Getting Jack Nicholson As The Joker Put Tim Burton In A Terrifying Situation
By JOE ROBERTS
In the making-of featurette for Tim Burton’s 1989 film “Batman,” Burton and producer Peter Gruber described how difficult it was to get Jack Nicholson for the role of The Joker.
Gruber explained they went to Aspen, Colorado to recruit the actor, “Jack says, ‘Let’s go riding’ [...] Tim says ‘I don’t ride’ and I said to him, ‘You do today.’”
Burton shared, “I’m out with Peter Guber and Jack Nicholson on horseback up in Aspen, I’m going ‘I didn’t realize horseback riding was part of my job description.’”
Guber shared that while Burton “was not a happy camper,” he did follow through with Nicholson's request, and the star ultimately committed to playing The Joker.
Guber added, “I don’t know [if it was] because of the horse riding but I think that they had a good bonding there and that moved the project yet further ahead.”
“Batman” likely didn’t make a profit, but Nicholson did. The actor negotiated for top billing ahead of Michael Keaton and secured a percentage of the film’s gross profits.