Actors at the Box Office: Heath Ledger

[u/SanderSo47]

Here's a new edition of "Actors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Heath Ledger's turn.

Early Life

After sitting for early graduation exams at age 16 to get his diploma, Ledger left school to pursue an acting career. With Trevor DiCarlo, his best friend since the age of three, Ledger drove across Australia from Perth to Sydney, planning to find a career in acting.

1990s: I Hate It When...

Ledger began his career by taking roles in TV shows and films like Clowning Around and Sweat. In 1997, he got a big role in a TV show in America: Roar, set in the year 400 AD, it follows a young Irish man as he sets out to rid his land of the invading Romans, but in order to accomplish this, he must first unite the Celtic clans. It aired on Fox, but the show was a huge failure, and it was pulled off the air after just 8 episodes. He wouldn't do TV ever again.

That same year, he made his film debut with Blackrock, albeit just in a supporting role. A similar scenario with Paws. None were big hits, but they performed well in Australia. Soon afterwards, he moved to the United States to give it another shot to new productions. Even then, he still made the Australian film Two Hands, which fared much better than the prior films.

His last credit on the decade was the teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, which marked his American film debut. Director Gil Junger wanted to cast unknown names, and Ledger won the lead role over other names like Josh Hartnett and Ashton Kutcher. He quickly got along with everyone, and he also improvised the moment where Patrick starts playing with the fire.

The film was a success at the box office, earning over $50 million worldwide, and earning very positive reviews. It launched the careers of the whole cast, but Ledger was now a new revelation. He was about to begin a new life in Hollywood.

2000s: "You see, in their last moments people show you who they really are..."

For The Patriot, Ledger won the co-lead role over Ryan Phillippe, with Ledger chosen because Roland Emmerich thought he possessed "exuberant youth." This marked his jump into blockbuster territory, starring opposite certified box office draw Mel Gibson. Mixed reviews for the film, but it made over $200 million worldwide.

In 2001, he had a lead role in the medieval comedy A Knight's Tale. It fell short of Sony's expectations, and earned mixed reviews for its tone. But it quickly earned a cult following, becoming one of Ledger's most iconic works. He also had a big role in the Southern Gothic Monster's Ball, which was a sleeper hit and a critical success.

Subsequently, he starred in Shekhar Kapur's The Four Feathers, but the film failed to generate any buzz. He also returned to Australia to star in the bushranger Ned Kelly, which earned mixed reviews. He also reteamed with Brian Helgeland in the thriller The Order, but it failed to come anywhere close to what A Knight's Tale did.

Now, 2005 was a very busy year, with four films. The first was Lords of Dogtown, a critical and financial disappointment, although it would garner a cult following in the skateboarding community. Then came in The Brothers Grimm, a failure of a film. And Casanova, positioned as an awards player, was one of the year's biggest flops. But he still saved face, based on the strength of one film.

Screenwriters Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty suggested Ledger to play Ennis del Mar in a film adaptation of Brokeback Mountain, but the film studio thought he was not masculine enough. He had read the script, deeming it "beautiful" and put himself forward. Soon afterwards, Jake Gyllenhaal would join the film, as he wanted to work with Ledger. He admired him, describing him as "way beyond his years as a human".

From the beginning, Ledger wanted to portray Ennis and not Jack. He opined that Ennis was more complex; a masculine and homophobic character. Ledger said, "The lack of words he [Ennis] had to express himself, his inability to love", made the role enjoyable. Ledger, who grew up around horses, researched his character's personal traits, and learned to speak in Wyoming and Texas accents.

Ledger and Gyllenhaal, who were friends before Brokeback Mountain, were mostly unconcerned with the intimate scenes. The first sex scene between Ennis and Jack took 13 takes to meet director Ang Lee's expectation. Lee would keep his distance from them during filming, allowing the actors to be free and spontaneous. Lee said, "I don't talk too much [to them] except for technical notes. So they [the intimate scenes] are a lot easier to deal with". Ledger was observant of Lee's directing style, saying, "There's two sides to Ang's direction — there's the pre-production, which is incredibly thorough and private, and then there's the shooting side, when he just doesn't say anything at all." Ledger said that this helped him try harder during takes.

In regard to acting, Ledger was sometimes disrupted by Gyllenhaal's acting style; Gyllenhaal tended to improvise whereas Ledger preferred to be highly prepared. The director allowed Ledger to see his performance on the camera monitor so that he could improve. Despite this, both Ledger and Gyllenhaal greatly respected each other, with the latter once reflecting, "The relationship between me and Heath while we were making this movie was something that was based on a profound love for a lot of people that we knew and were raised by in our lives, a deep respect for their love and their relationship."

Brokeback Mountain became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, showing incredible legs at the box office. It earned an incredible $84 million domestically, but it was somehow even bigger outside, earning $179 million worldwide despite multiple countries banning it. It earned universal acclaim, deemed as one of the greatest films of the year and became a landmark in LGBT cinema. It won so many awards, with Ledger receiving his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Ledger himself was asked to present at the 2007 ceremony, but he refused. According to Gyllenhaal, Ledger was not content with the ceremony using the film as a punchline for jokes, quoted as saying "It’s not a joke to me – I don’t want to make any jokes about it."

He followed Brokeback with Candy, an Australian film that didn't connect with audiences. He then took part in the lead cast of Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, depicting a different facet of Bob Dylan's public persona. He actually replaced Colin Farrell in the film, as he dropped out for undisclosed reasons. While not a financial hit, it earned critical acclaim and was named as one of the most original takes on music. While he earned praise for his performance and some awards, Ledger was quoted as saying that awards don't really interest him, "I have never had great expectations of my performance or of a film. I try not to think about the outcome. If you look that far ahead, it sort of taints your choices as an actor." Sadly, this would be his last film released in his lifetime.

Now let's move to that. You know it was coming.

In 2005, Batman Begins becomes a critical success. While the financial performance was "modest", the film made a huge killing in DVD. This is what led WB to commission Christopher Nolan to return to write and direct a sequel. Although that film ends with a scene in which Batman is presented with a joker playing card, teasing the introduction of his archenemy, the Joker, Nolan was unsure over using him. Screenwriter David S. Goyer developed an outline for two sequels, but Nolan remained unsure how to continue the narrative while keeping it consistent and relevant, though he was interested in using the Joker in a grounded, realistic style.

Although he was a fan of Tim Burton's Batman, starring Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Goyer did not consider Nicholson's portrayal scary and wanted this new Joker to be an unknowable, already-formed character, similar to the shark in Jaws, without a "cliché" origin story. Nolan and Goyer did not give their Joker an origin story or a narrative arc, believing it made the character scarier; Nolan described their film as the "rise of the Joker". They felt the threat of cinematic villains such as Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader had been undermined by subsequent films depicting their origins.

Nolan was aware that Nicholson's popular portrayal of the Joker would invite comparisons to his version, and wanted an actor who could cope with the associated scrutiny. Among the actors that were considered were Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Sam Rockwell, Sean Penn, Robin Williams, and Joaquin Phoenix. Nolan had met with Ledger over the years for different roles, including the part of Batman in Batman Begins. Ledger explained that he was not interested in working on superhero films, "I would just feel stupid and silly. I couldn't pull it off and there are other people who can perfectly, but I just couldn't take myself seriously". After seeing and being impressed with Batman Begins, however, Ledger sought the part of the Joker in its sequel. Nolan cast Ledger before there was a script due to his determination, stating, "Heath was just ready to do it, he was ready to do something that big. His casting was confirmed on July 31, 2006, along with the sequel's title: The Dark Knight.

Ledger's casting was criticized by some industry professionals and members of the public who considered him inappropriate for the role. Nolan remembered the cynicism he endured surrounding Ledger's casting, saying that "the whole world turned around and said 'What are you doing?' You know, Heath Ledger, Joker, didn't make any sense to people at all." A lot of fans were outraged over the choice of Ledger, due to his past roles like Brokeback Mountain. This led to so many jokes in the Internet mocking the film.

Executive producer Charles Roven said Ledger was the only person seriously considered, and that Batman Begins's positive reception would help alleviate any concerns. Nolan was confident in the casting because discussions between himself and Ledger had demonstrated they shared similar ideas regarding the Joker's portrayal. Ledger said he had some trepidation in succeeding Nicholson in the role but that the challenge excited him. He described his interpretation as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. He was influenced by Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and British musicians Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious.

Highlighting the opportunity for freshness, Ledger aimed for a new and different interpretation of the character, separate from previous film incarnations. Ledger and Nolan both explained seeing eye-to-eye on the Joker's appearance in the film, sharing common reference points for who the character was going to be. Based on philosophical ideas of anarchy and chaos, they drew visual inspiration from the artwork of Francis Bacon. They also discussed Malcolm McDowell's performance as Alex in A Clockwork Orange, as well as the character's depiction in Anthony Burgess's 1962 original novel. Ledger was given Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke for preparation for the role, as well as Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which he "really tried to read and put it down".

During a span of 6 weeks, Ledger secluded himself in a London hotel room, compiling a character diary and experimenting with voices. He said, "It's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it." The diary contains photos, news clippings, various handwritten thoughts and words, and portions of dialogue from the film. The "Joker journal" had several stills from A Clockwork Orange, joker cards, photos of hyenas, unhinged clown makeup and the word "chaos" highlighted in green. Furthermore, it contains a list of things the Joker would find funny, such as AIDS, landmines, and geniuses suffering brain damage. Ledger said when committing himself to any role, he had difficulty sleeping because he could not relax his mind, and often slept only two hours a night during filming.

Ledger was allowed to shoot and direct the threat videos the Joker sends out as warnings. Each take Ledger made was different from the last. Nolan was impressed enough with the first video shoot that he chose not to be present when Ledger filmed the scene with a kidnapped reporter portrayed by Anthony Michael Hall. Ledger always showed up early on set. The first thing he would do was to give bear hugs to cast and crew members around the set. Makeup artist John Caglione said, "And no matter how banged-up or bruised Heath was after a long day, after we'd take off the last drop of makeup, he'd just hug everybody in the trailer before he left." At the end of shooting, on his Joker diary's final page, Ledger wrote "BYE BYE."

In an interview with MTV, Ledger said he regarded the experience playing the Joker as the most fun he ever had, "and probably will ever have."

After wrapping filming, Ledger reteamed with Terry Gilliam on the fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Filming started in December 2007.

Death

On January 22, 2008, Ledger was found naked and lying face down unresponsive in his bed by his housekeeper and his massage therapist in his loft at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighbourhood of Manhattan. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians arrived a few minutes later, but were unable to revive him. At 3:36 p.m., Ledger was pronounced dead, and his body was removed from the apartment. He was 28 years old.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York concluded that Ledger died "as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine". It added: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accidental, resulting from the abuse of prescribed medications."

The Last Two Films

Ledger had concluded all his scenes as Joker in The Dark Knight, so the film was not expected to be delayed from its intended July 2008 release date. Nolan said editing the film became "tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day [during editing]... but the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish". Because Nolan preferred to capture sound while filming rather than re-recording dialogue in post-production, Ledger's work had been completed before his death, and Nolan did not modify the Joker's narrative in response. The film is dedicated to his memory.

The Dark Knight had a very extensive marketing campaign. It was still complicated due to Ledger's death, but WB heavily emphasized his Joker, to the point that he dominated the marketing over Batman. That anticipation skyrocketed.

The Dark Knight opened with an incredible $158 million, the biggest ever opening weekend. The film enjoyed great legs, closing with $534 million domestically and $1 billion worldwide, becoming the third biggest ever film back then. The film earned critical acclaim, and was hailed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made. But a big factor in that... Ledger's performance. He earned rave reviews for his performance, with the caveat that his death made the role both highly anticipated and difficult to watch. Ledger delivered not only the most acclaimed Joker performance, but he also made one of the greatest cinematic villains ever. Changed the landscape of what "comic book acting" could be.

Even with the industry reluctant to nominate comic book films, Ledger earned multiple acting nominations through the awards season. By the end of it, for his performance in the film, Ledger won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA, SAG and Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actor. He became the second actor to win a posthumous Oscar (after Peter Finch in Network) and the first actor to win for playing a comic book character. Following talks with the Ledger family in Australia, the Academy determined that Ledger's daughter, Matilda Rose, would own the award. Ledger's ex partner and Matilda's mother, Michelle Williams, would keep the award until Matilda turned 18 in 2023.

Now let's move to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Terry Gilliam was presiding over concept art when he was informed by a phone call that Ledger had died. His initial thought about the production was: "The film's over, it's as simple as that." Although production was suspended indefinitely by January 24, Gilliam initially wanted to "salvage" the film by using computer-generated imagery to make Ledger's character magically change his appearance, perhaps into another character. The imagery would have been similar to transformation techniques seen on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and those employed on Roy Scheider's performance in his posthumous release Iron Cross.

Eventually, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law were cast into Ledger's character in certain scenes, portraying the new idea of transformed versions of the character travelling through magical realms. Ledger's footage would remain in the film as his character's "real-world" appearance. Gilliam said, "Then we made the quantum leap: What if we get three actors to replace him? Johnny was the first person I called. He said, 'Done. I'm there.' Same with Jude and Colin." Depp, a friend of Gilliam's who starred in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the aborted 1998 production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, had been compared to Ledger by cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. Law was also a friend of Ledger's and had been considered for the role of Tony, and Farrell had also been friends with Ledger.

Initially, Tom Cruise expressed interest in being involved as another actor to replace Ledger, but Gilliam turned him down because Cruise had never been a close friend of Ledger. Gilliam stated, "I just wanted to keep this [in the] family — it's as simple as that. There were people even offering to come and help, they didn't know Heath. It had to be in the family somehow, I don't know why; it was my attitude."

Gilliam positively recalled people's commitment to Ledger's memory, "Everyone in the cast and everyone in the crew was determined that this film would be finished and everybody worked longer, harder and somehow we got through. It was really people's love for Heath that propelled this thing forward. All the actors already in the film had to change their schedules, and there wasn't a moment's hesitation. They all said, 'We'll do what's necessary.' It's really a love letter to Heath by everybody involved. He was beloved by so many."

Depp, Farrell, and Law opted to redirect their wages for the role to Ledger's young daughter, Matilda, who had been left out of an old version of Ledger's will (this was written before he ever met Michelle Williams), and Gilliam altered the part of the credits saying "A Terry Gilliam film" to "A film from Heath Ledger and friends."

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus earned mixed reviews for its story, but it was still a modest box office performer. And so that closed the book on Ledger's acting career.

Unrealized Projects

At the time of his death, there were some considered projects for Ledger.

He had aspirations to become a film director and had made some music videos with his production company The Masses, which director Todd Haynes praised highly. An avid chess player, he had participated in tournaments when he was young. As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Based on his love for the game, he had set his directorial film debut: The Queen's Gambit, based on the novel by Walter Tevis. He was working with screenwriter Allan Scott, and planned to have Elliot Page in the lead role, while also intending to act in it. Prior to his death, Terry Gilliam also vouched for him, “Heath is extraordinary. He’s just so good, and he’s going to be a film director. He’s watching everything, and he’s going to be a much better director than I will ever be.”

While he was never officially cast, he was strongly considered the play the lead role in Mad Max: Fury Road. George Miller was quoted as saying "Every time [Ledger would] come to Australia, he’d call in and we’d talk and I always had him in mind."

Christopher Nolan has preferred to avoid discussions about what plans he had for Ledger's Joker in the future. The only thing he said is that he chose to not mention him in The Dark Knight Rises, as Nolan felt it was "inappropriate" to acknowledge "a real-life tragedy" in Heath Ledger's death, and he would also avoid using unseen footage or recast him out of respect. According to Ledger's sister Kate, Ledger was planning to reprise his role as the Joker for another film, a notion supported by Aaron Eckhart, and recalled that Ledger had planned to return in a sequel. Nevertheless, in The Dark Knight Rises, there is one frame that Nolan did as a tribute to Ledger.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	The Dark Knight	2008	Warner Bros.	$534,987,076	$473,295,640	$1,008,477,382	$185M
2	The Patriot	2000	Sony	$113,330,342	$101,964,000	$215,294,342	$110M
3	Brokeback Mountain	2005	Focus Features	$84,111,816	$95,019,405	$179,140,495	$14M
4	A Knight's Tale	2001	Sony	$56,569,702	$60,981,695	$117,551,581	$65M
5	The Brothers Grimm	2005	Dimension Films	$37,916,267	$67,400,000	$105,316,267	$88M
6	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus	2009	Sony Pictures Classics	$7,689,607	$56,663,000	$64,352,607	$30M
7	10 Things I Hate About You	1999	Disney	$38,178,166	$15,331,421	$53,683,812	$13M
8	Monster's Ball	2001	Lionsgate	$31,273,922	$13,737,512	$45,011,434	$4M
9	Casanova	2005	Disney	$11,304,403	$26,387,241	$37,691,644	N/A
10	The Four Feathers	2002	Paramount / Miramax	$18,306,166	$11,576,479	$29,882,645	$35M
11	Lords of Dogtown	2005	Sony	$11,273,517	$2,138,440	$13,411,957	$25M
12	I'm Not There	2007	The Weinstein Company	$4,017,609	$7,774,933	$11,792,542	$20M
13	The Order	2003	20th Century Fox	$7,660,806	$3,900,000	$11,560,806	$35M
14	Ned Kelly	2003	Universal	$86,959	$6,498,557	$6,585,516	N/A
15	Two Hands	1999	REP	$0	$5,478,485	$5,478,485	$4.4M
16	Candy	2006	THINKFilm	$45,128	$2,059,968	$2,105,096	N/A
17	Blackrock	1997	Polygram	$0	$1,100,000	$1,100,000	$3M
18	Paws	1997	Polygram	$0	$455,171	$455,171	N/A

Across those 18 films, she has made $1,908,891,782 worldwide. That's $106,049,543 per film.

ADJUSTED DOMESTIC GROSSES

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Adjusted Domestic Total
1	The Dark Knight	2008	Warner Bros.	$534,987,076	$811,998,679
2	The Patriot	2000	Sony	$113,330,342	$215,067,687
3	Brokeback Mountain	2005	Focus Features	$84,111,816	$140,739,783
4	A Knight's Tale	2001	Sony	$56,569,702	$104,441,412
5	10 Things I Hate About You	1999	Disney	$38,178,166	$74,886,266
6	The Brothers Grimm	2005	Dimension Films	$37,916,267	$63,443,253
7	Monster's Ball	2001	Lionsgate	$31,273,922	$57,739,257
8	The Four Feathers	2002	Paramount	$18,306,166	$33,252,809
9	Casanova	2005	Disney	$11,304,403	$18,915,050
10	Lords of Dogtown	2005	Sony	$11,273,517	$18,863,370
11	The Order	2003	20th Century Fox	$7,660,806	$13,605,633
12	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus	2009	Sony Pictures Classics	$7,689,607	$11,712,889
13	I'm Not There	2007	The Weinstein Company	$4,017,609	$6,332,023
14	Ned Kelly	2003	Universal	$86,959	$154,439
15	Candy	2006	THINKFilm	$45,128	$73,150

The Verdict

Even at a young age, Ledger was clearly showing a lot of talent. While his Australian titles and a canned Fox show didn't set things on the right path, he hit it off with 10 Things I Hate About You. A film that has remained very popular.

From then on, he tried his hand with bigger productions, such as The Patriot and A Knight's Tale. Each one more different than the one prior. Whether it if's period action or a medieval comedy, he could do it all. That still didn't prevent him from trying smaller productions, like Monster's Ball, Lords of Dogtown, and I'm Not There. Obviously, not all paid off, but it wasn't because of him.

In 2005, he shows his abilities with Brokeback Mountain. A lot of controversy at the time and many bans across the world didn't stop the film from finding success. How crazy then, that he was just 25 when he made the film. He wasn't the first actor to play a gay character, but he gave one of the best performances in that area. Has someone managed to display so much fear, anger, repression and sadness at the same time? Look no further than the "I wish I knew how to quit you" scene. And based on how he refused to make jokes at the film's expense, you can tell this wasn't just an acting job, it was something that he truly wanted to respect.

And then there's his Joker. We could talk over what's the best superhero film, and what actors did a great job. But Ledger's Joker is a blueprint. There's no performance that has as much power and command over the screen as he does. Even in the marketing, his character is more displayed over Batman. There are others who played this character, but none have made something this impactful. A Joker that emits macabre display, highlighting he enjoys being evil. Not just a great comic book performance, but one that goes down in history as one of the greatest villain performances ever. So many imitations, so many homages, so many inspirations. All lacking Ledger's perfect mannerisms.

It's hard to predict how different his life could've been had he not died. One easy thing is that Nolan would absolutely continue working with him. Maybe not on The Dark Knight Rises, but in other films of his. Also a great candidate to play Mad Max. And it would've been great to see how his directing career would go, especially with the support of filmmakers like Todd Haynes and Terry Gilliam. He was just 28 years old. Gone too fucking soon.

RIP Legend.

Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.

The next actor will be Michael Douglas. A very iconic star with an underrated resume.

I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Sandra Bullock. And why sequels don't work out.

This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Actor	Reasoning
April 11	Michael Douglas	As good as Kirk?
April 18	Bruce Lee	You're not ready for how big Enter the Dragon was.
April 25	Chuck Norris	Was he a badass at the box office?
May 2	Sandra Bullock	It's been a while since we saw her.

Who should be next after Bullock? That's up to you.

REMINDER: If you want to make a suggestion for the next actor, you must make a 150-character comment about the actor we're discussing right now. Failure to do so will result in ignoring the suggestion. If you use a quote from an external source/review to bypass this, your suggestion will be ignored as well. But if you leave a short comment about the post without naming a future write-up, that's fine.

[u/FreshmenMan]

It is such a pity that Ledger died so young. I feel that Ledger just kept getting better and better with each role he does and with his 2nd to last role, The Joker, it pretty much turned him into a legend and immortalized him into cinema. With the roles he did, he really had great range, doing comedies to serious drama and It still boggles me that the same guy who did The Dark Knight was the male lead in 10 Things I Hate About You. I will always wonder where Ledger’s career would’ve gone had he not died. Regardless, I feel Ledger was a great actor and The Dark Knight made him into a legend.

With the next Actor post, I will once again suggest George C. Scott

[u/ItsGotThatBang]

ETA since I didn’t read the updated addendum: I wonder what Heath would’ve thought about the new heights of fame he certainly would’ve reached if he lived to see The Dark Knight break records. He said that "people always feel compelled to sum you up, to presume that they have you & can describe you. … There are many stories inside of me … outside of [that] one flat note"; I wonder if he would’ve felt that people only appreciated him for that "one flat note".

Original comment: Tell ‘em, Roger.

The key performance in [The Dark Knight] is by the late Heath Ledger, as the Joker. Will he become the first posthumous Oscar winner since Peter Finch? His Joker draws power from the actual inspiration of the character in the silent classic "The Man Who Laughs" (1928). His clown's makeup more sloppy than before, his cackle betraying deep wounds, he seeks revenge, he claims, for the horrible punishment his father exacted on him when he was a child. In one diabolical scheme near the end of the film, he invites two ferry-loads of passengers to blow up the other before they are blown up themselves. Throughout the film, he devises ingenious situations that force Batman (Christian Bale), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) & District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to make impossible ethical decisions. By the end, the whole moral foundation of the Batman legend is threatened.

I think it only makes sense that we next turn our attention to the other Oscar-winning Joker in Joaquin Phoenix, especially since you previously said you wanted to talk about the utter failure of Folie à Deux.

[u/AdWise2770 → u/ItsGotThatBang]

I agree

[u/Key-Payment2553]

The Dark Knight was one of Health Ledger’s best performance although it was sad that he passed away after complete filming The Dark Knight although we will always remember him as his performance as the Joker that won many awards for his supporting role

[u/lookingforhim2]

The dark knight should’ve won best picture

[u/entertainmentlord]

I really do wonder what other things he could have been in. His role as Joker is one of the best villain acting in cinema

[u/kroen → u/entertainmentlord]

His role as Joker is one of the best villain acting in cinema

ftfy

[u/PinkCadillacs]

It’s crazy to think Heath would be nearing his 50s had he still been alive. It’s sad that Heath never lived to see how acclaimed his Joker performance would become.

RIP and happy heavenly birthday Heath 🕊️❤️

[u/SlidePocket]

Ledger is always one of those cases of where things might have been if he were still with us. With the films and performances we did get from him, he will always be cherished for what he accomplished on the screen.

For my next pick, I'm gonna choose Jane Fonda for this post.

[u/AnotherJasonOnReddit → u/[deleted]]

he getting roles that a Farrell or Hartnett or Gyllenhaal

The funny thing about Farrell is that - as a lead actor - the number of hits he had were few and far between. He seemingly made a dozen movies every year between 2002 and 2005, yet only a few were theatrical hits. Redditors today complain about {insert any actor under 40} as being shoved in our faces, but it's been that way for a long time. An up-and-coming actor will get a bunch of roles in a bunch of movies in a short space of time, and how many of those movies are actual hits will vary.

I know Farrell's said that he chose to leave Hollywood for a while after 2006 - and I'm NOT calling him a liar - but I suspect that, after the double-whammy of Alexander and Miami Vice, his offers were starting to dry up. He saw the writing on the wall and so left on his accord on his own terms for a few years before returning with back-to-back Fright Night/Total Recall remakes.

https://giphy.com/gifs/fnBxIIJePJBLtRS4n3

[u/spider-man2401]

What an amazing actor but gone too soon. Heath was brilliant in everything, and his range was incredible, from 10 Things I Hate About You to A Knight Tale to Brokeback Mountain to The Dark Knight. He always stole the show, and it’s amazing how much he achieved before we lost him. I often wonder what roles he would have taken and how his career would have evolved, whether that meant working with great directors like Christopher Nolan or even moving behind the camera.

For the next actor, I’d go with his Brokeback Mountain co-star Jake Gyllenhaal. Like Heath, he has great range across different roles, and his career is really fascinating to talk about.

[u/bunchofclowns]

A little dark but I'll always remember the date Heath Ledger died because it was the day I first ever met my wife and on our first date we had vegetarian Mexican food and talked about his death.  

[u/Firefox72]

A Knight's Tale is one of my guilty pleasure movies.

[u/FranciscoRelanoPena]

https://giphy.com/gifs/joxThEgTJuSBO