Tommy Wiseau’s take on Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight has people divided. Some are over Wiseau’s fifteen-year-long attempt to invade Hollywood with his special “so bad it’s good” writing, directing, producing, and acting, while others find him endearing.
Surprisingly, it seems like The Disaster Artist, James Franco’s Golden Globe-winning film based on the making of The Room, was possibly not the zenith of his current popularity, but only the beginning. Wiseau has a weird sci-fi romance film coming, as well as another movie with The Room actor and The Disaster Artist author Greg Sestero. Now there’s his “Joker audition” that Nerdist delivered, which shows that Wiseau has range, kinda.
Wiseau’s maniacal and yet completely on-brand turn as Ledger’s tilted Clown Prince of Crime worked in a neutral environment, now YouTube mashup-maker BUP has actually placed his performance into The Dark Knight. It works. Granted, Wiseau’s unhinged performance is all over the place, and who knows if he could actually carry a scene, but in this, he’s a scary, weird, and oddly-funny Joker. Kinda like Ledger.
Wiseau isn’t going to win an Academy Award anytime soon, if at all, but he’s showing that he can (possibly) take direction and keep focus on a shoot for a day, so get him in Suicide Squad 2 or something.