Tim Curry as Joker 🦇 Original Footage 

What when they try to the voices for the other villains in the show?

Yes we've been brainwashed. Funny enough it's close to the John DiMaggio performance order in under the red hood.

Watch it. Then this video

Great video man. Shout out to theitalianstallion51

I think a lot of people are not taking into account that this was an actor testing for a role. Most voice actors - including the ones who are cast - don't nail the voice right away. They come in and try some stuff based on what little they know about the intended character (or iteration of a character) and then develop it over some amount of time. I mean, go back and listen to the first seasons of the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. It can take a while to get into the groove of a character. Starting where Tim started, I have a feeling he would've developed it fairly quickly into a Joker just as iconic as Mark's, especially once he got a little more direction from the production team (as they figured out what they wanted as well) and got to see it in action with his voice, music, sound effects, etc. Mark knocked it out of the park right away but their interpretations of the character weren't so different that Tim couldn't have found that same groove pretty quickly had he been cast. Also, remember that we're seeing these clips out of context, with no real production, no music, no sound effects, etc. The amount those things add to the performance can't be underestimated. I mean, yeah, I agree that Tim's VO here was missing a little something but give him some time to sculpt the voice and have them add the full-on production and I think he would've killed it just as hard as Mark does. I've done a little bit of voice acting in games (where I was primarily a designer but sometimes subbed in on VO for prototypes, placeholder VO, easter eggs, random NPCs, or just for fun) and I can tell you that walking into a booth with a couple of pages of lines with no context, no visuals to go off of, and no clear direction from the director can be a challenge. You just try a bunch of semi-random stuff until the director or producer stops saying, "Okay, that's great. Now, let's try another one." Creating that magical voice out of nothing right out of the gate is not easy. In fact, on one project for a major game studio, I worked with a director who had NO IDEA what he wanted from the character and, man, believe me when I tell you that makes it 10x harder. E.g. He kept having me read the line "This ain't no disco" with absolutely no context to it and whenever I asked for some sort of motivation or direction for the line or the character, he'd just say he didn't know or "Y'know, it's just... it's that line from the Talking Heads song." And I'd be like, "Yeah, but WHY is the character saying it? What's happening in the game when he's saying it?" I never got an answer but we recorded that line SO MANY times, trying different iterations with literally zero direction other than "let's try it again." And eventually my VO was replaced by Bruce Campbell which, tbh, is a decision I could never be mad at.

Tim actually voiced joker for the brave and the bold series

@@michaelboydston313 I don’t know that

@@michaelboydston313 no he didnt

@@michaelboydston313 no he didn't

@@michaelboydston313 Me when I spread misinformation

You look at him in this video, you can tell he doesn't look well.

Honestly he just sounds normal, which isn't really something you want. I don't know why they think he sounded scary, he doesn't, but maybe they mean he would have been scary to kids back then.

@@williamparcell9197 he just sounds like some crazy thug here. With that voice I’d more expect him to beat Batman with a crowbar not to pull a deadly prank

If Tim curry used his natural voice I could see that being scary and much more fitting for the joker.

They most likely use the less scary scenes for the interview

Yeah, honestly, Mark's voice is WAY more chilling just because of how legitimately unhinged he can sound while this voice Tim Curry is doing is just too over the top to take that seriously.

Exactly, I was honestly thinking it sounded like Tim Curry mixed with Bender

DiMaggio's Joker is seriously underated. It's a shame he's only played him like twice. His performance in Under the Red Hood was amazing.

That was my exact thought too and as much as I love Bender I HATED DiMaggio as Joker. I'm so glad we got Mark Hamill instead of Tim Curry

DiMaggio’s Joker sounds homosexual.

@@matthewmartin1852 he's properly rated right where he should be

I have his autograph i met 2021 for Kevin conroy

Not sure if you have seen the video Phil made when he found out Kevin Conroy had passed, but there is a clip of a story from Kevin in it that is absolutely wonderful. You can find it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qz6G_cuDjvA.html

Rest in peace, Kevin Conroy.

I was absolutely devastated. Kevin and Mark are truly “our” Batman and joker. The kids that grew up watching the animated series as kids. No disrespect to Tim but I mean come on.

Pretty sure the generation before yours would consider Adam West the "real" Batman. Every generation has one. Jason O'Mara is probably the "real" Batman for the current generation who grew up on the DCAMU.

@@AxeCrazyAutobot To be fair, how many people are going to recognise Jason O'Mara by name?

I think you are right on the money with your description of "menacing and dangerous with practice." Thank YOU for watching!

@@PhilMachi You're welcome. Keep up the good work.

@@PhilMachi yeah because it took time for Conroy to get his voice right for Batman. It's sad Tim Curry is hurt to much.

@@PhilMachi Exactly, look at Mark's Joker voice, at the start of Batman Arkham Asylum.

666th like

You worded that well. I think that’s the crux of this whole scenario. Of course Tim would have evolved the character. All of us have the amazing performance of Mark lodged in our childhoods so it’s difficult to think there could be any other versions we’d enjoy. Thanks for watching/commenting!

well after all, originally he had to loop existing footage. so if they drew Joker expressing himself along with Tim's delivery, now Mark had to read along with that finished facial animation.

In this very video (from the documentary), Dan Riba (director of the show) says: "Mark DID make it his own but that first show... and first couple, he's kind of like doing his take on what Tim had done." i.e. Mark iterated off the voice Tim started - which they would've played for Mark as an example of something similar to what they were looking for - but had the chance to develop it over a few episodes before finally dialing in the stuff that everyone thinks sets the two apart. Had Tim gotten that same chance to develop the character, I have no doubt he would've done the same. And given that they're starting in basically the same place, I imagine they would've ended up in a very similar place as well. Or, even if Tim had taken it in a little bit different direction, I'm sure it would have been equally iconic. Maybe a scarier take on it even. I can imagine that, if Tim had been cast and we were instead watching "Mark Hamill's Joker audition" here on YT, the same people who are talking about how much better Mark's Joker is would instead be commenting that Mark's is pretty good but is too goofy compared to Tim's iconic, chilling take on the Joker. It's all about the VO actor getting time to develop the character and, ultimately, whichever one we get used to hearing first is going to be the one we like best. TL;DR: The voices ARE very similar. People only like Mark's better because (1) he's had time to dial it in, (2) he has full production on and around his VO which Tim's audition doesn't, and, most importantly, (3) we're used to hearing Mark's Joker, Tim's is slightly different, and the human brain is not evolved to embrace change quickly because our primitive animal brains tell us that different = bad because survival.

True but Mark's was amazing from the first episode he was in. He refined it but it was still the same. Tim's sounded more like the 70s campy version but more serious if that makes sense.

WB had a good chance to have VA DLC. I'm which the only thing the DLC has is different VA playing iconic characters.

Jim Cummings would’ve made a truly terrifying Joker.

To me, he sounded a LOT like Bender from Futurama there... Which is ironic, seeing as John DiMaggio has actually voiced the Joker himself.

The line as spoken by Hamill has been living rent free in my head for 30 years. So to hear this delivery is jarring

@@droptheleash1992 and his joker is EXCELLENT

@@AlanQSmithee what a stupid phrase

Most likely AIDs, considering his lifestyle...

@@at5297it was cancer bro. Googling takes 5 seconds .

@@fearofthedark88 It's always "cancer"...

Didnt know that batman fans are a bunch of homophobes. The big scary gays are gunna come get you woooooo

And it broke my childhood after finding out he's gay. 😣

And we're only getting a fraction through the preview clips

Agreed, just as Conroy evolved over the seasons

Yeah, it was most likely him trying out multiple voices before finding the right one. These might be the earliest voice clips.

you know what it reminds me of? Brent Spiner's Joker. Here's a guy who has done amazing voices in the past, cackling maniacs, disturbingly cracked villains... and then we get *that* performance. And it's so flat, and just not using a fraction of his potential.

@@KairuHakubi I thought Brent was good, just not as good as he could be.

I’m not

@@mat7083 Same

@@SilkKreep leaves me wondering how it would have sounded finished.

It was horrible.

Not to take anything away from Mark but he had the added benefit of getting to iterate off the voice that Tim started (according to Dan Riba, director of the show), developing the voice over time (Dan mentions that, for the first few episodes, Mark was still doing his take on what Tim had done though, after those first few episodes, he made it more his own), and having us all hear it with full production around it (music, sound effects, context, etc). Had Tim been cast instead of Mark and gotten the same opportunity to develop the voice and character over a few episodes with a full production and directors and producers who figured out what they were looking for, I have no doubt he would've ended up killing it just as hard as Mark does.

Same.

Completely agree with you!

Right. Tim Curry is a fantastic voice actor, and he would've killed it as the Joker. If he had gotten the role, we'd all be laughing at the idea that they even considered casting Mark Hamill instead. I mean, Luke Skywalker as the Joker? Seriously? (Note: I'm not bashing Mark Hamill. He's great, and his take on the Joker is iconic. It's just that we'd all be thinking differently if Tim Curry was allowed to leave his mark on the role instead and we never heard Hamill's take.)

@@TJ1380 I think Mari Hamill's worst voice acting performance was Goro Majima in the original PS2 version of Yakuza that got localized. He played it like a generic gangster. Someone should've told him Majima was pretty much the Yakuza series' version of The Joker.

Totally agree with OP here. We'd all be praising the genius of Tim Curry's work as the joker if he had gotten the role instead of Mark Hamill.

@@wantutosigh1117 same with Chris Farley who was cast as Shrek originally, but died during production. Not taking anything from Mike Myers, who did an amazing job, but hearing clips of Farley as Shrek were just as good, but different. The whole tone of the scene changed at times like he was more sensitive of a character

Dan Riba (director of the show) says straight up in the clips from the documentary that although Mark did eventually make the voice his own, for the first few episodes he was doing his take on what Tim did with the voice. Meaning (1) Mark iterated off of Tim's performance and (2) it took him at least a few episodes to dial in what everyone loves about his Joker voice. Had Tim been cast, I'm sure he would've developed it into something equally iconic, especially given the very similar place they started with it.

@@johnplaysgames3120 yeah, always thought Joker sounded off in his first few appearances, especially Christmastime With The Joker

@@mrcritical6751 yep now you know why joker sounds so different from the first few episodes of the animated series to when current day joker.

I completely agree. Curry has an incredible range that has shown throughout his career. It would have been fascinating to see him really lock into it with Joker to display what he was clearly capable of. Obviously I am thankful for Mark - in the end, he locked in and hit the ground running.

@@PhilMachi don't get me wrong, any voice that's not Mark Hamill coming from that Joker is cursed but that's because we've had thirty years with Hamill. If we had gotten Tim Curry as the permanent Joker the character over those same thirty years would look nothing like it does now, the Arkham games IMO would be darker with much less of the comedic edge

Honestly he kind of sounds like Mark Hamil lol

@@thewewguy8t88 As Dan Riba mentions in the clips from the doc, for the first few episodes of the show, Mark was doing his take on the voice that Tim did. The only difference between them, really, is that Mark got the chance to develop the voice and character whereas Tim just did an audition where he tried a voice.

@@djcook3991 Maybe. Mark had the chance to develop the voice and character and dial it in, Tim didn't. We honestly don't know what he would've done with it. Given that Mark started out by iterating off the voice Tim did (according to Dan Riba in the doc), it's possible they would've ended up in a very similar place. I mean, it's not like Tim Curry doesn't do comedy. With a few episodes to explore the character and understand the humor aspect of the Joker, I can imagine he would've found the same vibe Mark did.

My thoughts exactly. The whole performance sounds like Tim is searching for the right balance between silly and sinister. It would be interesting to see how he would have developed the character over time.

@@PhilMachi apparently Tim had bronchitis when recording this so that’s probably why he was off

@@mrcritical6751 not only that but it may not seem important but not having any other sound other than his voiceover sounds more off

@@eyetipe8362 I was just thinking this. Raw dialog usually sounds fine, then gets strange paired with the visuals alone, then makes sense again after some editing. Post adds a lot, but just dialog and animation is uncanny. I do still think it was sort of underwhelming, but I'd *like* to think it's mostly because we're glimpsing an in-between phase of a performance done while ill.

Tim was creating the character out of basically nothing other than the direction "not like Jack Nicholson." As Dan Riba mentions, Mark was iterating off of the voice that Tim did and it STILL took him several episodes of the show to dial it in. I'm sure Tim would've done the same, given the chance. Also, if you've ever recorded music, you know that there's a HUGE difference between dry vocals and vocals that are produced and have music around them. Part of the "underwhelming" aspect of Tim's performance that you're hearing is that there's no production around them - no music, no sound FX, no production on the VO - they're just dry and that's always going to sound underwhelming, no matter who's doing the voice or how well they're doing it. And, as you mentioned, they're test/audition VO. He's trying out stuff for a character that is undefined by the directors and producers at that moment, whereas Mark came in and iterated off of Tim's performance. Obviously, it's not going to be fully dialed in. I think either of them would've killed it as the Joker, Mark just got the chance to develop the voice and character. You're not one of them, obvs, but some of the people in these comments are being a little harsh on Tim's take, given all the RL considerations around it.

That’s only because they replace him before he had a chance to really thrive. If given the chance dare I say he would have made a better joker than mark Hamill himself.

@@geeebuttersnap2433 I am not saying it is bad. It is different more than anything. But when you look at Joker as a case study...he is primal insanity. Completely unhinged. One day he could pie you in the face and find that peak hilarity...the next he could shoot you in the face and find that equally hilarious. Joker has only ever shown restraint when society collapsed and there were no heroes to save the day so he took up the role of an anti-hero. And when he was partnered up with Red Skull...because even insane people can't tolerate racists.

Tim Curry merely adopted the dark, while Mark Hamill was born in it. Molded by it.

I think what @Geeebuttersnap was saying is that Mark had a chance to develop the character to reach that primal insanity vibe that you're talking about whereas Tim just did an audition. You can't really compare those as equal things. Also, it's worth noting, based on what Dan Riba (director of the show) said in this documentary, Tim came in and was given the direction "not like Jack Nicholson," leaving him to come up with a Joker voice out of basically nothing whereas Mark was iterating off of the voice that Tim started. And, according to Dan, though mark DID make it his own eventually, for the first few episodes he was just doing his take on what Tim did. Meaning it took him several episodes to dial in what everyone likes about his Joker. Basically, had Tim been cast, he would've had the same opportunity to find the primal crazy that you're referencing as Mark did and, tbh, I think he would've ended up with something probably similar and certainly just as iconic.

@@johnplaysgames3120 I get that. Tim Curry is a great actor. Still the best Pennywise in my opinion...but I don't think he could do the insanity of The Joker like Hamill can. Curry is good at playing a menacing, threatening character...but I dunno if he could switch between menacing and outright insane like Hamill does.

It's been especially interesting reading an assortment of comments where people are finding similarities between the two actors and not simply pitting one against the other. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and also for watching!

Your description kinda reminds me of when you go to drink a glass of milk but you don’t realize you actually grabbed a glass of orange juice instead and your mouth is all confused! 😆 In any case, I get what you mean. 😁

Prefiero la versión de curry. He escuchado la de Hamill pero no la he interiorizado pues con la que crecí es la versión en Castellano. Me parece que le va mejor al personaje y que va mejor con los movimientos del dibujo

right. I can't hear anybody but Mark....nothing else works

@@rocioal3145 Tiene sentido en el caso de este episodio porque estaba animado con la intención de que Curry lo interpretara, por lo que algunas de las primeras apariciones de Joker en este programa (especialmente el episodio de Navidad) parecen estar mal, ya que Hamill tuvo que trabajar en torno a los movimientos y las pocas infligiciones que los animadores pusieron para igualar la actuación de Curry

Hamill for the win

Mark intentionally gave his Joker a "Mid-Atlantic" accent (like Frasier and Niles) which is an "accent" that was invented for clarity of speech in live speeches and in radio from the early 1900's, partly Mark picked it because it meant you couldn't tie Joker to any one time or place, making his true origin mysterious and unknown.

@@RandomAccessDreams Yeah, there was a time they taught that accent in schools so rich Americans could sound more posh.

A 3 Jokers animated movie could do it.

@@liamfitzgerald7217 if he is still capable on the condition he has at this specific point

Isn't Curry Dead?

@@dubuyajay9964 no he is still alive

Same if they did Batman: Damned as a movie I think Tim would have been perfect, but overall Mark Hamill was destined to voice him that laugh alone is perfect

You mean like 'Justice League: Of Gods and Monsters'?

they did do an equivalent of that being Kirk being Batman in Justice League: Gods and Monsters but it wasn't voiced by him. it was basically Man-bat but instead of him being a bat monster he suffered from a form of vampirism similar to Morbius from Marvel.

well if kevin been cast on marvel animated movie, he should voice dracula

The basis behind The Batman Who Laughs. What if Bruce Wayne became the Joker while still being Batman. All of Bats Knowledge with Jokers Madness would be dangerous. When they wrote that I believe they had the voice of Conroy doing his best Mark Hamill Joker impression. Or so the Legend goes.

Looked like a perfect Bruce Wayne 30 years ago

@@thenoirknight5729 yeah, in the 80s when he was on TV shows he did look really handsome in a wealthy yuppie way. At that age he would’ve been good casting as Bruce.

@@Nightman221k The man was smoking hot in his younger days.

Not really.

Terminal cancer can do that to you.

Hey, Man, thank YOU for sticking up for me out there! I happened upon some of your comments recently and was very moved someone (you) would do that for me and my work.

@@PhilMachi You are welcome. After all, we only have the footage of Tim Curry's interpretation of Joker thanks to your enthusiastic effort.

Also, Tim came in and created that voice out of basically nothing other than "not Jack Nicholson" and whatever he knew about the Joker going in. As Dan Riba (director of the show) says in the doc, Mark spent the first few episodes of the show doing his take on the voice that Tim did. i.e. Mark iterated off Tim's performance and then developed it from there over several episodes. I'm sure Tim would've done the same had he been cast instead. Plus, when you add the full production around it - music, sound FX, VO production tweaks - it's obvs going to sound better in ways that people who've never worked in production wouldn't expect. Dry vocals against otherwise silent animation are always going to sound underwhelming compared to finished animation, especially when it's undeveloped audition VO. There's a lot of people in these comments comparing Mark's developed Joker to Tim Curry's audition Joker... and you can't really compare those two things. It's like comparing the demo version of a song being written to a fully-produced cover version that adds its own flavor. Of course the finished one is going to sound better but that's because the two are in different stages of development, not because one band or the other is superior or "more right" for the song.

Did you forget brave and the bold

@@michaelboydston313 that's Jeff Bennett

@@jacobdehaan4114 oops, the Mandela effect got me

Wow! Thank you so much for your thoughtful & kind feedback on all aspects of this clip. I think then you’d enjoy the full movie this excerpt comes from: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OyTiWwJtvw0.html

That's exactly what I thought

@@theotherguy21 and DiMaggio has already done Joker before also..... kinda was expecting Peter Pan and the Pirates style Tim Curry.

@@crithon I was honestly expecting Home Alone 2 style Curry

@@mrcritical6751 I'm impressed he has so much range. Maybe this would be an elseworld voice

Thank you so much for your kind words of support! There were so many personal stories that I wanted to share... it was hard to leave some on the cutting room floor but of course, Tim's take on Joker was a must!

Thank you for watching and commenting. There are a lot more wonderful moments with Kevin in the full documentary this clip is from, here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OyTiWwJtvw0.html

@@PhilMachi Thank you and my pleasure 👍

Thank you! I hope you check out the full movie sometime!