Although Barry Keoghan has been professionally acting for over a decade, the last few years have seen him rising to prominence in Hollywood thanks to movies like The Green Knight, Eternals and The Banshees of Inisherin. Additionally, he cameoed in The Batman as The Joker, a character for whom he has big plans in the sequel. Before scoring that role though, Keoghan auditioned to play The Riddler in Matt Reeves’ reboot of DC Comics’ Caped Crusader… even though no one asked him to do so.
The actor recalled in an extensive interview with Esquire that after hearing there might be an opening to play Riddler in the next Batman movie, he quickly started putting together an audition tape. After buying a hat and cane from a costume shop for $10 and donning an outfit that included suspenders that formed an X on his back, he acted out a scene where he silently walked through a door and down a hall. His movements were shown in slow motion and the video even included music, with the whole thing being described in the piece as “creepy, but funny. Methodical.” Keoghan explained:
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!
As anyone who’s seen The Batman can tell you, (and if you haven’t, it can be streamed with a Max subscription), Barry Keoghan accomplished his goal of being cast in the DC movie… well half of it, anyway. Paul Dano ended up snagging the Riddler role, but when the serial killer was incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital, he found himself befriending Keoghan’s Joker, who was locked in the cell next to them. So while Riddler eluded his grasp, Keoghan still succeeded in getting to bring a Batman villain to life in a creepy way. He shot his shot, and it paid off!
Shortly after The Batman’s release, a deleted scene showing Robert Pattinson’s title hero meeting with Keoghan’s Joker at Arkham was released to the public. Although the camera never directly focuses on this Joker’s face, it’s clear that it’s heavily disfigured, and we also learn that he already has history with Gotham City’s shadowy protector. Keoghan follows in the footsteps of actors like Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix in bringing the Clown Prince of Crime to life, and while it hasn’t been officially announced yet if Joker will be in The Batman 2, Keoghan will be ready to reprise the role if/when the call comes.
Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan can next be seen in Saltburn, which is slated on the 2023 movies schedule for a November 17 arrival, and that will be followed in early 2024 by the Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air. The Batman 2 comes on October 3, 2025, and naturally CinemaBlend will pass along updates on its progress amongst our other upcoming DC movies coverage.