Ledger on the Joker: I Wouldn't Have Thought of Me Either
Filed under: Action, Casting, Fandom, Scripts, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
When the news first broke on the casting of Heath Ledger as the Clown Price of Crime in Nolan's upcoming The Dark Knight (sequel to Batman Begins, if you haven't heard), we all said something of a collective "whaaa?" He took a beating early in the geek circles, but after withholding my opinion for a few days while I thought it over, I ended up suggesting cautious optimism. After another few weeks, I've decided I want to go on record now with my final prediction: I agree with Christian Bale -- Heath Ledger will be a great Joker. Ledger has started talking about the role recently, and here is his general opinion about the casting choice: "I wouldn't have thought of me, either. But it's obviously not going to be what Jack Nicholson did. It's going to be more nuanced and dark and more along the lines of a Clockwork Orange kind of feel." Ledger also said "It's definitely going to stump people. I think it'll be more along the lines of how the Joker was meant to be in the comics, darker and more sinister."I'm not sure how I feel about the meeting of the Caped Crusader and Clockwork Orange, but I do like what Ledger is saying. It'd be impossible to out-Nicholson Jack Nicholson himself, so admitting up front you are going for a different style is a wise move. Now I know when you think Heath Ledger you don't instantly think "dark and sinister," but I'm going out on a limb here -- I expect him to own this role.
You can commence your disagreeing ... now.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-14-2006 @ 10:39PM
Trista said...
I don't disagree at all! I, too, had a vague sense of surprise when I found out, but I really think he is going to be incredible. I think we are in for the scariest Joker yet; one who will give us shivers. The bad kind.
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9-09-2006 @ 3:27PM
Michael said...
Disagree ... Not at all! Heath Ledger is a great young talent will all the acting chops necessary to pull of a "nuanced" and sinister Joker. I've been waiting for my vision of a dark and deranged Joker to come to the screen. That's how I see Joker, and that's how I think Joker was intended to be.
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9-09-2006 @ 3:30PM
SJ said...
Ledger is a great actor, but I don't know if he has the Joker 'look'. Joker is often portrayed in the comics as a tall and thin freak with a pointed face. Ledger looks too 'normal', but then he may lose weight and makeup can do wonders.
As long as his portrayal is based on the Joker in animated series, I'm ok with that. That Joker was hilarious and scary at the same time. Mark Hamill's voice acting was really astonishing.
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9-09-2006 @ 5:23PM
Mr. Gori said...
MMM.... no disagreement, as a matter of fact no opinion... yet. I am a fan of Batman, and I will be the first one to tell you the Joker is not the easiest character to bring to the screen. I wish Heath Leadger luck, because he needs it. But until I have seen the movie, I'd rather just stay quiet.
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9-09-2006 @ 10:25PM
Beeslo said...
I dig his Clockwork Orange angle. If anything, that pumps me up more. This means he is likely to bring a sadistic edge to the joker that was seen in the "Killing Joke." He will be sick, he will laugh and we will not...just how it should be. I am really looking to see how this one turns out!
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9-10-2006 @ 3:59AM
Chad said...
I dont disagree with you, but what i'm kinda concern with is how he's gonna pull of this role. Most people when they hear about The Joker, they then to put a general face and voice to him and Heath is gonna have to really pull this off to present a newer darker Joker to the Public. I think that He'll pull it off better than anyone could have predicted. He has great actors and one of the best directors around him, so there so be no excuse that this movie is gonna be anything less than spectacular.
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9-10-2006 @ 11:15AM
tarzan said...
as a fan of the batman series,i think that where they went with batman begins was briliant.the franchise was alright,but it needed to go more to the comic than to the television series.till begins came out i thought that they had made too much of a comedy,out of the movies.great performances,but not true to the comic.if ledger gets into this and plays it right,it will solidify the batman movies as clasics.but that is a little premature.rock on.semper-fi!
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9-12-2006 @ 2:28AM
Tim said...
I totally agree Mark. I started out as cautious optimism as well, but the more I think about it, the more I think it is truly great casting.
Afterall, I've always though Ledger's smile was a bit sinister anyway.
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9-11-2006 @ 3:36PM
Red Hood said...
Look at Ledger in Lords of Dogtown -- his performance as stoner surf shop owner Skip had the right amount of lanky meanness to make me forget Brokeback Mountain and embrace him as the new Joker. Check it out and see that he does indeed have the range and chops to pull this off correctly.
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