‘The Room’ Star Tommy Wiseau’s Joker Audition Video Will Have You Laughing in Terror
If you’ve watched any of Tommy Wiseau’s work — from cult classic The Room to the Amazon TV series The Neighbors — you’re familiar with his unique acting style. While Wiseau may not enunciate clearly and puts strange emphasis on words, there’s one thing he has that’s undeniable: intensity. And that intensity is one of his greatest gifts as an actor — and one that’s on full display in the Tommy Wiseau Joker audition tape.
Yesterday, Nerdist released the audition tape — though the tape itself is a joke, it’s kidding-on-the-square. Last month, Todd Phillips announced he was in talks with Joaquin Phoenix to take over the Joker from the last actor to portray the Clown Prince of Crime: the abysmal Jared Leto. Wiseau made his desires to play the joker known with a couple tweets:
Todd. DM me. https://t.co/DHYg3EXvhs
— Tommy Wiseau (@TommyWiseau) February 10, 2018
Yes ! I want to be THE JOKER !
Fan art by @aitesamfarooq02 pic.twitter.com/dteVXDikgm
— Tommy Wiseau (@TommyWiseau) February 11, 2018
While, apparently, Phillips has yet to be swayed. (However, Phoenix recently said he hadn’t heard anything about being cast as the Joker, so perhaps there’s still hope for Wiseau!)
Though the Tommy Wiseau Joker audition tape is just a put-on, we have to admit, he definitely adds a terrifying element. Wiseau’s Joker is, like the best portrayals of the Joker, funny with an undercurrent of fright. There’s something goofy about his delivery of “WHY!!!!! SO SERIOUS?” that is chuckle-worthy at first — but if you were a Gothamite faced with the Joker (or, hell, just Tommy Wiseau) screaming that at you in a dark alley, you’d crap yourself.
Wiseau’s acting style can best be described as “a space alien who wants to be an actor, but has only been told in the barest terms what acting is.” He might not be as cooly calculated as Heath Ledger’s Joker, but he’s certainly got the unhinged part down.
