10 Method Actors Who Went Unnecessarily Extreme For Movie Roles

9. Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Very high on the list is everyone's favorite Batman villain, portrayed in a now iconic role by the late Heath Ledger in 2008's "The Dark Knight."

Jack Nicholson, even at his most evil, has nothing on Ledger's version of the Joker. With his cold manner, pale-white painted clown face, high-pitched screeching laughs, and with all the makings of a truly demented psychopath, Ledger is literally unrecognizable. When thinking back to this film, it is his character that is often remembered, as opposed to our title character played by the also talented Christian Bale.

To prepare for his role, Ledger spent almost a month locked up in a hotel, experimenting with different voices and writing in a diary as if he were truly the Joker. As you all know, Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose not too long after filming was completed.

Whether his role as the Joker had anything to do with his death is, of course, just speculation. But, it's easy to see how someone could get lost in such an evil role. Perhaps, as Friedrich Nietzsche said, Ledger gazed just a little too long into that abyss, and unfortunately, the abyss stared straight back into him. It's really a shame, as Ledger had years of potential great roles ahead of him.