John Lithgow regrets turning down the role of the Joker in Tim Burton’s BATMAN if(typeof ez_ad_units != ‘undefined’){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],’geektyrant_com-box-3′,’ezslot_17′,112,’0′,’0′])};__ez_fad_position(‘div-gpt-ad-geektyrant_com-box-3-0’);

John Lithgoww John Lithgow he is best known for his Academy Award-nominated roles in drama films The world according to Garp and Terms of Endearmentas well as his Emmy-nominated shows 3rd rock from the sun, Right, The crown and Perry Massone. It was also excellent inside Loose, The Manhattan Project, Shrek, Interstellar, At dad’s house 2and Bombas well as so many other movies and series, but one role he can’t add to his resume is The Joker.

Several decades ago, director Tim Burton he was assembling his cast for the 1989 film Batman, and called Lithgow up for the role of The Joker. That was before a superhero role was a huge hit in Hollywood. It sounded more like a joke to the Tony Award-winning Broadway star, so he basically bombed her audition.

He told Vulture in a 2017 interview (via /Film):

“I’ve never told anyone this story, but I tried to convince them I wasn’t right for the part, and I succeeded. I didn’t realize it was a big deal. About a week later I heard they were looking for Robin Williams and Jack Nicholson”.

As it turned out, it wasn’t just Burton who turned down Lithgow as well. Even when Gio Dante was still in line to direct, Lithgow declined, and speaks of his regret, saying:

“I was doing ‘M. Butterfly’ on Broadway and it was an exhausting show. It would have meant leaving that show and going straight to a movie, and I said, ‘I don’t think I can do that.’ How about that for dumb? Actors aren’t necessarily smart people.”

I think it worked out well for Lithgow, and everyone knows Jack Nicholson had to play that part. Still, it must be a shame to look back on roles you misjudged.