No clowning: The Joker through the years

Cesar Romero as the Joker in 1967's Surf's Up! Joker's Under. Photo / Getty Images

Ahead of next Thursday's release of Joker, we look back at the other significant screen performances of the clown prince of crime.

Cesar Romero. Batman (1966-68)

Endless re-runs of the campy television show made Romero's playful, giggly peformance the definitive screen Joker for multiple generations. The actor famously refused to shave his moustache for the role, so they applied the white makeup over it.

Jack Nicholson. Batman (1989)

Jack Nicholson's Joker in the movie Batman, directed by Tim Burton, brought menace to the character. Photo / Getty Images

Producer Michael Uslan had dreamed of casting Nicholson in the role ever since seeing the actor's unhinged performance in The Shining (1980). Nicholson went even bigger here, bringing genuine menace to the character for the first time, arguably overshadowing the film's title character.

Mark Hamill. Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95)

Hamill has long been celebrated for his gloriously demented vocal take on the Clown Prince of Crime in the landmark 90s Batman cartoon. He continued the role across several other animated shows and movies and more recently in the acclaimed Arkham video games.

Heath Ledger. The Dark Knight (2008)

Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar award for his portrayal of The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. Photo / Supplied

Despite initial scepticism over his casting, the Aussie star managed to outshine even Nicholson with an instantly iconic display of articulated chaos. Ledger sadly died before film was released and received a posthumous Oscar for the performance.