While they may not have been one of the most popular forms of entertainment, the world of superheroes in TV and cinema has always congregated the public to them, more so now than ever. And just like heroes, villains are the next most important component, which always turns everyone back to the Late Heath Ledger, who portrayed one of the most iconic villains in cinema to this day.
The aforementioned iconic villain that the star depicted was none other than The Joker, Batman’s arch-nemesis in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. What made that role so iconic in the world was just how much attention to detail the actor was willing to put into it and not commit a mistake that could’ve ruined the character.
Heath Ledger Didn’t Want To Copy Jack Nicholson’s Joker In The Dark Knight
Superheros may be cool and all, but their meaning only exists when there is a supervillain that they have to save the world from. This is why comic books have such profound supervillains that are pinned against every hero, and by far, the most popular among them all is DC Comic’s Joker in cinema today. While there may have been many iterations of the Clown Prince of Crime in the world of entertainment, the impact that the Late Heath Ledger created with his depiction is unrivaled to this day. And for that, he had to dive deep.
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In a past interview with IGN before the shoot of Christopher Nolan‘s then-upcoming film The Dark Knight even started, the host asked the Brokeback Mountain star what his plan was going into production playing the role of the psychotic nemesis of Batman. He commented on it, talking about how he was inspired by Jack Nicholson’s depiction of the character in 1989’s Batman, and while he certainly would bring some of it to his performance, he understood that the premise was different and that he had to do a revamp on the character to fit this narrative perfectly. He said:
“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. You know, I want it to be a very sinister kind of thing, It’s so early that I’m trying to leave it open at this point and I don’t want to be glued down to any one idea.”
Thus, through careful articulation and expression of the character, the star brought us the most visceral and exemplary depiction of The Joker in history.
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Why Is Heath Ledger’s Performance As The Joker Considered The Best?
While The Joker has always been the more nitty-gritty and darker side of the villains that Batman has faced in his life, what made Ledger’s performance as exceptional as it is comes down to not just acting the part, but inhabiting the character entirely. He wasn’t just acting on the set, he almost became the villain, adopting mannerisms and character traits in his real life to bring the character to life as viscerally as humanly possible.
This resulted in the end product being true to the comic books and real life and his iteration became the benchmark for Joker’s portrayal in future films. Plus, his cohesiveness with Christian Bale‘s Batman was just the dynamic that the director was hoping for all along.
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The Dark Knight, streaming on Max.
Source: IGN
