Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in the red hot motion picture spectacular The Dark Knight has drawn rave reviews from virtually every movie critic in the industry. It seems as though Ledger will certainly be nominated for an Oscar for the role, and he might actually win.  Heath Ledger the Joker, was this the defining role of an actor that was taken to soon?

Given the fairly large body of work the young Ledger accumulated in his short time in the movie business, one must wonder if it truly was. Ledger was phenomenal in The Dark Knight without a doubt, and the sheer grind of playing the maniacal Joker took its toll on him by all accounts.

He certainly tapped into the Batman fan base, and portrayed The Joker In The Dark Knight in all of his madness as no actor ever has, including Jack Nicholson. The question remains, however, as to whether or not this was his defining role?

Looking at his body of work, two roles jump out as superior to his popular role of The Joker in The Dark Knight.

1. A Knight’s Tale – For many, this role was his breakout movie and it put him on the A-list with a bullet. Ledger plays a young dreamer that fakes his way into the jousting scene. The movie is a great mix of romance, drama, and action and Ledger shines as the hero.

This role was certainly one that did not have the grit and grime of the role of the Joker, but was still one that defined Ledger as an actor. He showed that he could reel the viewer in and make them feel what he pleased. A great script aided him, but A Knight’s Tale was Ledger all the way. You take him away from the movie, and you have no movie.

A Knight’s Tale was far more in my opinion than a simple movie just thrown together. It is one of the funniest movies out there, and is a ton of fun to watch. The role that Ledger played came right after 10 Things I Hate About You, and was a huge leap ahead in my opinion.

Ledger showed during A Knight’s Tale that he could play virtually any role. He showed the romantic side with his love interest. He showed a comedic wit and timing throughout the movie. He showed that he can play the action role to the hilt with some incredible jousting and fight scenes. Finally, he showed a talent for the dramatic role as shown in the scenes with his Father that were eloquent and sentimentally real.

2. The Patriot – The absolute best role that Heath Ledger ever played was in the movie The Patriot alongside Mel Gibson. Ledger plays Gibson’s son in the movie and it is powerful and moving. Ledger, a young boy that wants to join the War at a young age, portrays the role with much of the same grit as his now famous Joker role.

The big difference maker to me, however, is the layers of the role in The Patriot. Ledger has to show heroism, fatalism, love, honor, strength, weakness, anger and kindness all in one role.

In The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger is limited to the madness within the Joker. While that madness was complicated, and certainly difficult to portray, Ledger was larger than life in The Patriot.

The Joker role will forever be the last role that Heath Ledger played, but it will not be remembered as the best performance he ever had. Future generations will see his entire body of work and realize that Heath Ledger was much more than The Joker from The Dark Knight. He was a wonderful young actor, capable of any movie genre put in front of him…. and he will be missed by those that saw them.