Current Events > Remember when people got upset over Heath Ledger being cast as The Joker?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Because they wanted Johnny Depp or Crispin Glover?

Ahh the mid 2000's...
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Didnt playing Joker play a role in his suicide? He did an awesome job but if prefer he be alive. Too many people are killing themselves. It's heart breaking.
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Johnny Depp as Joker would be so stupid. he's not the right kind of crazy. I mean maybe he would work in a more light hearted movie. or like in a cartoon. but not in the type of movie they were trying to do.

Patty_Fleur posted...

Didnt playing Joker play a role in his suicide? He did an awesome job but if prefer he be alive. Too many people are killing themselves. It's heart breaking.

yea. he got too deep into the role and was trying to live like Joker. and then he took a bunch of drugs

Patty_Fleur posted...

Didnt playing Joker play a role in his suicide? He did an awesome job but if prefer he be alive. Too many people are killing themselves. It's heart breaking.

No. He didn't commit suicide. It was accidental because he couldn't sleep.

Zikten posted...

Johnny Depp as Joker would be so stupid. he's not the right kind of crazy. I mean maybe he would work in a more light hearted movie. or like in a cartoon. but not in the type of movie they were trying to do.

Fan casting isn't risky at all. It's just thinking "who played a similar role? Pick that guy"

Depp and Glover were the quirky guys back then. That was all.
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Man, I forgot he died. RIP
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catboy0_0 posted...

Man, I forgot he died. RIP

It's really such a bummer. That role would have catapulted his career. I'm sure we would have seen many more amazing performances from him.

I wonder what happened to Aaron Eckhart. That guy just vanished.
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I remember seeing a leaked set photo of him thinking

"This was a terrible mistake he looks like a drag queen"

After watching it opening night I went to watch it 3 more times that week.
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Darmik posted...

Depp and Glover were the quirky guys back then. That was all.

I saw people suggesting Robin Williams, and tbh he would have been amazing
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catboy0_0 posted...

Man, I forgot he died. RIP

How can you forget he died? What did you think happened, he just disappeared after winning an oscar and universal acclaim for an all time great performance?

apocalyptic_4 posted...

I remember seeing a leaked set photo of him thinking

"This was a terrible mistake he looks like a drag queen"

After watching it opening night I went to watch it 3 more times that week.

I remember a lot of hobo jokes.
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TheDarkCircle posted...

catboy0_0 posted...

Man, I forgot he died. RIP

How can you forget he died? What did you think happened, he just disappeared after winning an oscar and universal acclaim for an all time great performance?

I uhh... didn't watch his movie...
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His performance was legendary.
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It's the only time in the history of comic book movies when an apparent miscast turned out to not be a miscast. Also, as good as the role was, that was not the Joker. People felt cheated at a first glance because that was not the character they were used to and he wasn't. But people forgave the artistic liberties because it was the best villain performance of the 2000s and, yes, because the actor had died.

It was just kind of a hushed whisper at the time that the character had nothing in common with any prior incarnation of the Joker beyond color scheme and underlining motivation. Had Heath Ledger lived, I think the movie's dramatic reimagining of the Joker would've been a lot more controversial. Maybe I'm wrong about that. We'll never know.

But to act like everybody was wrong and we should withhold judgment is silly. 9 times out of 10, your first instincts will be correct. If a scrawny guy gets called to play the hulking henchman, or a 22 year old is cast to play an 88 year old scientist, there's an overwhelming possibility that the final result will be just as terrible as you would imagine.

muchdran posted...

His performance was legendary.

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lol I wonder what crispin glover joker wouldve been like
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Skye Reynolds posted...

It's the only time in the history of comic book movies when an apparent miscast turned out to not be a miscast. Also, as good as the role was, that was not the Joker. People felt cheated at a first glance because that was not the character they were used to and he wasn't. But people forgave the artistic liberties because it was the best villain performance of the 2000s and, yes, because the actor had died.

Nope. Michael Keaton for very similar reasons. People didn't think they could take him seriously because he was known for comedic roles.

There have also been several different interpretations for the Joker over the years. There is no static version of him. He works as a light-hearted prankster and as an incredibly dark and twisted character. That's why he has stuck around for 75 years.

There was also some clear inspirations from comics like The Killing Joke.

Skye Reynolds posted...

It was just kind of a hushed whisper at the time that the character had nothing in common with any prior incarnation of the Joker beyond color scheme and underlining motivation. Had Heath Ledger lived, I think the movie's dramatic reimagining of the Joker would've been a lot more controversial. Maybe I'm wrong about that. We'll never know.

Wrong again. People turned around once that first trailer came out. That was before he died.

Skye Reynolds posted...

But to act like everybody was wrong and we should withhold judgment is silly. 9 times out of 10, your first instincts will be correct. If a scrawny guy gets called to play the hulking henchman, or a 22 year old is cast to play an 88 year old scientist, there's an overwhelming possibility that the final result will be just as terrible as you would imagine.

People were upset because they knew him from romcoms and a movie where he played a gay cowboy and thought he had nothing else to offer. They didn't base it on physical characteristics at all.

He must have nailed his audition. That's why he got the role. That's the stuff fan casters don't see. The opinions were based on complete ignorance.
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I'm just sad he didn't get to play Ramza Beoulve, along with Sean Connery as Orlandu, and that Legolas guy as Mustadio.
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Darmik posted...

Nope. Michael Keaton for very similar reasons. People didn't think they could take him seriously because he was known for comedic roles.

That's not the same thing. There have been many times when comedy actors have taken on action roles and excelled at them (Die Hard). Besides, he'd already dipped his feet into the action genre with A Knight's Tale.

But when you have a visual which looks more like Silence of the Lambs or Ichi the Killer than it does Batman, that's reason to say at a distance, "I don't like this thing" or "I don't think I'll like this thing." It was the performance that won the people over. And, well, yes, he was the honored dead.

He must have nailed his audition. That's why he got the role. That's the stuff fan casters don't see. The opinions were based on complete ignorance.

The stuff like "I'll expect him to have sex with Batman" was pretty stupid. The people who didn't think he had the acting chops for it or that didn't like the look of the character had reason for doubt.

Skye Reynolds posted...

That's not the same thing. There have been many times when comedy actors have taken on action roles and excelled at them (Die Hard). Besides, he'd already dipped his feet into the action genre with A Knight's Tale.

It is the same thing. People got upset Keaton was cast just like they did with Ledger. 50,000 people signed a petition to get Keaton fired. Ledger is not the only example of a controversial casting that turned out well.

People didn't like High Jackman cast as Wolverine because he was too tall

People didn't like Michael Clarke Duncan cast as Kingpin because he was black

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the most recent example.

There's countless more. If anything I'd say people like Eisenberg are the exception. I don't think anyone had an issue with Leto being cast as Joker and he's the worst one by far.
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Zikten posted...

Patty_Fleur posted...

Didnt playing Joker play a role in his suicide? He did an awesome job but if prefer he be alive. Too many people are killing themselves. It's heart breaking.

yea. he got too deep into the role and was trying to live like Joker. and then he took a bunch of drugs

People need to stop spreading this BS
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Darmik posted...

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the most recent example.

Gal Gadot was fantastic.
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I like what Jonathan Nolan had to say about it

https://twitter.com/thr/status/1019615836783325184
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People who say there was nothing in common with the actual Joker character are partially wrong. In his first appearances, the Joker was a weirdo and not necessarily a clownish guy. "Do what I say or this guy dies in X hours" was how he operated in his first appearance in 1940. Issuing ultimatums and then dishing out chaos sounds like Ledger to me.
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DrizztLink posted...

Darmik posted...

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the most recent example.

Gal Gadot was fantastic.

I know. People whined when she was picked because she was too skinny and was a bad actress on Fast and the Furious.
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Darmik posted...

If anything I'd say people like Eisenberg are the exception.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5E7feJHw0" data-time="

Skye Reynolds posted...

Darmik posted...

If anything I'd say people like Eisenberg are the exception.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5E7feJHw0" data-time="

Yeah people were right about Eisenberg sucking. But the movie also sucked in general.
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I know they are trying to catch lightning in a bottle again, but I wish they'd just give us a break and start exploring some of the other characters in the DCU. Like, every decade or so, they have to do a whole new glut of origin films about the same two or three characters over and over because people are clearly tired of watching the same movie over and over and the direction isn't great. They literally have thousands of characters and stories to draw from, but instead just keep selling us the same set over and over.