A Definitive Ranking of the Best (and Worst) Actors To Play The Joker

There are some people who like to say that The Dark Knight has "aged poorly" in the 11 years since its initial release, but those people, quite frankly, have no idea what they're talking about. It's going to take a long time for anyone to top Christian Bale as Batman (though Robert Pattinson is sure going to try), but more importantly, it seems like a fool's errand to try topping Heath Ledger's turn playing the Crown Prince of Crime.

Introduced without a backstory or motive of any kind, Ledger's Joker isn't chill like Nicholson's or a try-hard like Leto's—he thrives on pure, unadulterated intensity. Credit for that has to go, in some part, to director Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight is filled with moments where your eyes are 100% glued to The Joker, and the devil's in the details: the frantic licking of his lips; the flicking his greasy, not-quite-green hair out of his face; sticking his head out of a moving car like a dog.

Ledger's posthumous Oscar-winning performance (and his career-defining role) is one that may never be bested.