Barry Keoghan Talks Joker Performance and Being Intimidated by Iconic Role in ‘The Batman’[Exclusive]

 Let’s just hope his Clown Prince gets another shot in a sequel.

Barry Keoghan didn’t have much screentime in the theatrical cut of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but a deleted scene released a few weeks after the movie’s premiere showed how much he dedicated himself to bringing a new version of the Joker to the big screen. In an exclusive interview for The Banshees of Inisherin, Collider’s own Steven Weintraub spoke with Keoghan about his Batman experience and the actor revealed new details about being part of one of the biggest DC releases ever.

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Keoghan shows up in one of the final scenes of The Batman, when the Clown Prince of Crime greets a new patient of Arkham Sylum, which happens to be Paul Dano’s Riddler. The scene feels like a quick cameo thrown in at the film's end just to tease a future team-up between the two villains, but the Joker was actually a more significant part of Reeves' vision. In fact, there’s a five-minute scene in which Batman visits the Joker in Arkham Asylum to ask for his help to catch the Riddler. The scene has some The Silence of the Lambs vibes, which really helps showcase Keoghan's fresh take on the character. However, since the theatrical release of The Batman was already three hours long, it makes sense that the moment didn’t make the final cut. We still don't know if and when Keoghan will be back as the Joker, but we learned more about how he came up with his version of the character. As the star tells us:

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“It's very intimidating [playing the Joker]. Heath Ledger was the best for me. So you have a lot of people to draw from and that. But again, you bring your version to it. That's what I do with any character I play, is no one has seen my version of it. And again, going back to it, I don't want to be like so-and-so, and follow that method and that method. I want to do me. I want to bring my version, because I feel that is new in a way, and unique, that when you bring your version no one has seen it. And that may make people relate to it. So it was intimidating, but I was excited for it.”

Image Via Warner Bros.

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During the interview, Keoghan also shared that he was happy that the deleted scene got released, but he trusted Reeves and the rest of the creative team to decide to cut something out of the movie. Still, as Keoghan tells us, he “just wanted people to see my take on it, and I'm blessed as well that I got to do a portrayal of that.” Remembering his experience on set, Keoghan also praised Reeves’ work, underlining how the director has a clear vision for everything he does. In Keoghan’s words:

“Matt's amazing. I mean, again, it's sort of like you go into a numbness when you're there, because you forget. Again, another great director at communicating what he wants in the most delicate way, and making you understand. That's the most important thing for me, is being able to understand what my director wants. But he's just amazing. And he was so on board with me, and same with [producer] Dylan Clark and getting to do the scene with Rob [Pattinson] and Paul Dano was just, again, masterclasses.”

During the interview, Keoghan also discussed how it feels to watch a movie that he worked on for the first time. As the star reveals, he doesn’t get to enjoy the film like the audience, as he uses the experience to detect flaws in his performance and make notes to improve his craft. Keoghan says:

“Watching any movie you're part of is quite hard. I bet when you watch clips back, it's hard to look at yourself, right, or even listen to yourself. But yeah, it's a learning experience. You watch movies and you learn. I don't ever watch a movie and be like, 'Yes, nailed it.' You obviously look at the film as a whole as well, but I'm constantly learning on what I can make a bit more truthful or what I could've done. And not to be too critical upon yourself either, but just to make it a learning experience, and not dissect it too much.”

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The Batman is currently available on HBO Max. The Banshees of Inisherin will come to theaters on October 21. To learn more about The Batman secrets, check out our interview with director Reeves and look for more from our interview with Keoghan soon.