“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” is one of the most quoted Joker lines in cinema history. But here’s something everyone forgets: Jack Nicholson didn’t say it first in the Tim Burton Batman film. That honor belongs to the actor who played a young Jack Napier: Hugo Blick. And to be honest, Blick looked a lot more like a comic book-accurate Joker than Jack Nicholson even did. But what happened to Blick? Well, he went on to have a very successful career, becoming one of British television’s most respected writer-directors, with Netflix and Amazon Prime credits to his name.
Hugo Blick Looked More Like the Comic Book Joker Than Jack Nicholson Ever Did
Just one look at Hugo Blick and it’s easy to see why he was chosen to play a young Joker in Batman. He looks the part without the makeup and without the costume. Just look at those chilling eyes and that creepy smile. Honestly, it’s closer to how the comic books drew the character than Jack Nicholson did. And that’s not a knock on Nicholson. He was fantastic. But he needed prosthetics and make-up to get into character. This guy was born this way.
If you go back to Neal Adams’ drawings from the 1970s, you’ll find what most people believe Joker looks like: lean, angular, scary and a face (high cheekbones and a jaw like a right angle) that would haunt Pennywise the Clown. He doesn’t need the purple suit or the green hair to look like Joker. We recognise him by his build and his facial expressions.
Nicholson’s Joker didn’t have that look at all. And while he was brilliant on screen, you wouldn’t be able to tell he was Joker from his silhouette alone. Blick, on the other hand, looks like he crawled directly off the page and into live-action as the tall, sharp-featured Joker. And from the moment we first see him we know who he is and what he’s going to become.
There’s been plenty of Joker actors since, but, if we’re really honest, none of them looked as much as the comic book version as Blick did. Not even everyone’s favourite Joker, Heath Ledger. He was a lot more grounded/real-world version. But if we had a Joker look-alike contest, Blick would win hands down. And that’s quite something – especially for an actor who only had a few minutes of screentime.
Hugo Blick Played Young Jack Napier In Batman
In 1989, Tim Burton gave Batman a much-needed facelift. Before the 1989 film, when people heard the words “live-action Batman,” their minds raced to Adam West doing the Batusi. Burton’s Batman perfectly balanced the comic’s uniquely dark aesthetic with a healthy dose of action scenes and comedy – not to mention an incredible and timeless performance by Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
The movie is also unique in that it gave the Joker a more detailed backstory compared to Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Here, he’s Jack Napier: a mobster who also happens to be the man who killed the Waynes, thus creating Batman. While Nicholson played Napier for most of the film, some of the scenes featuring a younger Napier required a younger actor, and that’s where Hugo Blick came in.
Blick was born on December 7, 1964, making him almost thirty years younger than Jack Nicholson (born in 1937). 1989’s Batman would be Blick’s first foray into professional acting – and what an impression he made. Not only was he a dead ringer for a young Jack Nicholson, but he had a killer Joker smile that definitely stole the show in the only scene he had in the film.
This is the scene. Watch how completely Blick owns it.
The Origin Of The Joker’s Famous “Pale Moonlight” Quote
Perhaps his greatest achievement in Batman was establishing the legendary Joker (Jack Napier) line, “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” It became a trademark of Burton’s Joker, and the scene where Blick delivers that line is simply perfect for the movie’s vibe.
Hugo Blick’s Career After Batman
Batman affirmed Blick’s love for filmmaking. Also in 1989, he joined the cast of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth season (or rather, series) in the BBC’s iconic comedy starring Rowan Atkinson. That was only the first in a string of comedies he would appear in throughout the 90s.
From The Wind in the Willows to the mockumentary Operation Good Guys, Blick became accustomed to a wide variety of comedy genres. He would also extend his work behind the scenes, beginning to work as a producer and screenwriter, including more comedies like A Small Summer Party and Sensitive Skin – all shot in his native England.
After 2010’s Roger & Val Have Just Got In, Blick traded comedy for primetime drama. He developed 2011’s The Shadow Line, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, followed by 2014’s The Honourable Woman, a series in which he directed Maggie Gyllenhaal – and also helped her achieve a Golden Globe for her performance.
In 2018, Blick wrote and directed Black Earth Rising, a tense thriller about the prosecution of war criminals that achieved international recognition in 2019, when Netflix made the show available worldwide. The series would also see Blick’s return to acting since 2005’s Sensitive Skin.
More recently, Hugo Blick has remained quite busy with show business. In 2022, he developed The English, with Emily Blunt, and released it on Amazon Prime Video for an international audience. He’s currently developing a new BBC One drama series called California Avenue, with Bill Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter. Just like Burton’s Jack Napier Joker, Hugo Blick’s career has been the perfect mix of drama and comedy, and he has smoothly excelled at both.
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