How badly did Barry Keoghan want to play the Riddler in The Batman? Enough to make an unsolicited audition video.
Thanks to a new profile about Keoghan from GQ, fans are just learning about a three-year-old video the actor published trying to win the role of the Riddler. The video was published under the title of “Directed by Berry Keoghan,” and features the actor parading around a building to the Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre.” The video is embed-restricted, but you can view it on his Vimeo account.
According to the interview, Keoghan had heard The Batman was in the works and he wanted to be in it. He sent the video in, but heard nothing back. When he met with producer Dylan Clark, the role had already been filled.
Four months later his agent called him and said that everyone had seen the video, and they actually wanted him to come on board as the Joker, but he couldn’t tell anyone about it.
Despite how little time he had in the finished film, Keoghan did work with the team on the overall look of his Joker. His biggest request to keep his own eyes for the final look. “I wanted some sort of human in there behind the makeup,” he told GQ. “I want people to relate to him… [to know] this is a façade he puts on,” going on to add that he sees the character as “a broken-down boy.”
How much Keoghan will feature in the sequel remains to be seen, but it would seem that he is all in on staying in this series.
