The Joker for at least Suicide Squad 2. And do we need a reminder of what that performance was like?
Plus, it’s not like either of these men is reported to be a great co-worker. Wiseau’s on-set behavior during The Room was reportedly abusive, including allegedly making an actress feel deeply uncomfortable and shamed during a sex scene. Meanwhile, Jared Leto reportedly mailed live rats and dead pigs to his co-stars, as well as allegedly offering them “a dildo, a switchblade, and a used condom” as wrap presents. All in the name of “method acting.”
And so, the obvious question here is: which is worse? Tommy Wiseau allegedly body-shaming his castmates with his stilted, wooden delivery? Or Jared Leto sending his castmates creepy mail while giving his inconsistent, okay-are-you-the-Riddler-now version of The Joker?
What a bounty of options we’ve got here.
(via Nerdist; images: screengrab and Warner Bros.)
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