Heath Ledger
He’s going to be remembered for decades as The Joker, let’s balance that inevitablility with a picture in which he doesn’t look like a lunatic psychopath.
More has probably been written about him since his death than any other actor. His performance as The Joker was so indelible that it will not be forgotten. Unfortunately, his untimely death might ultimately lead to a sort of backlash among those arguing that without his personal tragedy, the role would not have been so praised. I think, though, that if you can remove yourself from Ledger as a person and simply fix on his wild performance (which I always saw as a sort of ramping up of the act Brad Pitt utilized in 12 Monkeys,) it’s a legitimately great performance. I believe that his death may have cemented his Oscar win (voters normally don’t vote for comedy or genre work), but the role stands up on its own. Also intensely great in his limited screen time in Monster’s Ball.
Has any other young actor had two classic roles as different as The Joker and the cowboy-in-denial from Brokeback Mountain?
Ten best roles: 10) I’m Not There 9) The Order 8) 10 Things I Hate About You 7) Ned Kelly 6) Candy 5) A Knight’s Tale 4) Casanova 3) Monster’s Ball 2) The Dark Knight 1) Brokeback
Percentile ratings: 93.82
Peak Period: Strangely, 2001 – 2005 (The Dark Knight came after a bit of a dry spell for him; only two films in 3 years, and one of them was his small part in I’m Not There)
Neighborhood: Harriett Andersson, Jennifer Connolly, Chris Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Gambon, and, fittingly, Jake Gylenhall
