Heath Ledger’s unprecedented commitment to play the clown prince of crime in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is legendary, arguably the greatest performance in a CBM. And while it has been over a decade since the acclaimed actor’s life met a tragic end, Ledger’s legacy continues to live on, whose inhumane dedication to Joker in TDK left Christian Bale speechless.
Although Bale himself is notable for putting utmost dedication to every role he takes, even the American Psycho Star was taken aback by Ledger, especially in the interrogation scene.
Heath Ledger Was Egging Christian Bale to Beat Him Up
To say that the interrogation scene between Joker and Batman is great would be an understatement. Often considered the best scene in the entire film, it succeeds in instilling the cold-blooded nature of Joker, and a lot of it lays on the shoulder of Heath Ledger‘s utter devotion.
In the interview conducted by Joseph McCabe in 2008, featured in 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (via THR), Christian Bale detailed his experience with the late actor. Bale revealed that Ledger embodied the Joker and was egging him to hit the Brokeback Mountain Star for real, and as a result of Ledger slamming his body around the set, the tiled walls got dented. Left dumbstruck by the experience, Christian Bale explained:
“As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realizes that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him the more he enjoys it. The more I’m giving him satisfaction. Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion. He was kinda egging me on. I was saying, ‘You know what, I really don’t need to actually hit you. It’s going to look just as good if I don’t.’ And he’s going, ‘Go on. Go on. Go on….’ He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total.”
But following the actor’s untimely death before the film’s release, which earned him an Oscar win, rumors emerged speculating that committing to the Joker took a toll on the actor’s mental health. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as the late star’s sister went on to debunk the urban myth.
Heath Ledger’s Commitment to Joker Didn’t Affect His Mental Health Said His Sister
While Heath Ledger never broke character on set, he was a wonderful person to be around, shared his sister Kate Ledger. During a Q&A (via Telegraph), Kate Ledger went on to debunk the urban myth of the actor’s commitment playing a part in his tragic death following a prescription drug overdose, stating that he wasn’t depressed. On the opposite, the Brokeback Mountain Star never lost his sense of humor, which she guessed maybe only his family and friends were aware of.
“Every report was coming out that he was depressed and that [the role] was taking this toll on him, and we’re going, honestly, it was the absolute opposite. It couldn’t be more wrong. He had an amazing sense of humour, and I guess maybe only his family and friends knew that, but he was having fun. He wasn’t depressed about the Joker!”
Similar to Kate Ledger, Christian Bale explained that while Ledger was always in character when the make-up was on, off-set, he was “absolutely fantastic company to be around”.
The Dark Knight is available to stream on Max.
