Heath Ledger’s Joker is one of DC’s iconic characters that forever changed the landscape of cinema. Appearing in Christopher Nolan’s iconic comic book movie The Dark Knight, the late Australian actor delivered a performance like never seen before. The actor even won an Oscar posthumously for his role.
While it was truly inspiring to watch Heath Ledger completely transform himself into Joker, it is also interesting to know what inspired the actor. During an interview with MTV, the Dark Knight actor revealed what went into his preparation and how it took a toll on him.
What Inspired Heath Ledger’s Joker In The Dark Knight Series
Delivering a compelling performance in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger turned his villainous Joker into a celebrated character in superhero cinema. Despite being a crime lord causing total chaos, Ledger’s character became a cinematic icon.
Although Cesar Romero, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jack Nicholson delivered brilliant performances as Joker, no one stood out like Heath Ledger‘s personification of the Clown Prince of Crime. During a 2007 interview with MTV, the late Australian actor discussed what inspired him to play the role of Joker in a certain way.
“A Clockwork Orange was a very early starting point for Christian and I. But we kind of flew far away from that pretty quickly and into another world altogether. And Sid Vicious, yeah, I guess so. There’s a bit of everything in him.”
Taking inspiration from the protagonist of Stanley Kubrick’s movie A Clockwork Orange, Heath Ledger created the iconic villain. However, nothing comes for free. Thus, Ledger’s role as a clown-faced maniac took a toll on him. It has been believed that the signature laugh of Joker resembles the laughter of protagonist Alex Delarge from the film, A Clockwork Orange, played by Malcolm McDowell.
Playing The Role Of Joker In The Dark Knight series Took A Toll On Heath Ledger
While the Brokeback Mountain actor is hailed by the world for his Academy Award-winning performance as Joker, the role took a severe toll on his life. Continuing the interview with MTV, the actor revealed how the process was extremely exhausting for him.
“There’s nothing that consistent. It was an exhausting process. I actually had quite a bit of time off between scenes — weeks sometimes. But it was required because whenever I was working, it exhausted me to the bone.”
Mentally and physically burnt out after the role, the actor recalled how his situation worsened. Previously suffering from insomnia, The Dark Knight actor claimed that the role had a deep impact on him.
“At the end of the day, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk. I was absolutely wrecked. If I had to do that every day, I couldn’t have done what I did. The schedule really permitted me to exhaust myself.”
However, his portrayal as Joker turned into a benchmark for several actors and it made the character irredeemable. Still, today, whenever someone talks about villains in superhero movies it becomes impossible to dodge the character of Joker, the crimelord with a taste of death, destruction, and violence.
The Dark Knight trilogy is streaming on Max.
Source: MTV
