Heath Ledger as The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT is the greatest performance as a villain in the history of superhero cinema. Furthermore, he gave us one of the best performances in the history of film, period.
PERIOD.
Here’s what Michael Caine wrote about working with Heath on THE DARK KNIGHT in his new memoir, DON’T LOOK BACK, YOU’LL TRIP OVER: MY GUIDE TO LIFE…
The smeared makeup, the weird hair, the strange voice. It was chilling. Absolutely floored me the first time I saw him in action – I was terrified.
Heath was only 28 when he passed away. You think of what he might have gone on to achieve, it’s just heartbreaking.
Indeed.
I’ve told this story before, but when I visited the Chicago set of TDK back in June of 2007, Heath was not there that day. I would’ve loved to have interviewed him there or at the press junket in June of 2008.
Sir Michael adds…
We were all terribly shocked [about his passing], and it made doing the publicity for THE DARK KNIGHT that summer much more intense, because all the journalists wanted to talk about his death. It still makes me sad to think of it… [it’s] a performance for the ages. Even though his career was cut short so soon, he’ll be remembered as a great actor, I believe.
As someone who was at the main press junket for TDK, there was a feeling that something was, well, missing.
Personally, I didn’t ask any “What If?” questions about Heath’s potential future as The Joker, but I did witness journalists asking those sorts of questions. I only praised his performance when I interviewed Christopher Nolan (you can read that exclusive 1-on-1 HERE) and then Emma Thomas (read that one HERE).
Got to tell this story, again…
When I got to interview Gary Oldman at the junket, I asked him if he remembered what he said about Heath as The Joker on the set visit a year earlier. His answer: “And I was right, wasn’t I?” (You can read that interview HERE.)
CLICK HERE to check out the episode of THE BOF CHRONICLES PODCAST where I talked in depth about BOF and THE DARK KNIGHT. What a GREAT time that was! And thanks to BOF’s Ryan Lower for the heads up! – Bill “Jett” Ramey
