10. James Cagney
I once heard a critic describe Ledgers take on the Man Who Laughs as a cross between James Cagney and Sylvester from Looney Tunes. I thought then, and still do now, that it was an incredibly apt description. Its common knowledge that Ledger, at least in part, channelled Cagney for his turn, and when you look back, you can really see it. Cagney had a philosophy toward acting; never relax, because when you relax, the audience relaxes. As a result, he was always energetic and eccentric, performing his dialogue with a signature rasping tone, staccato delivery and a constant air of barely contained aggression. He did it so well in fact that the style quickly became a mainstay of the Hollywood Tough Guy role. Just check out the awfully dark and foreboding energy in the clip below, which Cagney delivers with a sardonic smile on his face (seem familiar?) in this excerpt from The Public Enemy (1931), and tell me you cant see a little Ledgers Joker in the mix: http://youtu.be/k4R5wZs8cxI