Heath Ledger Interview regarding the Joker

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=90305



Daniel Robert Epstein: Have you started to think about how you will play The Joker?

Heath Ledger: Yeah. I?ve been trying to delay my commitment to the preparation process on that because I?m trying to extend my holiday time. I definitely have an image in my head. I definitely have something up my sleeve. I want to be very sinister. It?s so early that I?m trying to be open at this point. I don?t want to be glued down to anyone.

DRE: Have you read many Batman comics?

HL: No and I think that?s kind of helping me a little bit. I was never really a fan of comic books or comic book movies. I never despised them but I was never one to read them. I never sought out the films but I would sit down and enjoy them. So because of that I really feel that I?m not carrying much pressure.

DRE: Have they given or asked you to read certain comics?

HL: The Killing Joke was the one that was handed to me. I think it?s going to be the beginning of The Joker. I guess that book explains a little bit of where he?s from but not too much. From what I?ve gathered, there isn?t a lot of information about The Joker and it?s left that way.

DRE: Is doing the role of The Joker scary after Jack Nicholson did it so well?

HL: I?m not going for the same thing he went for. That would be stupid. It is also two very different directors with different styles. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing nitty gritty handheld realism. I love what [Jack] did and that is part of why I want to do that role. I remember seeing it and thinking how much fun it would be to put on that mask and attempt to do something along those lines. But it would obviously be murder if I tried to imitate what he did.

DRE: They?re talking about bringing in the co-creator of The Joker, Jerry Robinson, as a consultant on The Dark Knight. I don?t know if it would be more of an honorary title.

HL: It probably is [laughs].

DRE: Have you ever wanted to do superhero movies before?

HL: Not really. With the tights and undies and the boots, I would just feel stupid and silly. I couldn?t pull it off and there are other people who can perfectly. But I just couldn?t take myself seriously. I feel like this is an opportunity to be in one and not do that. I just gravitated towards the villain role because I felt I had something to give to it. I instantly had an idea.

DRE: Have you done screen tests with The Joker makeup yet?

HL: No, but I did do 3-D image scanning. I don?t know what they?re doing with it. This Bat truck turned up at my place in L.A.. It had these gadgets and cameras that zoom around you and up and down you. It instantly projects a three dimensional image of you. I?ve never used anything that high tech before in a film. I felt like I was in the truck from Knight Rider.

 

Please tell me you're kidding about Heath Ledger playing the Joker.

 

Truth. It should have been Crispin Glover.
[image=http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2003/03-14-willard-inside.jpg]

 

Where the hell have you been Rhonda?

PS: Couldn't find the official thread.
If you see it please link and/or up it.


Crispin was my first choice as well.

 

I think he was everyone's first choice.
[image=http://www.slashfilm.com/uploadedimages/crispinjoker.jpg]
Well, everyone except for Chris Nolan.

 

Heath Ledger: "Yeah. I?ve been trying to delay my commitment to the preparation process on that because I?m trying to extend my holiday time."

Oh yeah, that's nice. Sorry for the inconveniences.

 

Crispin is too old. Creepy, but not the youthful Joker Nolan is clearly looking for.

I think Heath is going to be great. He really does have the right facial structure for it. And he's proven himself to be an excellent actor.

 

DRE: Have you read many Batman comics?

HL: No and I think that?s kind of helping me a little bit. I was never really a fan of comic books or comic book movies. I never despised them but I was never one to read them. I never sought out the films but I would sit down and enjoy them. So because of that I really feel that I?m not carrying much pressure.


You're kidding me.

Gabe, sweetie, they shoulda picked you.

 

If you think so...

[image=http://people.ucsc.edu/~ramador/images/ledger-joker3.jpg]


Besides....I see nothing wrong with an older Joker. After all, IIRC Batman's Rogues Gallery (with the exception of the Catwoman) were all portrayed as being older than Bruce.

 

I thought Sean Penn was an interesting early choice but I am fine with Ledger.

 

I don't think Penn could have pulled it off, given his apparent preference for solemn drama. He's not at Ridgemont High anymore...


EDIT--Speaking of Joker...you guys think that Nolan will delve into his history as the Red Hood?

 

No one thought that Ben Kingsley could play a bastage either and if you've ever seen Sexy Beast...

 

No joke, Kingsley set the record for the number of times the "C" word was used on film, in that movie.

 

Word.

(and apparently the word is c)

 

George McFly as The Joker. Oh yeah, great idea.



Christopher Nolan is taking this character in the opposite direction of what people presume, and in turn, expect it to be. I love that.

 

Crispin could easily do it, but I seriously doubt he would ever consider taking the part.

 

It sounds like they are going to use the origin of the Joker from the graphic novel The Killing Joke. I think that is a great idea since TKJ is a great story and would translate very well to film. It's very compatible with the theme of the new Batman movies.