Tom Waits is The Joker

Tom Waits is The Joker, well, the inspiration for Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in the modern Batman film, ‘The Dark Knight’, or so they say.

Why exactly do people think that Tom Waits is The Joker, or the inspiration for the character? That all comes down to a 1979 Australian T.V. interview with Don Lane (The Don Lane Show shown in Australia) where the then 29 year old Waits acts in a very unusual way. Due to Waits being notorious as an eccentric and unusual character, it is debated whether he is drunk or not during the interview.

However, what is accepted is that his demeanour, voice and style all seem to echo the Heath Ledger portrayal of The Joker. The now late Heath Ledger was born in Australia, and while he was too young to have seen the interview air live, it is possible that he saw a recording of the interview later on in his life. This is especially likely when you consider the cult following that Tom Waits had at the time.

 

So Tom Waits is The Joker?

Well it is still unsure if Tom Waits is The Joker character inspiration, but here is something else to think about. We know that Tom Waits and Heath Ledger both worked together on the film, ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus‘. It may be possible that during that time Heath may have turned to Tom for inspiration. Waits may have overtly suggested an uneasy younger version of himself. Perhaps, Heath just simply liked Tom’s style and found the clip of the interview himself?

Either way, it would be a very strange and creepy coincidence if the Ledger portrayal of The Joker were not in some way influenced by the way that Waits acts during the Lane interview.

I think the best thing to do is for you to take a look at the video of the interview and decide for yourself.

 

The Video where Tom Waits is The Joker

Skip to 1:34 for the start of the interview: