3) The Joker – Jack Nicholson, Batman
Though a lot of actors were considered for the role of the Clown Prince of Crime in Tim Burton’s 1989 movie, the studio immediately set their sights on Jack Nicholson – and it’s not hard to see why. The man has made a career from playing unhinged maniacs, so he was naturally a terrific Joker.
Just as Michael Keaton portrayed the first serious, brooding on-screen Batman, Nicholson’s Joker was the first time the character was presented as the twisted serial killer that fans knew from the comics. Sure, some liberties were taken for the film – like the fact that we find out his pre-Joker identity and, most infamously, his status as the Waynes’ killer – but Nicholson’s gimlet-eyed performance has remained evergreen (and white and red and purple).