8 Movie Villains Inspired By Heath Ledger’s Joker

More than 15 years after Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, the character has inspired many more movie villains. Ledger set the bar for how to play an irredeemable villain, portraying Batman’s most iconic nemesis. From the first reveal as the mastermind of a bank robbery, Ledger’s Joker is a terrifying presence that can be matched by only a few other villains in cinematic history. Most of the time, he has an understated if creepy presence — but Ledger carries the Joker’s reputation in Gotham City, making it believable that everyone else is blinded by fear.

Actors playing villains in comic book movies and movies of other genres today still look to Ledger for inspiration. They might hope to capture a character with a similar persona or are more generally aspiring to play a complex antagonist. Most notably, the similarities to Todd Phillips’ main character and setting mark The Dark Knight as one of the movies that inspired Joker.

8
Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem)

Skyfall (2012)

Moviegoers noted the similarities between Javier Bardem’s Bond villain Raoul Silver and Ledger’s Joker as soon as Skyfall premiered, due to their matching schemes and mannerisms. Liza Schwarzbaum called Silva (via Entertainment Weekly) “one of the most complexly unhinged villains in Bond history,” who conducts a captivating game of cat-and-mouse much like the Joker’s plan in The Dark Knight.

Director Sam Mendes also cited The Dark Knight (via Collider) as an influence on Skyfall: “That did help give me the confidence to take this movie in directions that, without The Dark Knight, might not have been possible.” This makes the connection between Silva and the Joker all the more noticeable.

7
Erik Stevens/Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)

Black Panther (2018)

As surprising as it may be, Michael B. Jordan credited Ledger’s Joker with influencing his performance as Killmonger, one of the MCU’s best villains. Jordan told Empire: “You see performances as an actor, and as a fan – you look at Heath Ledger’s performance, say, in The Dark Knight, and it’s like, ‘Wow.’ I want to try to get something like that. […] Just trying to find my place amongst those roles, and strive for that, even if I don’t make it.”

This suggests that Ledger’s Joker influenced the Black Panther villain in a more general, inspirational sense. However, like Ledger, Jordan gives a multi-faceted performance, with Killmonger having both menacing and sympathetic character traits. Not so much like Ledger’s version of the Joker, Killmonger is a villain that the audience agrees with at certain points in the movie.

6
Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey)

Sonic The Hedgehog (2020)

Jim Carrey made a connection between Sonic’s nemesis and the Joker in an interview with comicbook.com (via movieweb.com): “Robotnik and every supervillain in Marvel or DC basically comes from a place of neglect with a feeling of absolute worthlessness that manifests itself in magnificent creations that are designed to control the world.” Carrey’s performance as Dr. Robotnik is more reminiscent of the Riddler, the Batman villain he played in Batman Forever. Yet the hallmarks of the Joker’s character are there, albeit presented in a PG format. Namely, Robotnik has the persona of an evil genius.

5
Kang The Conqueror (Jonathan Majors)

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Jonathan Majors, known for playing the villains of Creed and Ant-Man, describes seeing The Dark Knight as “a pivotal moment in his young life,” which doubtlessly influenced performances throughout his career (via Entertainment Weekly). “The Dark Knight etches so vividly the agnostic morality of survival and the discipline of goodness,” said Majors. “Each step of our lives is moving us towards being the hero or villain of our tale.” Majors made his first appearance as the incomprehensible Kang the Conqueror in Loki season 1’s ending, before reprising the role in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.

4
Ma-Ma (Lena Headey)

Dredd (2012)

Lena Headey, well-known for her villainous roles, plays the drug kingpin Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal in Dredd. Ma-Ma’s design obviously recalls the Joker, as she bears gruesome facial scars. Ma-Ma is also a brutally violent supervillain with the intelligence to lead an army of criminals. In particular, the scene of Ma-Ma making a speech through a building’s PA to manipulate everyone present into doing what she wants recalls Ledger’s Joker’s attempt to incite violence among the civilians of Gotham. Both characters reign supreme as agents of chaos and violence in their respective cities.

3
The Tracker (Shamier Anderson)

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

The character known as the Tracker in John Wick: Chapter 4 is less a villain and more of an additional obstacle, who abandons his mission of killing John for an astounding monetary reward after John saves his dog. However, the Tracker was also influenced by the Joker. Actor Shamier Anderson told Vulture:

“I looked at the Joker and studied a lot of what Heath Ledger did, how exciting that character was; you just knew that guy had a robust past. Like, Why did he get those scars? And, for me, Why do I have this canine? Why do I have this knapsack? Why am I dressed like this? This guy’s transient. He has pockets because he travels so much; he doesn’t really change.”

Therefore, the character took inspiration from the Joker by having a mysterious past, appearing fully formed in John Wick with unparalleled and not fully explained skills.

2
Steve/Brendan (Sebastian Stan)

Fresh (2022)

Sebastian Stan plays the twisted villain of Fresh, his little-known horror with Daisy Edgar-Jones. He is creepy and brilliant, luring in victims to service a network of wealthy cannibal clients. However, it is Stan’s performance of the character’s enjoyment of what he does and his even charming persona that connects him to the Joker. Ledger convinces the audience that the Joker enjoys violence in more subtle ways than other villains who are evil for the sake of it.

1
Arthur Fleck/The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix)

Joker (2019)

Of course, the team behind Joker would have been mistaken not to study The Dark Knight before producing a movie about the Joker’s descent into villainy. Joker has a similarly grimdark setting as Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, focusing on a character who could plausibly become Ledger’s Joker, Joaquin Phoenix portrays Arthur Fleck as an isolated man before swerving into his joyful destruction. Phoenix said in his acceptance speech for his SAG Award: “Really, I am standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger.” (via Deadline). Ledger’s performance remains one of the most influential portrayals of a villain in history.