Act Like The Joker
If you are cosplaying as the Joker from Batman, you can take things to the next level by acting as him. This article will give you tips on how to act like the Joker to make your cosplay more believable and memorably.
10 Second Summary
- Re-watch all of the Joker's scenes.
- Practice his posture, mannerisms, speech, and laugh.
- Be spontaneous and hide your motives.
- Be fearless and don't take anything seriously.
- Be intelligent and charismatic.
Steps
- Watch the film, closely re-watch scenes that include the Joker and how he behaves. Notice every little detail. This will help you to absorb his character and understand the way he thinks.
- Practice the Joker's posture and mannerisms. Learn to walk the odd way he does and make a habit of licking your lips and contorting your mouth like he does.
- Imitate his voice and manner of speech. The Joker's voice in the Dark Knight is quite hard to copy at first, but you can soon get the hang of it. At times it is quite husky, and other times his voice drops to only a whisper. Learn when to talk loudly and when to talk quietly. When learning how to copy the way he talks and the types of words he uses, keep everything you say brief and to the point. Never drone on about anything, and make sure everyone you talk to is always listening.
- Practice The Joker's laugh. The Joker is known for being crazy and what do crazy people do most often? Laugh. Learn when to laugh, and when not to laugh. The Joker's laugh is a sort of husky cackle that is hard to imitate, but just like his voice you can soon get the hang of it if you practice. When you laugh, exhale first instead of inhaling like most people. This is how you achieve the Joker's cackle.
- Do things for no apparent reason. The Joker does things just for the sake of doing them. He has no plan or motive, and he doesn't care about the consequences. He just thinks of something and does it without giving it much thought. However, don't do anything dangerous like walking into oncoming traffic or jumping off buildings.
- If you do have reasons for doing things, hide them! Never let people know what you are up to, and always hide your intentions.
- Have no fear. This may seem a bit "Batman-like" but it's also essential if you want to become the Joker. The Joker is not afraid of being locked up. He's not afraid of Batman. He's not afraid of the police. He's not afraid to die. When Batman beat him up while interrogating him, all the Joker did was just laugh.
- Never take anything too seriously. Always see the light-hearted and funny side of everything. The Joker makes loads of funny jokes and comments but keep in mind that he doesn't overdo it. Make sure you have the right timing for your jokes and only say them in the right situations; otherwise people will think you are just trying desperately to be funny.
- Gain more intelligence. Even if you are already smart, become smarter. The Joker is extremely intelligent and cunning no matter how crazy he seems. He always has backup plans and people doing his dirty work.
- Be charismatic. The Joker is an evil, murdering sociopath, yet whenever he's on the screen one can't look away. The Joker has an air of confidence and is very interesting from his mannerisms to the things he says. Try to emulate this.
- The Joker is known for being, well, a joker. He is known for being mischievous and cunning, and always has a thing or two up his sleeve. Make sure you carry some prank items with you at all times, and keep them in weird places, like in your shoes or in your sleeves as the metaphor says.
- Emulate the Joker's dress style. You don't have to go and buy a Joker costume, but just dress formally. Make sure the clothes you wear look classy but a little shabby at the same time. They don't have be purple and green like the Joker's suit, but make sure they are unique and original.
- If you really want to take this one step further, you can also change your facial appearance. However, this step is not recommended and only do it if you are really desperate to be the Joker. You will probably be ridiculed, but then again you are now the Joker; why would you care? The Joker has medium long wavy green hair, wears loads of white makeup, has dark eyeliner around his eyes, and of course his signature red grin. Make sure you apply the dye and/or make up messily, the Joker is not neat and tidy. Don't completely dye your hair; have parts of it not dyed to look more shabby. When applying the make up, make a lot of smudges around the red grin and black eyeshadow.
- Most of the above instructions have been inferred from the movie. This is an interpretation of how to act like the Joker. There's not a whole lot to cite except for the movie, but then again, it's pointless to cite that. Why so serious?
Tips
- Make sure you have lots of confidence before trying to imitate the Joker.
- Don't be afraid to make yourself look crazy in front of others. The Joker is known for his insane behavior.
- Even if Heath Ledger's version of the Joker has these, don't try to make a Glasgow-smile on yourself, it hurts like hell and your parents will possibly not be happy about it. For that matter use live roleplay make-up to make the scars if they're important to you!
- Laugh a lot.
- To act more like Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker, put emphasis on the humor, with morbidity more as an afterthought.
- To act more like Cesar Romero's portrayal of the Joker, stick strictly to humor and forget the morbidity entirely.
- Above all, don't do anything that may hurt yourself or others or anything that might send you to "Arkham Asylum" A.K.A. Prison.
Warnings
- If you carry real or realistic weapons with you to school, a store or mall, etc. -- security guards will call police who will arrest you in many cities/towns.
- Don't use your laugh during an offensive situation. Although the movie Joker will laugh at movie-tragedy, this will rarely be accepted in the real world.
- Don't pretend to hurt or harm people who will take it seriously and call police.
- At school, you might be told on, if you talk about violent jokes -- or laugh at someone who got hurt -- or wear your scars.
- Your parents may be called; you may be sent to the office.
- Don't pretend to do a magic trick in front of kids that seems that you are harming someone; this is/or could be dangerous and parents will complain.
- Don't commit crimes, like the Joker character acts out. This is just how to act like the Joker; don't take this too far. There is no reason whatsoever to commit crimes (or pretend to commit them in public) to act like the Joker. It would be unreasonably dangerous to you and possibly to others.
Things You'll Need
- Red lipstick
- Black eyeliner and/or eye shadow
- Green hair dye
- White makeup or powder
- Formal clothes
- A few prank toys
- 10 or more Joker Cards
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