Jared Leto Wants to Make Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson Proud

Jared Leto came to impress.

When Leto signed on to play The Joker in the upcoming film Suicide Squad, he knew he had some big shoes to fill.

Not only is the character one of the most iconic villains in comic book history, but the actor is following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson and the late Heath Ledger, who have both taken on the role of the psychotic clown prince of crime.

And while Leto, 43, has already impressed many die-hard Batman fans with his transformation into a modern-day, tatted-up version of The Joker, it's Nicholson and Ledger whom he wants to make proud.

In an Instagram posted Monday, Leto shared a photo featuring a combination of Ledger's character from 2008's The Dark Knight and Nicholson's role in 1989's Batman.

Photo: Instagram

As the two pose as The Joker from their respective films, overset text on the black-and-white photo reads, "Don't worry, Leto will make us proud."

Leto simply captioned the photo with a green heart.

While on set, Leto was committed to giving the best performance possible as The Joker. In fact, he took it so seriously that costar Will Smith, who plays anti-hero Deadshot, said he's never met Leto – instead, he's only spoken to him as The Joker.

"I've never actually met Jared Leto. We worked together for six months and we've never exchanged a word outside of 'action' and 'cut.' We've never said 'hello,' " he told Beats 1 radio station. "I've only spoken to him as Deadshot and him as The Joker.

Jodi Guglielmi writes for People.com