Just a thought. Heath Ledger apparently complained of sleepless nights while playing the role of the Joker in the next Batman movie, Dark Knight. Could playing such an insane psychopath actually drive someone over the edge and cause problems in their personal life? Many actors talk about "getting into the character" they're playing so intensely that they feel as if they're actually the person they're acting as. To people like me who aren't actors or involved in the film industry, it's easy to watch a film and discount the emotional toll certain rolls take on actors. But given the amount of stress most people's jobs cause them, I can see how playing a super-freak (I listened to Rick James the other day :P ) could cause an actor to actually become one. But I guess I'll never know, as I have no desire to act, nor acting talent, for that matter.

I wonder if Malcolm McDowell or Robert De Niro felt like they were minds were being negatively affected at any point while working on A Clockwork Orange or Taxi Driver, respectively...