According to Roger Ebert, Stewart's pre-World War II characters were usually likable, but in postwar years directors chose to cast Stewart in darker roles, such as Jeffries in "Rear Window". Ebert put this into contemporary perspective by asking, "What would it feel like to see Hanks in a bizarre and twisted light?", explaining that it is jarring to see a beloved everyman persona such as Stewart in dark roles. Furthermore, Jonathan Rosenbaum explained that since audiences were primarily interested in Stewart's "star persona" and "aura" than his characters, "this makes it more striking when Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock periodically explore the neurotic and obsessive aspects of Stewart's persona to play against his all-American innocence and earnestness."