"Joker" Was Based On This True Story of an Unhinged Man

Everyone knows that the Joker is one of the most famous supervillains of all time, but not many realize that the character was based on a real person. The evil clown wasn't always an outcast. In fact, he might have been right in front of you the whole time...

The Joker's Story

Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix have all donned the sinister smiling clown makeup once before. Each actor was praised for their performances as the supervillain Joker character, although the man that inspired the criminal was far worse than any of these characterizations. His role in real life became the basis for the creepy clown...

Creepy Conrad

The true story of the Joker begins in Germany back in the 1800s. Born in Berlin in the year 1893, a child named Conrad Veidt was an ambitious and excitable young man. He wanted to become a surgeon one day, though not for long. In high school, he became infatuated with acting as a career and dropped out to pursue a life in the limelight...

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Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.