Joker deepfake video replaces Joaquin Phoenix with Jim Carrey. With over a billion grossed at the box office, Todd Phillips’ Joker became the most unlikely blockbuster of 2019. A lot of the credit for the movie’s success of course goes to Phoenix, who won an Oscar for his chilling portrayal of mentally ill wannabe-comic-turned-killer Arthur Fleck.
Phoenix and Phillips’ take on Joker was obviously not a traditional comic book movie at all, as it drew on classic ‘70s films like Taxi Driver to create a gritty vision of life in an economically challenged Gotham. The movies have of course depicted the Clown Prince of Crime in a much more classically comic book way, as when Jack Nicholson brought the character to life in Tim Burton’s Batman. Heath Ledger also played Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and though the film itself was a more realistic take on Batman, Joker had plenty in common with some of the darker comic book realizations of the character. And then there was Jared Leto, whose take on Joker seemingly came entirely from his own bizarre Method-actor imagination.
Thanks to deepfake technology it’s possible to see what some other actors may have done with the role of Joker. In their newest video, stryder HD has recast Phoenix in Phillips’ Joker, replacing him with Carrey. See the resulting clip in the space below:
Carrey of course is a natural actor to choose as Joker, as he has always been good at combining comedy with a certain darkness. And Carrey has real world experience in the Batman realm, having played The Riddler in the largely maligned 1995 film Batman Forever. Nowadays, Carrey spends less time acting in movies and more time producing paintings that viciously caricature political figures with whom he disagrees. He also does a regular political send-up on SNL, playing a very unorthodox (and some would argue deeply unfunny) Joe Biden.
Carrey may not be quite the right actor to play genial Biden, but he’s definitely an interesting choice as Joker. Indeed, even without the aid of a deepfake, it’s easy to see Carrey stepping into that particular role and bringing an intriguing combination of hilarity and pitch blackness. Phoenix of course tended much more toward the dark with his portrayal of Joker, the entire point of the movie being that his character’s on-stage comedic persona was not actually funny. Carrey on the other hand is so naturally hilarious that it might actually be hard for him to play a character who is bad at making people laugh (unless he maybe channeled Biden). Ultimately, Joker got the right actor for the role in Phoenix, but it would still be interesting to see what Carrey might do with the part if he ever got a chance.
Source: stryder HD/YouTube
