The late Heath Ledger made an indelible mark in Hollywood in a career that was cut short by his unexpected death. The Australian shone in many challenging roles including Ang Lee’s award- winning drama Brokeback Mountain. His greatest and most memorable performance though, came in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, in which he immortalized the iconic DC villain, Joker.
Ledger’s powerful and disturbing portrayal of Joker became one of the most talked about performances in Hollywood and won him his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, albeit posthumously. While many insider reports spoke about the talented star’s gruelling preparation for the role which included intense method acting techniques, Ledger allegedly was one of the most chilled actors on set who easily slipped into a role, according to British-Nigerian star Damson Idris.
Heath Ledger Hardly Broke A Sweat For His Role As Joker, Says Damson Idris
In a recently concluded Drama Actors Roundtable, a group of prominent stars from television got together for a chat about their characters, shows, and their approach to acting. The ensemble included The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal and Snowfall actor Damson Idris among other prominent television stars. In a discussion that spanned many topics, the actors also spoke about the stars that they admired and the ability they had to slip into their roles with ease. Breaking down the myths associated with method acting, Damson Idris quoted Oscar winner Heath Ledger and his iconic portrayal of Joker in The Dark Knight to describe what he had heard about the deceased star’s acting process. Idris told The Hollywood Reporter,
“Those are the kind of actors I admire the most, the ones that can just do it and turn it off, just be themselves right after and go home. He, Ledger, everyone thought he was like playing the Joker and he was just in that mode all the time but I heard that he was like chilling, having coffee, he was like, hey, how was your weekend.”
Idris went on to add through Heath Ledger’s example, that it was possible to switch on and switch off on set if an actor possessed this ability to perfect it.
How Heath Ledger Developed Joker For The Dark Knight
Despite reports that Heath Ledger eased his way through his role as Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the actor still moved mountains to play the marquee role. What audiences saw on screen was a result of the Brokeback Mountain star’s intense preparation to understand the nuances of the character. One of the changes that Ledger made for the character, was to alter his voice completely that led to a very unique characteristic.
The Australian star who is known to have a very deep baritone, decided that this would not suit the aesthetics of Joker and therefore decided to completely change his manner of speaking by adopting an unnatural voice for the role. This vocal change led to Ledger’s throat drying up constantly on set and during takes which then prompted the actor to lick his lips between dialogues. Interestingly this mannerism turned out to be one of the most memorable and significant traits of Joker and one that set Ledger apart from the various other portrayals of the DC villain.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
