HEATH LEDGER TALKS JOKER
by Daniel Robert Epstein

Daniel Robert Epstein recently got the chance to talk with Heath Ledger at a press roundtable for the movie Candy. While on the hot seat, he asked Ledger about his upcoming role of The Joker in The Dark Knight.



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.



Source: Newsarama.com

The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger Talks Joker
The Brokeback star plans to have the last laugh.
by Scott Collura
IGN.com


November 7, 2006 - Heath Ledger isn't very scary in person. In fact, he's a soft-spoken sort who at times seems almost intimidated by the gaggle of reporters who surround him at press events. Still, the Brokeback Mountain star is set to play the potentially very scary role of the Joker in the soon-to-be-shooting Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight. IGN caught up with Ledger earlier today in Manhattan, where he's promoting his new film Candy. And, of course, we lobbed the Joker questions at him like Batman would lob batarangs at his arch foe. For starters, the actor explained that he does not plan on taking inspiration from the Jack Nicholson version of the character from the original Batman film -- and neither is he anxious at the prospect of following in Nicholson's shoes.

"If he was drowning in a pool it would be [scary]," the actor cheekily says. "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."

Ledger says that even though The Dark Knight is in preproduction and has yet to see a finished script for the film, he does have a good idea of what his Joker will be like.

"You know, I want it to be a very sinister kind of thing," he says. "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. … I've been kind of trying to delay my commitment to the preparation process on that because I'm just trying to extend my holiday. I definitely have an image in my head and I definitely have something up my sleeve."

With the sequel set to start shooting in early 2007 (with a 2008 release date), Ledger confirms that the picture is next on his slate. He also adds that he has little experience with the world of comic books, and prefers to keep it that way, though he has been provided with one particular comic to help him prepare for the part: Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's seminal The Killing Joke.

"I think that's kind of helping me a little bit, the fact that I was never really a fan of [comics]," says the actor. "I didn't exactly despise comic books or comic book movies but I was never really one to read them that much. I never sought out the films too often but I would enjoy them if I sat down and watched them. So because of that I really feel that I'm not carrying as much pressure. … The Killing Joke is the one that was handed to me. It's really good. So I think [the film] is obviously going to be a bit [about] the beginning of the Joker. I guess [The Killing Joke] 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 kind of left that way."

The soon-to-be Clown Prince of Crime can't comment on any of the technical details of the film yet, as he doesn't know what his character will look like or how closely the film will hew to the Joker of the comic books in terms of visuals. But Ledger does say that he's already been introduced to the very thorough and detailed technical side of making a film like The Dark Knight.

"I did do a 3-D kind of image-scan kind of thing, but I don't know what they're doing with it or where they're taking it," he laughs. "I had this like Bat-truck turn up at my house. It was just this massive truck and inside it had all these gadgets and all these cameras that zoom around you up and down and instantly project a three-dimensional image of you. I've never used anything high-tech like that before in a film and I felt like I was in the back of the Knight Rider truck or something!"

As for the question of why he's playing a super-villain while most of his fellow Hollywood leading men are looking to play superheroes, Ledger explains that he has an edict fanboys have come to know as "no flights, no tights."

"It's just the tights and undies that I have a problem with, and the boots," he smiles. "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. And I feel like this is an opportunity for me to not take myself too seriously, and for some reason I just gravitated towards [the Joker] and I knew I had something to give to him. And I just instantly had an idea of how to do it."