Barry Keoghan Talks About His $10 Riddler Audition That Landed Him the Role of Joker in THE BATMAN
Barry Keoghan recently opened up about his audition tape for Matt Reeves’ The Batman during an interview with Esquire. The actor originally auditioned for the role of The Riddler, and he spent $10 to make his self audition tape to send in. While he didn’t get the role of Riddle, the audition did land him the role of The Joker, which is definitely the better villain choice, and it seems like he’ll have a much bigger future in Reeves’ Batman universe. When talking about his audition, Keogan said:
“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 can watch the audition video below, which features Keoghan exiting an elevator in his own style of Riddler’s costume and he walks down the hallway of an office building in a very Clockwork Orange style. It was a simple audition tape with no dialogue, it just had a vibe to it and it got him a pretty cool acting gig.
Keoghan previously said: “I wanted to be Riddler,” and that his agent told him, “The Batman wants you to play the Joker — but you cannot tell anyone.”
The actor also described his Joker as “a bit charming and a bit hurt” and “a broken-down boy.” He also revealed that he did want the makeup team to change his blue eyes for the role. He explained: “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.”
He also talked about the awesomeness of being cast in a Batman movie: "Getting to be part of the Batman universe is [a huge deal for me]. I'm a fanboy of these movies, and especially the Batman universe. So be to be in that world, I'm still pinching myself. {Matt Reeves} is a filmmaker I hugely admire as well. And to get to walk alongside him and see how he works, and seeing much like Chloe Zhao, how comfortable he makes you on set, and he gives you the time you need and what you want. I'm in such a blessed position."
He went on to say that he had blast acting with Dano. "Paul is–I'm a huge, huge fan of Paul. He's such a good dude as well. I've watched all of his movies, like Prisoners and stuff like that. People say that we're kind of alike as well, and I'm like, are we?"
We still don’t know what the future holds for Keoghan’s Joker in the franchise, but Reeves is developing a series set in Arkham Asylum that could easily be a place for the character to return.