David Howard Thorton, who plays Art the Clown in the Terrifier franchise, wants James Gunn to cast him as the Joker.
Howard Thorton has played Art the Clown in 2016’s Terrifier, 2022’s Terrifier 2, and the forthcoming Terrifier 3, which will be released in United States theaters this coming weekend. Prior to that, the character was played by Mike Giannelli in two short films, 2008’s The 9th Circle and 2011’s Terrifier.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Howard Thorton revealed that the Joker is his “favorite villain of all time” and that he’d love the opportunity to portray the Clown Prince of Crime in Gunn and Peter Safran’s forthcoming DCU.
What did Terrifier’s David Howard Thorton say about wanting to play the Joker?
“The Joker is my favorite villain of all time, and that’s a character I would love to play myself one day,” Howard Thorton commented. “So hopefully someone like James Gunn gives me the opportunity to tackle that character because I would like to do a lot of fun things with him.”
At this time, no casting for the DCU’s Joker has been officially announced. A different version of the character was, however, recently played by Joaquin Phoenix in 2019’s Joker and 2024’s Joker: Folie á Deux. Barry Keoghan, meanwhile, portrays the character in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe.
Other actors who have played the Joker in past live-action DC adaptations include Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Cameron Monaghan, and Jared Leto.
Howard Thorton did previously appear in one episode of Fox’s Gotham series. In addition to the ultra-bloody Terrifier franchise, his past filmography includes 2022’s The Mean One and 2024’s Stream. He’ll soon be seen playing Steamboat Willie in 2025’s Screamboat, a horror reimagining of the classic Mickey Mouse cartoon, that will be released in January 2025.
