Batwoman's Nick Creegan opens up on being DC's first Black Joker

In November last year, Batwoman welcomed one of DC's most iconic villains into the fold, as it revealed that Marquis Jet, the half-brother of titular hero Ryan Wilder, is the Joker.

Now, actor Nick Creegan, who plays Marquis, has spoken out on what it means to bring the comic book franchise's first Black Clown Prince of Crime to life, admitting that it's "still surreal" to him all these months on.

"It's crazy. It's wild, actually. Yeah, I've done a lot of processing the past few weeks, months, you know?" he said in a new interview with The Wrap. "You know, the reception of the new Joker, being the first person of colour to play this role – the messages and the love I've been getting has just been overwhelming. It's been a fun ride."

nick creegan as marquis jet, batwoman season 3

The CW

Talking about how he was influenced by those who have played Batman's arch-nemesis before him, Creegan revealed that he took "edgy" fashion tips from Jared Leto's Suicide Squad iteration, and the "maniacal laughter" from Heath Ledger's Dark Knight take. He also said that he made sure to include a little "craze in the eyes" a la Joaquin Phoenix.

"The laugh is actually my own laugh," Creegan giggled. "People are like, 'Oh this Joker laugh is so good!' I'm like, 'Don't think I'm actually crazy, but this is how I laugh whenever something's really funny.'

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"So I have a really weird, interesting – I call it my auteur laugh. That's mine. But yeah, there are bits and pieces from other Jokers. It's very much an over-exaggerated version of what Nick would be like in this situation."

The CW

Teasing the "total f**king chaos" that's to come from Marquis and Nicole Kang's newly naughty Poison Mary, Creegan added: "There's a moment where the Joker and Poison Ivy meet and the aftermath of that meeting is f**king mind-blowing.

"There's a lot of evil, evil stuff that happens. And I can guarantee, after Marquis and Mary meet, that fans of the Bat Team are going to be very stressed out. Extremely stressed out."

Batwoman airs on The CW in the US and E4 in the UK.