Cher to play the Catwoman in the next Batman flick? Yikes! You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ll admit, a year ago I probably would’ve doubted that Heath Ledger could play an adequate Joker (and, boy, would I have been wrong!), but come on…Cher? Twenty years ago, maybe.
The article also suggests that Johnny Depp could be tapped to play The Riddler. Now that’s a bit of casting that sounds just about right. Any other ideas? The only other guy that comes to mind is Steve Buscemi, but he’d probably only get the role if the Cohen brothers directed the next Batman installment.
As for Ledger, I have to say his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight ranks right up there with the best TV / film villain performances of the last 30 years. Here’s the short list I came up with; tell me if I left anybody off.
Darth Vader – Still the #1 baddie in my book. This one’s probably not ever going to change.
DeNiro in Cape Fear.
Phoenix in Gladiator.
Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, although I don’t think he was the principal “bad guy” in those movies. I only saw Silence of the Lambs once (and hated it), so this one may not fit.
Nicholson as the Joker, although Ledger’s performance makes him look like a circus clown.
I never saw it, but they say that woman from Misery was pretty creepy.
Of course, I’d have to put Michael Emerson from LOST on the list.
I’m thinking Ledger’s Joker ranks only behind Vader when it comes to villains on the screen. I’m probably leaving off some pretty big ones, but they don’t come to my mind.
already & not yet 
Assuming Michael Emmerson is actually playing a villain or bad guy, then yeah, he deserves to be on the list. TV/film villains or bad guys you left off:Biff from Back to the Future. Classic bully villain.Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget and Cobra Commander from GI Joe. Classic cartoon villain.John Doe from the movie Se7en. Classic make your skin crawl villain.And I’ve always thought Willem Dafoe should play only bad guys and villains. Just something about his face.
Dwight Yoakam’s Doyle Hargrave from “Sling Blade”.I absolutely wanted to strangle him.
Dr. Evil was the best of all time.Jeff K
Don’t forget, in all seriousness, the two guys from “Deliverance”. Not a commercial for canoeing.
I think Ben will eventually emerge as a “good guy” as he alluded to in the Season 2 finale. But for now, we still have to consider him a villain. And he definitely makes your skin crawl.If we’re talking cartoon villains, then Skeletor has to be on the list. And Gargamel. I thought about Spacey from Seven, but he’s only on screen for like 10 minutes. Still powerful, though.Allen, I completely forgot about Yoakam’s turn in Slingblade. Um hmm.And I don’t even want to talk about Deliverance.
Here is AFI’s (American Film Institute) top 10 villains of the 100 greatest heroes/villains:Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)Norman Bates (Psycho)Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back)Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz) Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)Mr. Potter (It’s a Wonderful Life) Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction) Phyllis Dietrichson (Double Indemnity)Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist) The Queen (Snow White)I would probably put Heath Ledger’s Joker #4 on that list (no disrespect to the Wicked Witch).
I didn’t even think of some of the ones on that list, Dylan. I guess because I was focusing only on the last 30 years. I figured there was some great villain from “Birth of a Nation” that was considered the all-time great or something, but really…who cares?The Wicked Witch would be on my short list. And the witch from Snow White. What about that clown guy from “It”? And the bad guy from “The Patriot”? I know, now I’m getting into some pretty watered down territory.