Heath Ledger: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
1. The Joker - The Dark Knight
The fan reaction to when Ledger was cast as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins makes Batfleck look moderately well received. A role that was viewed as in the sole possession of Jack Nicholson after his performance in Tim Burton's Batman, a dreamy leading man just didn't seem the person to take on the Clown Prince of Crime. How stupid those naysayers must have felt when the The Dark Knight hit. We already knew Ledger had done something special with the character from the trailers, but nothing could have prepared for just how unflinchingly crazed his take on the character was in the finished product. The coverage his performance got, particularly in reference his untimely death, helped boost the film to become one of the biggest of the past decade. It was so defining that now Nicholsons version of the character feels ridiculously cartoonish. When Ledger got posthumously awarded his Oscar for the role there was not one person who would claim it was undeserved. Theres no doubt Ledger was one of the finest actors of his generation. But now lets take a look at some performances where we wasnt at his best.
