Time to get roasted...

Look, Heath was mighty fine, but maybe the deal is that the JOKER is an incredibly great villain who would have lent any talented movie actor a canvas upon which to write large.

I'm reminded of the kudos for handsome Johnny Depp when he revealed he could be a quirky Edward Scissorhands, a funny Ed Wood, and, ultimately, a totally radical Captain John Sparrow (Oscar nommed the first time, he was found "same old, same old" by parts two and three.) Not to mention the bizarre face and voice Depp invented for Willy Wonka. Or the British vibe he brought to crazy old Sweeney Todd (who, like the Joker, likes a good, sharp, blade.)

Depp would have been a helluva Joker EXCEPT that jaded critics likely would have said "its Depp acting crazy again." Familiarity breeds contempt.

Daniel Day Lewis would have been a great Joker. He could have used his "There Will Be Blood" voice or his villainous attitude from "Gangs of New York" ("Bill the Butcher"...another man who liked a sharp blade.)

Phillip Seymour Hoffmann is all the rage right now. His Joker would have been Nicholsonesque in both stoutness and deep voice....but likely the critics would have raved. (And they'll get another chance: he's rumored as First Choice for the Penguin.)

Sean Penn was evidently under serious consideration by Christopher Nolan to play the Joker, and he's demonstrably GREAT....methinks he would have borrowed his mannerisms from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "The Falcon and the Snowman" or "Carlito's Way"(which reminds me: Pacino would be a fine Joker, if it weren't for his overexposure and age today.) Nolan had used the not-quite-a-star Guy Pearce in "Memento"; Pearce would have been a fine Joker, if the least starry choice available.

Or how about Robert Downey Jr. as the Joker? He has a certain stylish and manic quality...and drugs almost got him, too.

And why not Brad Pitt? He's shown a taste for Oscarish madness in "Twelve Monkeys" and as the psycho in "Kalifornia."

My point: the Joker is a great role, a helluva role, an open invitation to ANY actor with any sort of chops to ham it up and go to town with vocals, make-up and gestures.

Heath Ledger WAS great as the Joker. His voice alone was inspired: according to the critics, it may have been Al Franken, Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Lemmon, the Church Lady or any combination of the above.

But Nolan's Joker also got GREAT LINES. And great speeches. And great scenes: wouldn't any actor playing the Joker have shocked us into laughs with the "lethal pencil trick"?

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Simply put: let's get that Oscar bid for Heath going (Nicholson was rumored but his $60 million payday seemed reward enough.) And his early end WAS tragic.

But the Joker's a great villain, written well in this film, and I daresay that Depp, Lewis, Hoffman, Penn, Downey, Pitt, Pearce, and about 12 other guys would have gone to town with him as well.

As Hitchcock said, "the better the villain, the better the picture."

The Joker's a better villain.

P.S. Or how about that guy Javier Bardem, who played the coin-flipping killer in "No Country for Old Men"? And hey, didn't Two-Face START that gimmick, anyway?