Heath Ledger's Joker Without Scars and Makeup Looks Way Creepier
Ledger's Joker is one of the most iconic and memorable villains in movie history.
His portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in the 2008 blockbuster hit The Dark Knight was chilling, creepy, and downright terrifying.
However, have you ever wondered what would the Joker look like without his signature scars and makeup? Well, one particular Redditor has come up with an answer.
Reddit user GdaTyler shared a work-in-progress image of a digital rendering of Heath Ledger's Joker without his scars and makeup.
[WIP] Heath Ledger Joker without scars/makeup. Wanted to share an update to a project I'm working on. Hope to be finished early November
by u/GdaTyler in batman
The short video shows a clear-skinned Ledger with his signature green hair, but without the trademark scars and clownish makeup that we have come to know and fear.
The post sparked a discussion among Batman fans and cinephiles alike, with many expressing their opinion that the Joker looks even more disturbing without his usual makeup.
The absence of the scars and makeup strips the Joker of his fantastical theatricality and makes him look terrifyingly real. This adds an extra layer of creepiness to his character.
Without the scars and makeup, Joker becomes even more of an enigma, an enemy that can be anyone, anywhere.
It is often said that the scariest thing about Joker is not his appearance, but his unpredictability, his irrationality, and his willingness to commit heinous acts of violence with a smile on his face.
By stripping Joker of his iconic scars and makeup, the Redditor made Joker an embodiment of pure anonymous evil one cannot escape.
Heath Ledger's portrayal of Joker is widely regarded as one of the greatest movie performances of all time.
His ability to embody the character's insanity and darkness was unmatched, and his performance set the bar for all future comic book movie villains.
However, the idea of a scar-less Joker without makeup adds another layer of depth and dimension to Ledger's iconic performance — even though not everyone may like it.
"It really sells just how subtle this performance was. I know part of the dead eyed look in this is from the AI, but even without the makeup he is viscerally uncomfortable to watch," Redditor flies_with_owls says what is in a nutshell the feeling one gets upon seeing Heath Ledger's Joker without makeup.
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, was released in 2008.