A German documentary about the life of Heath Ledger has given a fascinating insight into how he created his legendary and terrifying version of the Joker for ‘The Dark Knight’.
And a clip from the movie gives a glimpse at the diary he kept while he created the character in a private hotel room, which is a haunting reminder of the late Ledger’s incredible commitment to the role.
The scene from the film ‘Too Young To Die’, shows Heath’s father Kim Ledger leafing through the diary and explaining how his son’s method acting approach was typical of him.
He said:
He pretty well locked himself up in a hotel, in his apartment, for a month or so, to sort of galvanize the upcoming character in his own mind. That was typical of Heath on any movie. He would certainly immerse himself in the upcoming character. I think this was just a whole new level.
The flashes we get from the diary itself, meanwhile, give fans their best insight yet into what was going through the mind of Ledger during filming for the Dark Knight.
From the cover to its contents, the diary encapsulates the spirit of Ledger’s Joker. The disarmingly childlike front cover, leads to pages packed with images of playing cards, scenes from Batman comics, photos of hyenas, and stills of Alex DeLearge in ‘A Clockwork Orange’.
The word “CHAOS” can also be seen, written in capitals and highlighted in green, while the diary chillingly ends with the words “BYE BYE” scrawled over a page of text – a message which is difficult not to read more into given Ledger’s tragic end.
Ledger died in January 2008 at the age of 28. The following year, he was awarded a posthumous Oscar for his role as the Joker, and the award can be seen in the background of the clip as his dad flicks through the diary.
Besides being an interesting behind-the-scenes look at Ledger’s most beloved role, it’s also a reminder that Jared Leto has some very big clown shoes to fill when he takes on the role of the infamous villain in Suicide Squad next year.
