Posthumous Fame

[Jonesy]

Are there actors, after suffering early deaths, who have undeserved cult or iconic status? James Dean springs to mind as someone who achieved undeserved iconic status, after three mediocre (or at times as in Giant risable) performances. River Phoenix achieved cult status for a while after his death, although that seems to have drifted away of late. Heath Ledger's status may be deserved after his performance in Brokeback and The Dark Knight, but perhaps even his star will fade in time as did Phoenix's. Early death doesn't always mean posthumous stardom (e.g. Brad Renfro), but it certainly seems to help.

[AYBGerrardo]

Heath Ledger - definitely.
No-one cared about him til the Dark Knight viral campaign focused on his character and the fanboys started proclaiming how good his performance was going to be several months before actually seeing it. Then when he died, suddenly he's the most loved actor ever, and his unfortunate demise was tastelessly exploited by the Batfans to promote the upcoming flick.
"Oh my god Heath Ledger should get an Oscar cos it's so sad that he died when he was so amazing"
Any other actor and it would have been the same thing.
He wasn't "amazing" in TDK. He was good and his performance was worthy of a mention in reviews, but people mistook an excellently written character for an excellent performance.

[Ancient One]

Jack Black springs to mind.

[Kiba.]

Originally Posted by AYBGerrardo

Heath Ledger - definitely.
No-one cared about him til the Dark Knight viral campaign focused on his character and the fanboys started proclaiming how good his performance was going to be several months before actually seeing it.

I don't think Ledger is overrated as an actor, though obviously his untimely death occurring before the release of TDK has garnered him a notoriety that he would not otherwise have had.

I definitely disagree that no one 'cared' about him until he was cast in The Dark Knight. He has turned in worthy performances in The Four Feathers, Candy and most notably, Brokeback Mountain. He drew a lot of attention for roles like A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly, Cassanova and held his own in I'm Not There. To say he was only significant because he was cast as The Joker is short sighted and inaccurate.

We don't know what he might have achieved but several of his performances suggest his career would have been an interesting one...not just his last completed one.

[Jonesy]

Originally Posted by Kiba.

To say he was only significant because he was cast as The Joker is short sighted and inaccurate.

I agree. Ultimately Ledger's performance in Brokeback was better than anything Dean or Phoenix produced in my opinion, but I know that there's a lot of people who would argue against that view. It's a shame in some ways that Ledger is likely to be remembered for The Dark Knight, because whilst it was a brilliant performance, it obviously lacked the subtle nuances of Ennis - a role that was more likely a far greater challenge to Ledger.

[whereistheline]

Heath Ledger was a great actor even before TDK, 10 Things I Hate About You, I know it's a teen movie but Ledger is great in it, he is also fantastic in Ned Kelly and A Knight's Tale.
I don't think he is over rated as the Joker just because of his death, he out does everyone else in the film. He's better than Bale and that doesn't happen often.

[AYBGerrardo]

When I say no-one cared about him before TDK, I'm not saying he wasn't a talented actor. He was talented, and although I've yet to see it, I gather he was very good in Brokeback Mountain. But he wasn't exactly a big name...say he had turned down TDK...when he died, people would say "Dr Parnawhat? Heath who? Oh that dude from A Knight's Tale. Aww that's a shame. Oo McDonalds have extended their 99p menu!!"
Y'know? People still don't care about him - they pretend to feel sad about his death so they can feel human, but at the end of the day no-one knew anything about him. That may well have changed with Brokeback followed by TDK, but he wouldn't have achieved his current notoriety. Not yet.
Anyway, honesty is a quality I value above nearly everything, so I'll be frank and say I actually dislike what I've seen of him. He was horribly annoying in 10 Things, Knight's Tale and Casanova.
He was good in the Dark Knight though, just not as good as the contractually obliged critics made out. *ramble ramble ramble*

[morris]

Originally Posted by AYBGerrardo

...say he had turned down TDK...when he died, people would say "Dr Parnawhat? Heath who? Oh that dude from A Knight's Tale. Aww that's a shame."
People still don't care about him - they pretend to feel sad about his death so they can feel human, but at the end of the day no-one knew anything about him.
I'll be frank and say I actually dislike what I've seen of him.

It's pretty obvious you don't like him, but your comment is so choc-full of generalisations that it's hard to take it seriously. Some people actually were sad when he died. Don't assume because you didn't give a shit that no one else did. People were excited when he was cast in TDK because he already was someone. The buzz began BEFORE he died; it merely gained in volume, momentum and hype when he passed over.

[AYBGerrardo]

Originally Posted by morris

People were excited when he was cast in TDK because he already was someone

I saw none of this excitement anywhere on the internets until the first photos were processed by the viral machine.

[nathanman]

Firstly, it is a shame that most of the comments you hear about Ledger these days are for The Dark Knight, but lets face it, most of these comments are from people that have a limited knowledge of films in general. He really did make some great films and was a stand out actor in general. Films that immediatley spring to mind are Brokeback, A knight's Tale and there was something about his performance in Brother's Grimm that I loved..can't put my finger on it though!
Having said that, his performance in TDK was unbelievable! I went into the theatre with a certain scepticism that was bought about by hearing the sheer volume of praise that I assumed was because of his untimeley passing. Within half hour all those doubts dissolved and I walked out quite simply stunned! There is no doubt that his passing has evoked more hype than it really needed, but praise where praise is deserved!
Gotta be honest and say that I am more than a little gutted that I won't get to see the role reprised!