Comparing Heath Ledger to Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker- Is it necessary? [OPINION]

We all know that Heath Ledger is well-known for portraying the famous DC Comics villain, the Joker. Ledger made it impossible for anyone to portray the Joker like he did, until, of course, when they announced that Joaquin Phoenix would portray the Joker in the new DC Comics film ‘Joker.’

Ledger played the role as his own; he went into depth to portray the Joker. He locked himself up for weeks just to get into the mentality of the Joker; you can even say that he sacrificed his mental health to perfect hos role. Ledger also did his own make-up, and it was his idea to create that famous, creepy smile that would end up being the iconic look for the Joker. He truly gave it his all for this role and made it his own. It seemed like he put no effort into it; it just came off so naturally. I have never seen someone put so much work into a role, until I saw ‘The Dark Knight,’ and read how much effort he put himself through to make the Joker come to life. I remember watching it and feeling unsure and creeped out. It scared me and, to this day, I still get that creepy feeling; but that to me means that he did his job as an actor and achieved it.

When I watched the trailer for the ‘Joker’ film, I was excited because the Joker is such an iconic villain and why would no one be excited about this film? But I was even more excited when I saw that Joaquin Phoenix was portraying the role of the Joker. My first thought of when I saw him as the Joker in the film was how natural he seemed to play the role just like Ledger did. But people seem not to like how other actors portray the villain, Joker because they feel like no one will amount to the greatness of how Ledger brought the character to life.

We know that they are both great actors and that they bring their all into any role they play. As I already talked about how Ledger prepared himself for the role, Phoenix also went into the extreme to get ready for the role, and it also affected his mental state. Though they might be right, they shouldn’t compare both Ledger and Phoenix’s portrayal of the Joker because they each brought their twist and flare into the iconic character.  

To compare which actor is the best is unnecessary, we have so much respect for Ledger of the lengths he went for the role, and we should respect that Phoenix also took the lengths for the role as the Joker. I would say that to play the Joker, you have to be ready to take on the challenge of the role because, in the long run, it seems like it can affect your mental health. Phoenix agreed to lose extreme amounts of weight for the film, and he found himself able to move around in a way he never was able to. In his film, there are scenes where he moves oddly and does these poses where you can see his ribs and see that he lost weight. But he also mentioned that it made him feel a bit angry after the weight loss. Both Ledger and Phoenix seemed to be the ones who truly were ready for that and because of their great acting they did phenomenally as the Joker.

Watching both films you can tell that their scenes and body language are different. We see Ledger playing a villain, and he acts like a villain, terrorizing the people in Gotham, committing crimes. But we also see Ledger doing these facial expressions and acting out of control; you can see it in his smile, make-up and also based on how he acts. Phoenix is at first seen as someone who is trying to make it in life and wanting to be somebody; but deep down he’s sad and has a disorder that makes him laugh uncontrollably in situations that aren’t so funny. At the end of the film, we see how his character Arthur Fleck becomes the Joker. Though both of their films and portrayal of the joker are different, they both did a great job of making it their own and giving their twist to it.

Is comparing both of the actors necessary? No, it is not because if you watch the film without any expectations, it is a great film and you can see that Phoenix gave it his all. But if you go in there comparing Phoenix right off the bat to Ledger, you might not enjoy it. All in all, both of these men are amazing actors and brought the Joker to life; not only will they be known for their great acting, but both will be known for their great portrayal of the Joker.