John Lithgow’s Double Regret: Roles He Let Slip Away
John Lithgow opens up about passing on two legendary roles—Frasier Crane and the Joker—reflecting on the choices that still haunt him.
Whenever John Lithgow appears on screen, audiences can expect a reliably engaging performance. With a career spanning decades and a reputation as a comforting presence, he has amassed an impressive list of credits. Yet, like many in his profession, he has not always made the wisest choices regarding which parts to accept. Lithgow was originally approached to portray Frasier Crane in the classic sitcom Cheers, but declined, believing at the time that television was not a suitable platform for him. Ironically, he was also nearly overlooked for his Oscar-nominated turn as Roberta in The World According to Garp. Both decisions, in retrospect, are rather awkward, but there is one missed opportunity that seems to linger most.
In a conversation with Vulture, Lithgow disclosed that he was considered for the role of the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Unfortunately, the audition did not go as planned.
“I tried to persuade him I was not right for the part, and I succeeded,”
he admitted, adding,
“I didn’t realise it was such a big deal.”
The significance of the project was lost on him at the time, but Batman would go on to become a cultural phenomenon, marking the first serious cinematic take on the character since the days of Adam West. Burton was intent on modernising the story for a new generation, and the film’s success proved just how much was at stake.
Missed Opportunities and What Might Have Been
Several notable actors were linked to the role of Batman’s arch-nemesis, including Robin Williams, Tim Curry, and David Bowie. Ultimately, the part went to Jack Nicholson, whose performance as the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’ became iconic, setting a standard that would only be rivalled years later by Heath Ledger.
Interestingly, Burton was not the first director to envision Lithgow as the Joker. Joe Dante, following the success of Gremlins, was offered the chance to direct a Batman film. Although that version never materialised, Dante had Lithgow in mind for the villain. Once again, Lithgow declined. As he explained to Entertainment Weekly,
“I was doing M Butterfly on Broadway, and it was an exhausting show. 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.”
Reflections on Choices and the Nature of Regret
In the end, Lithgow’s decision regarding Dante’s unmade Batman film was perhaps for the best, as the project never came to fruition. It is also difficult to picture anyone other than Nicholson sharing the screen with Michael Keaton in the 1989 release. Still, the enduring popularity of Batman in popular culture means that opportunities to play the Joker are unlikely to disappear entirely. Should Lithgow ever wish to don the character’s trademark grin, the door may yet remain open.