According from reports by TV GUIDE and CBR, actor Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest) will take on the role of voicing the Joker in the upcoming direct to video part 2 release of Frank Miller’s classic tale. (TDKR part 2 will be realesed in early 2013).
According to the reports:
Michael Emerson‘s latest gig is no joke. The man best known as Lost’s über-manipulator Ben Linus and Person of Interest’s calculating Harold Finch is taking on one of pop culture’s most iconic villains, the Joker, in the upcoming animated DVD-movie Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. In the film, a harrowing adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 DC Comics series, the depraved Clown Prince of Crime renews his rivalry with an aging Batman, who has just reemerged in Gotham City after a decade
I have to admit, I was nerver a fan of the LOST series and don’t recall seing any of Emerson’s work before, so I had to do a little net research to grasp an idea of what this actor can bring forward to the character.
Emerson, who started as a performer in Broadway (in lighter comedic roles), made his turn in the dark side portraying a sinister serial killer for the series THE PRACTICE (2001), role for which he earned an Emmy.
Since then he has been seen in shows like THE X-FILES, LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT and movies like THE LEGEND OF ZORRO and SAW.
In 2006 he took part of the LOST series, portraying the enigmatic Henry Gale, a character who lied to the survivors. His role in the series was praised and earned him anonther nomination for an Emmy which he unfortunately lost.
I was amazed by his acting background and his turn to the darker, creepier character has definitely not diminished the quality of his work, knowing how hard it is to portray a believable, compelling heavy on TV or stage. Villains are never easy. But what most surprised me was his vision on the Joker, that he seems to understand very well as a character:
“He’s one of those great villains that an actor like me likes to play because he has layers — he has a face for the world and a face for himself,” the Emmy-winning star of CBS’s “Person of Interest” told TV Guide. “He is, in a way, a villain who is a natural actor. All of that is that is delightful and confounding at the same time.”
Playing the unbridled fervor of the Joker was a switch from some of the more emotionally controlled roles on Emerson’s resumé. “It’s freeing because of the largeness of it,” he says. “When he laughs, there’s nothing subdued about it. When he screams in rage, there’s nothing controlled about it. The amp is turned to 11 at all times.”
I think Mr. Emerson has definitely gotten a grasp of what moves the Clown to be Joker. Maybe for once we have found someone that can portray this character with the dignity he deserve and become as legendary as other actor voices befor him. I still have to hear him and see if he can transport me to that space were I can “flesh” out the Joker just by listening to him, but I have a hunch that the character might be in good hands.
Now I understand why my friend Jason Marnocha, a young talented voice actor who has had his deals with the Joker’s voice himself (very successfully I may add) was so pleased with this choice. I trust your judgement, Jason…I also aprove of this selection for the Joker’s voice…for now.
If you want to know more about Michael Emerson; you can watch this interview from PBS I am including here.
. See more fm Tavis Smiley in his site: MEET MICHAEL EMERSON
Heheheh… yet another voice for the Joker’s avatar. I’m intrigued and slightly excited to see how Mr. Emerson does with the role… Let’s see if he can really hit on that special tone of voice and mad way of speaking that makes the Joker so manipulative, charming, and scary…
I would kill to hear this version of Joker before it hits the stores…why? Well, after the disappointment with Mr. Spiner efforts in Young Justice (though I think that with more exposure he might get it right) I am scared that this is just going to be another big flop. Mr. DiMaggio did what I think was a very good job in Under the Red Hood, but apparently not good enough to land him the character for good like Mark Hammill
Let’s hope that their choice is worth the wait. I mean, the script is fabulous (I like the graphic novel) but a bad voicing job could ruin the magic all together. But I trust Jazor’s judgement since he is in the character voicing industry and he was pleased with the choice. I guess I will just have to wait.