10 Seemingly Awful Movie Castings That Ultimately Paid Off

Adam Driver isn't the only eventual villainous delight that was once classed as a bizarre misstep in the casting stage, with the initial widespread rejection of a certain Australian sensation being offered some rather iconic facial make-up perhaps being the most infamous case of movie fans getting it hilariously wrong.

Now, admittedly, Heath Ledger hadn't ever found himself at the centre of a character quite like The Dark Knight's Joker before. But the undeniably talented soul had already picked up an Academy Award nomination for his mesmerising work in Brokeback Mountain, and definitely possessed a certain magnetic quality that Christopher Nolan sensed the 10 Things I Hate About You star could bring to his version of The Clown Prince of Crime.

Sure enough, Nolan's confidence in a star was rewarded with perhaps the greatest villainous portrayal in superhero cinema history... and movie history in general, for that matter.

The late, great Ledger had the last laugh in the end, picking up a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his chaotic turn and putting a permanent smile on the faces of those who never doubted him in the first place.