John Lithgow’s Double Miss: The Roles He Let Slip
John Lithgow opens up about passing on two legendary roles, sharing why he turned down Frasier Crane and the Joker, and reflecting on the choices that still make him cringe.
Whenever John Lithgow pops up on screen, you know you’re in for a treat. He’s got that familiar, comforting presence, a bit like the favourite uncle at a family barbie. His career’s packed with standout performances, but even the best of the best have their moments of doubt. Lithgow’s made some choices over the years that, looking back, he’s not exactly chuffed about.
Back in the day, Lithgow was the top pick to play Frasier Crane on Cheers. At the time, though, he figured telly was a step down for a bloke with his theatre chops. He gave it a miss, thinking he’d be better off elsewhere. Ironically, he’d also nearly missed out on playing Roberta in The World According to Garp, a role that ended up nabbing him an Oscar nod. Both decisions, he admits, are a bit embarrassing in hindsight, but there’s one that really sticks in his mind.
Missed Chances in Gotham
In a chat with Vulture, Lithgow let slip that he was in the running to play the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. The audition, though, was a shocker.
“I tried to persuade him I was not right for the part, and I succeeded,”
he said.
“I didn’t realise it was such a big deal.”
Turns out, it was a massive deal. Batman was the first serious crack at bringing the caped crusader to the big screen since the campy Adam West days, and Burton was keen to give it a fresh spin for a new crowd.
Plenty of big names were floated for the Joker gig—Robin Williams, Tim Curry, even David Bowie. But in the end, Jack Nicholson landed the part, bringing his own wild energy to the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’. For years, Nicholson was the face punters pictured when they thought of the Joker, at least until Heath Ledger came along and changed the game.
Another Shot, Another Pass
Funny thing is, Burton wasn’t the first director to eye Lithgow for the Joker. Joe Dante, fresh off the back of Gremlins, was offered a shot at a Batman film. That project never got off the ground, but Dante had Lithgow in mind for the villain. Once again, Lithgow had a chance to don the clown makeup, but he knocked it back.
“I was doing M Butterfly on Broadway, and it was an exhausting show,”
he told Entertainment Weekly.
“It would have meant leaving that show and going right into a film, and I said, ‘I just don’t think I can’. How about that for stupid? Actors are not necessarily smart people.”
Looking back, Lithgow probably dodged a bullet with the Dante film, since it never happened. And it’s hard to picture anyone but Nicholson going toe-to-toe with Michael Keaton. Still, with Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with Batman, there’s always a chance for another go if Lithgow ever fancies it.