Ok, Fine, I'll Talk About It

Heath Ledger. I know, you're probably sick to death (hee-hee) of hearing about Heath and his untimely death. I'm not going to talk about that as much as something else about the guy.

They say he had a really hard time playing the Joker in the upcoming Batman: Dark Knight movie. The Joker is a psychopathic narcissist and Heath had a really hard time getting into character. He was losing sleep, feeling bad, blah, blah. Last night I was thinking about it and I don't get it. It's a character, one he could put on and take off at will, how could it be so hard?

Playing a psychopathic killer to me would be pretty easy. It's like a game, when the camera rolls you act like a killer. Easy. Then it occurred tome that I live pretty close to that line of thinking to begin with, I would enjoy playing a killer and would relish in the depravity of it. I would be living out a sick little fantasy of mine and enjoy the hell out of it.

Then I thought about a role I would have trouble playing. I came up with a uber-religious, docile female who takes the abuse of her overbearing husband. Yes, that role would be hard for me to play. I would really have to work at being submissive and accepting of that kind of treatment. The vulnerability and ignorance of playing a cow-towed victim would be very uncomfortable for me, and yeah, I'd probably lose some sleep over it.

By all accounts Heath was a very sweet, nice guy. So yeah, I am beginning to understand how it might be hard for him to play a unfeeling, uncaring killer with mental issues.

However, would playing that Jesus-loving battered dummy cause me to go on heavy medication? I don't think so. I think I'd probably get over it pretty quick. I'd take a little of that character with me when the movie was done and have a better understanding of who I was, but I don't think it would fuck me up. Sorry. I guess some of us can just get over things a lot easier than others.

It's sad he's dead, but people die every day. Just because he was famous, and a father, doesn't make his death any more significant. I feel for his daughter, she'll forget him over time. I feel for his family, they will miss him a great deal. But death is death. Let's move on...