10 Actors Who Reclaimed Some Dignity In 2017

8. Jared Leto

Blade Runner 2049 Jared Leto
Warner Bros.

Where It All Went Wrong: Suicide Squad

The Redeeming Movie(s): Blade Runner 2049

When Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, the world collectively got together and had a giant hissy fit, declaring the choice to be stupid, lame, and inappropriate. In the end, everyone was proven wrong and... well, you know how the story goes.

When Jared Leto was cast as the Joker for the big disappointment that was Suicide Squad, however, audiences were fairly supportive. A left-field choice, sure, but an actor who somehow felt "right." That was, until we saw those first pictures from the set, all those tattoos, and finally the musician-turned-actor's downright unwatchable performance in the finished - and similarly unwatchable - movie.

Leto might have won and Oscar for his turn in Dallas Buyers Club, and deservedly so, but his foray as the Joker lost him a lot of respect.

Thankfully, though, he appears to be on the up and up again... and that's due to his performance in the recent Blade Runner sequel, where the actor played villain Niander Wallace. It was a small part, but Leto managed to be appropriately weird without being outright annoying - enough that your bad memories of his Joker briefly faded away, and - for a few hours - you forgot how terrible that all was.

 
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Contributor

Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.