Ralph Fiennes’ Lord Voldemort character in the Harry Potter films has been named the best movie villain of all time - beating Heath Ledger’s Joker into fifth place.

Ledger’s performance in new Batman sequel The Dark Knight, the last movie he completed before his death in January, has been lauded by critics and tipped for an Oscar nomination.

But editors of Moviefone rank him behind Fiennes; James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader; Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and Sir Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector in the onscreen evil stakes.

A Moviefone editor explains the decision to crown Voldemort the most dastardly, “He is the most powerful dark wizard to ever wave a wand. What’s more, he schemes to dominate the whole world. Without his slithering presence, would J.K. Rowling be the best-selling author of all time? The answer, a resounding “No.”

The top ten is as follows:
1: Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter - Ralph Fiennes
2: Darth Vader, Star Wars -James Earl Jones, Hayden Christensen
3. Wicked Witch Of The West, The Wizard Of Oz - Margaret Hamilton
4. Hannibal Lecter, Silence Of The Lambs - Anthony Hopkins
5. Joker, The Dark Knight - Heath Ledger
6. Goldfinger, Goldfinger - Gert Frobe
7. Chigurgh, No Country For Old Men - Javier Bardem
8. Hans Gruber, Die Hard - Alan Rickman
9: Queen, Snow White And The Seven Dwarves - Lucille La Verne.

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WENN

Heath Ledger’s family attended Monday’s The Dark Knight premiere in New York, where the late actor’s father left the theater giving a thumbs-up sign.

Kim Ledger and his wife Ines – Heath’s stepmother – bypassed the red carpet and ducked into the theater to watch his late son play The Joker in the latest Batman film.

Also attending the premiere were Heath’s mother Sally Bell and her husband, and Heath’s older sister, Kate.

As his father Kim left, he was asked how it felt to attend, responding with the thumbs-up. He also told reporters it was “very good.”

Heath Ledger’s costars, meanwhile, used the occasion to pay tribute to him.

“Working with Heath was fantastic,” said Christian Bale, 34, who reprises his role as the Caped Crusader. “He steals the movie and I’m quite happy to say that. He’s a hell of a talent and created a joker that’s very iconic and one that will become a classic portrayal of the ages.”

Michael Caine, 75, who plays butler Alfred Pennyworth in the film, which opens July 18, noted the “intensity and ferocity of the performance.”

“But when we were sitting down between takes, he was completely ordinary,” Caine added. “He wasn’t preparing himself or saying ‘Please leave me alone, I’ve gotta do this.’ Instead he was talking to me.

“We would sit and chat and have a cup of coffee, then suddenly they’d say, ‘We’re ready, Heath,’ and he’d go straight into The Joker,” Caine continued. “His energy was astonishing, especially when it came from this kind of calm. He’s certainly the best villain I’ve ever seen.”

Melbourne-based Robert Collins, a Ledger family friend for 30 years and co-executor of the Ledger will, told Who magazine in Australia he saw The Dark Knight preview in Perth last night and described it as “a eerie feeling” watching him.

“I am aware that Kim Ledger and the family are over in New York for it, it was something they felt they had to do and it was a personal thing from their point of view,” said Collins.

Ledger, who died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose on Jan. 22 has garnered Oscar buzz for his role as the smiley yet sinister Joker. Anticipation for The Dark Knight has been at a fever pitch with midnight shows having sold out so quickly that theater owners have had to continue to adding 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. showtimes.

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Heath Ledger will be honored with a posthumous Oscar nomination for his role as the Joker in Batman movie The Dark Knight, his co-star Michael Caine insists.

Ledger’s performance has been lauded by castmates and preview audiences, and his name is already being mentioned as a contender for next year’s Academy Awards - which will take place shortly after the first anniversary of his death.

And Caine is sure he’ll get a mention. Speaking on Friday as he unveiled his hand and footprints outside the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the 75-year-old says, “I think he’ll get a posthumous Oscar nomination at least. I just watched him and talked to him for three days and I thought he was extraordinary.”

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Michelle Williams is reportedly set to make a personal film about her late actor boyfriend Heath Ledger.

The actress is said to be keen to keep his memory alive for the sake of their two-year-old daughter Matilda.

A source tells the Australian Daily Telegraph, “It makes Michelle’s heart ache that Matilda was so young when Heath died and she’s unlikely to retain any memories of her father. She (Williams) wants to keep his spirit alive with something Matilda can treasure all her life.”

The proposed film will feature friends and colleagues sharing their memories of the Brokeback Mountain star.

Ledger died in January in his New York apartment from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

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WENN

Val Kilmer is happy pal Heath Ledger got to show off his acting talents in challenging roles before his untimely death - because now he’ll be considered one of the greats.

The Doors star discovered a soulmate in Ledger but always worried the “interesting and successful” roles he played never showed his true talents.

But, thanks to Brokeback Mountain and the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, the late Aussie’s legacy will be spot on.

Kilmer tells WENN, “I’ve known him for a number of years and there was a gravity to him that came up.”

“It’s tough, but when I think about him, in terms of the tragedy of his life ending, I’m happy that he got to do a couple of roles that matched what he was capable of because he always seemed to me an actor doing interesting and successful work, but he was better than some of those roles.”

Former Batman Kilmer and the new Joker Ledger met up a month before the latter died from an accidental drug overdose in January and Kilmer still has fond memories of their last meeting.

He recalls, “He was very proud of having quit drinking. We were in a nasty smoke-filled club and I was drinking water and Heath’s like, ‘Hey, you’re drinking water,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re drinking water too,’ and he was excited about drinking water. He said he hadn’t had a drink in about a year.”

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WENN

Officials in Heath Ledger’s Australian hometown have named a theater after him.

The $87 million, 575-seat Heath Ledger Theater in Perth will honor the late actor’s commitment to acting, Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter said at a naming ceremony Tuesday.

“Heath Ledger was totally dedicated to the craft of being an actor and that’s what made him successful,” Carpenter said, according to the Associated Press. “I think what we’re doing is continuing that support for young people who want to make a career in the arts and acting, stage and in film, whatever it happens to be.”

Kim Ledger — the actor’s father who attended Tuesday’s ceremony — said “there’s not a lot of things [Heath] would put his name to, but he’d put his name to that.”

Kim added that his family plans to attend The Dark Night premiere in NYC later this month. (A rep for Michelle Williams recently denied reports that the actress is boycotting the film’s premiere because she is feuding with Ledger’s family.)

Ledger — who died of an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28 in January — is already generating Oscar buzz for his role as the Joker.

“If there’s a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976’s Network, sign me up,” Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes.

In the film’s credits, Ledger will be acknowledged with Conway Wickliffe, a special-effects technician on the film who died in a stunt in September.

“In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe,” the credit reads, according to Warner Bros. publicity Web site.

Co-star Christian Bale recently told Details Ledger was “a good man, and I was glad to have spent time with him.”

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Christian Bale has said that he knew he and Heath Ledger “connected on a deep level” before they had even finished shooting their first scene together.

The Dark Knight co-stars had never worked together before they started shooting the new Batman movie.

But Bale told Britain’s Mail On Sunday newspaper that they immediately shared an “incredibly intense” scene — before collapsing into uncontrollable giggles!

“I knew Heath’s work and I thought he was good,” he told the paper. “But you can’t really judge an actor until you work with them.

“Our first scene together was an interrogation between Batman and the Joker.

“We were put into this small room with all these two-way mirrors. It was just us. It was incredibly intense and everything we did we could see reflected in the mirrors.

“There was an unbelievable amount of energy and tension in the room, and then out of nowhere came this hysterical laughter.

“Both of us were laughing madly. Looking back on it, I think it was because we both had this feeling that we connected on a deep level.

“We had this very similar approach – completely intense – and there was something so extreme it just came out as laughter.”

The American Psycho star dismissed the calls for the movie to be shelved out of respect for Heath, who died on January 22.

“I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t think this movie should be shown,” he said. ‘But if you’re asking my opinion, I think that’s bloody insane. I also think it’s an insult to Heath and everything he stood for.”

The Dark Knight is released July 18.

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WENN