1. Ben Foster
I dont think Ive seen anyone in recent years play psychopath better than Ben Foster. Its been a long rise to prominence for the young Boston born actor and he hasnt always been used to his fullest potential but if you saw him in 3:10 to Yuma, or even his lesser-known performance in Hostage, youll immediately recognise his inherent ability to lose it at the drop of a hat. Hes also got a great look to play the Joker; its not as perfect a face-fit as some of the others in this list but hell, hes so good at playing a nutter that Ill accept that with a smile on my face. Again I must come back to the fact that Ledger wasnt the perfect face fit; what made it great was his ability to believably convey the untamed insanity that epitomizes The Joker. Another actor with a hell of an impressive range, Foster seems like hed be an adaptable Joker; any director would be able to go either way with him. Hed bring the darkness to that Ledger style performance without much trouble, but I also get the feeling hed be just as comfortable playing a more joyfully chaotic, Jack Nicholson style Clown Prince without much difficulty. A great actor, with great maniac credentials and a great look. What more can you ask for in a Joker?
Of course this list is entirely interpretive; every one of us has our own preferred version of the joker, whether thats Ledgers, Nicholsons or one of the several hundred subtly different iterations youll see if you read enough Batman comics. Drop us a line and let us know your picks for the perfect post-Ledger Joker.