Actor Appreciation

It's merely a matter of time before Night Cheese- Episode 2: "British Political Morality Plays vs. Food", drops online and before it arrives, I wanted to contribute a little opinion-blog (oplog?) on an actor whose talents I've grown to respect, unfortunately more in his death than in his life- Heath Ledger.

I chose to recommend one of Ledger's films in Episode 2, and in talking about the film itself, don't feel like I took much time to show my appreciation for his talents, given the tragedy surrounding his passing. In my review, I touched on the fact that when I first came across one of Ledger's performances (if I remember correctly, it was "10 Things I Hate About You", a modern-day retelling Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew') I somewhat dismissed Ledger as a pretty-boy heart-throb type actor, and little more. I recall this because of the same mistake I made with Brad Pitt (after "Se7en", that changed for-ev-er). However, that role for Ledger wasn't even close to capturing what he was truly capable of.

I, like many (including The Academy), caught on to his talent when it was too late, through his haunting performance as The Joker in "The Dark Knight". Those of you who are kind enough to read this blog and sit through the podcast know that Tim & I don't consider ourselves anything resembling professional critics- just fans who have a little more insight to offer than "I liked that because it was awesome" or "That movie sucked because it sucks". One thing I've always respected about any truly talented actor is when they are well known in Hollywood for who they are, but still manage to disappear into their roles. For as many amazing films as Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro have made, at this point in their careers, they're often playing themselves (or worse, a caricature of themselves). But when Ledger turned in his Joker performance, there was approximately 3 seconds where I stopped to think "wait, that's Heath Ledger". Personally, I take that ability to disappear into your role as a mark of a great actor. As an aside, I find that Johnny Depp is particularly good at this.

Anyway, I can't help but share the feeling that Ledger left too soon, but at least he's left some lasting impressions on the films he helped create.

Who is an actor/actress that's left a lasting impression on you?