Jim Carrey has always been a special kind of actor who absolutely throws himself into every role, and has starred in some of the best comedy movies of all time through the years. When it came to playing Batman villain the Riddler back in 1995, Carrey had a very specific approach to the character.
Batman Forever is not exactly fondly remembered among the pantheon of Batman movies, shall we say, but one thing’s for sure, Carrey’s interpretation of the Riddler makes it all worth it. The superhero movie sees Carrey go all out with his role as Gotham’s trickster, and we now know what his thinking behind the character was.
In an interview with John C. Tibbetts from back in 1995, Carrey explains his approach to bringing the iconic villain to life, and more specifically nailing the dance moves that came with the performance.
“I basically approached him from the place of… he got so involved and so amazed with himself, so incredibly entertained by every thought that came into his head that the dancing just happened,” Carrey explained. “It’s like I say in the movie, I made up the phrase ‘joygasm’ because that’s what he’s having, although it’s for the wrong reasons.”
“It’s pure energy, when you forget yourself and you do a dance move that you go, ‘I’ll never do that again,'” Carrey adds. He also said it’s best not to laugh at the Riddler, because “as soon as you do, he’ll hit you with a rock.”
So there you have it, the Riddler from the ‘90s movie basically was a bit of a narcissist who had too much energy. A far cry from the more gritty portrayal of the villain by Paul Dano in Matt Reeves’ superhero detective movie The Batman of 2022.
If you want more from the world of DC, check out our list of the Joker actors ranked or the Batman actors ranked.