Heath Ledger registered his name in the history books with his portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Later, the actor’s sister revealed that Ledger thoroughly enjoyed his time playing Gotham’s notorious villain. He even expressed his desire to return for the sequel, The Dark Knight Rises.
Unfortunately, Heath Ledger passed away on January 22, 2008, six months before The Dark Knight hit the theaters. The cause of his death was an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. His portrayal of the Joker also earned him the coveted Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Heath Ledger’s Sister Opens Up About The Actor
While speaking to news.com.au, Heath Ledger’s sister Kate shared that if the actor had lived, he had all intentions to join forces with director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale for the follow-up film in the franchise.
Heath Ledger’s sister told news.com.au:
“He was so proud of what he had done in Batman. And I know he had plans for another Batman. He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film. When he came home at Christmas he couldn’t wait to tell us all about it and he was doing the voice and laughing, showing me all the rushes. We had a great time.”
Kate also rubbished the notion that the role had caused Heath Ledger to feel depressed due to the daunting techniques he used for preparing for the role.
She added:
“He was a really happy person and he had huge plans for his future. I spoke to him the night before [he died] and we were laughing and joking.”
After Heath Ledger’s passing, Christopher Nolan put an end to the Dark Knight trilogy with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, where Tom Hardy’s bane took center stage as the supervillain. After Nolan’s trilogy came to an end, the Joker returned in 2016’s Suicide Squad, with Jared Leto taking on the responsibility to play the character.
Heath Ledger Brought a Fresh Take To The Joker
Christopher Nolan picked Heath Ledger to play the character and allowed him to bring his own version of the Joker. The actor didn’t want his version to imitate Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in 1989’s Batman.
Ledger told IGN,
“I’m obviously not going for the same thing he went for. That would just be stupid, and it’s also two very different styles of directors and filmmaking. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing the nitty-gritty kind of handheld realism thing. I love what he did and it is part of why I want to do it, and I remember seeing Batman and thinking how much fun it would be to put on that mask and to attempt to do something along those lines. But it would obviously just be murder if I tried to imitate and pointless to the project.”
While Nicholson didn’t get a chance to return for the role, Ledger’s performance was so legendary that many believe his portrayal better than Nicholson’s. he even received several accolades and awards for his performance, including an Oscar.
