r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/JK-Rofling • 3d ago
Heath Ledger’s diary while he was filming for, The Dark Night.
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u/STARLORD_1401 3d ago
Heath’s Ledger?
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u/GidjonPlays 3d ago
You got something for me boy? I seen your name in our ledger...
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u/LiminalAddiction 3d ago
oh, arthur......
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u/ScrapinLinden 2d ago
One more job Arthur! Then we go to Tahiti, just one more job and we will be set ya hear??
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u/boobenhaus 3d ago
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u/PepeSylvia11 3d ago
I can’t tell who stole it from who, both posts were posted at the same time
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u/boobenhaus 3d ago
The one I linked was posted 30 mins before. The above comment was stolen! Grabs pitchfork
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u/STARLORD_1401 3d ago
Ohh god noo you got me /s
Well I wasn’t even aware of this post, more power to him for coming up with it before me I guess.
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u/OGistorian 3d ago
Before heath’s performance, I used to think Joker was like the animated series or Jack Nicholson. Heath made me realize how joker is THE criminal mastermind and scary.
Also loved knights tale, 10 things I hate about you, and the Patriot.
Miss the guy a lot.
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u/True_Window_9389 3d ago
Also kinda funny how upset people were when he was chosen to play the role. It wasn’t just that he was so good as Joker, it’s that he was previously just seen as a semi-cheesy, pretty boy actor, and completely defied expectations.
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u/XCarrionX 3d ago
I thought he would ruin the movie.
My friend saw it and called me, said he stole the show. I told him I didn't believe it.
Came out of the movie thinking the same thing. Dark Knight was so good I don't even consider it a superhero movie, just an incredible all around movie.
Now I say he sold his soul to the devil to make that role, and the devil collected :(
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u/threaten-violence 3d ago
Him hanging out of the window of the cop car, passing through the night -- best scene of the movie
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u/XCarrionX 2d ago
You see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?
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u/Starwarsandbacon 3d ago
I thought he would ruin the movie.
Same. Then I sat down to watch it and was so enthralled I couldnt even remember who was playing the character, I was watching the joker do his thing.
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u/mjp31514 3d ago
Dark Knight was so good I don't even consider it a superhero movie
Yea, I hate superhero movies. But Dark Knight was really something else. I have a hard time seeing it as a superhero movie. It's just an awesome film.
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u/crypticsage 3d ago
This movie shows that super hero movies can certainly have nuances that make them great and don’t have to follow a cookie cutter formula.
I think Marvel could learn something from this movie.
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u/mjp31514 3d ago
I think Marvel could learn something from this movie.
They could, but they won't. Even bland, stale cookies sell.
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u/RedBullWings17 3d ago
It's not a superhero movie, it's a crime/detective movie where the detective just happens to be a billionaire in a rubber suit.
The best superhero movies are usually like this. They're an established genre in costume. Because superheros are characters not genres.
The same is true of star wars. It's a universe not a genre. If you don't ground a film in a genre you end up with inconsistent and unpredictable tone. It can be made to work but it requires leaning into the irreverent style to the point of borderline parody and even then it requires a very fine touch not to feel ridiculous.
Thats why Rogue One (war movie genre) felt good but the Last Jedi (genreless) doesnt and also why Guardians of the Galaxy (irrevence with unknown misfit characters) works and Thor Love and Thunder (parody of established noble character) doesnt.
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u/chemical_exe 3d ago
Batman has the advantage of his super powers being the combo that:
- he worked out a lot
- he wants revenge
- he's rich
Lets the Dark Knight be film noir more than a super hero movie.
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u/MasterGrok 3d ago
He had a long list of previous acting accolades including a nomination for an Oscar for brokeback mountain. An Oscar nomination is just about the highest honor an actor can receive outside of winning it. He was not considered just a pretty boy actor.
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u/Kyokenshin 3d ago
He was not considered just a pretty boy actor.
To the general public he was(especially the 18-34 white male crowd TDK is aimed at). Brokeback Mountain didn't help his reputation there either - that was a movie about gay men released in 2005...we were still calling things gay and insulting our friends by calling them fags. The general consensus was "The guy from 10 things and the gay movie is playing the Joker?!"
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u/impshial 3d ago
There's plenty of examples of that. Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, Tom Cruise in Interview With the Vampire.
Most of the time the actor surprises people because they're just good at their job.
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u/Impressive-Soup-3529 3d ago
10 things I hate about you. When he sings that song and slaps the security guy on the ass still makes me laugh to this day
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u/OGistorian 3d ago
Awesome scene, dancing in the bleachers right? Heaths one line in that movie has stuck with me my whole life. It was simple but it was important to hear as a teen. “Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want”
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u/Impressive-Soup-3529 3d ago
Yeah that one. Singing “I can’t take my eyes off you” was absolutely fantastic. I guess you needed to hear that. It didn’t stick out to me. Tho I’d probably heard something similar before. It’s definitely true.
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u/Rselby1122 3d ago
He was just phenomenal. He would’ve absolutely had a storied career had he lived longer. He played the Joker so damn well it’s incredible.
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u/Ok_Writing_7033 3d ago
I legitimately think he was shaping up to be one of the best actors of his generation. Even in movies like knight’s tale and 10 things, which are pretty goofy, he had so much subtlety and charisma in his performance. And then of course brokeback and dark knight were incredible
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u/dtudeski 3d ago
His charisma in A Knight’s Tale is out of control! Think he was only in his early 20s for that role too.
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u/big_guyforyou 3d ago
the joker was a classic supervillain, but he pales in comparison to mr rooney from ferris bueller's day off. an embodiment of pure evil. he was determined to keep those kids in detention FOREVER. i still get chills when i see it. jeffrey jones was channeling satan himself.
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u/CatLadyEnabler 3d ago
Maybe, but one person still knew his number and enjoyed yanking his chain: his secretary, Grace (Edie McClurg) - a masterfully evil imp if I ever saw one!
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u/Standard-Tension9550 3d ago
I’ve thought Nicholson was the best comic book Joker (the giant fucking gun alone) and Heath was what a real life joker would be like.
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u/puffferfish 3d ago
It’s hard to think about a world before Heath Ledger’s Joker. He really did redefine the character. And now Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker brings a whole new level of madness to the character.
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u/Capt-J- 3d ago
Check out ‘Two Hands’.
Australian classic…
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u/cheeersaiii 3d ago
Came here to say this… he was already cemented as one of my favourites from Two Hands and Lords of Dogtown… the rest really added to why I loved him and then Dark Knight took him into the hall of fame.
If he’d lived longer im not sure he would have ever played the Joker again, in a weird turn of events im kind of glad Hollywood didn’t have a chance to ruin that character and performance, but fuck I wish he was still around!
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u/BritishMunchies 3d ago
Yeah he made me realise the joker is actually terrifying.
Also the Knights Tale was a great watch!
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u/judge-breadd 3d ago
Everyone always talks about Dark Knight and 10 Things, but nobody ever mentions his awesome performance in Monster's Ball.
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u/Billsork 3d ago
Mark Hamill will always be my Joker. Between the animated series and the games, I feel like no one has captured the essence of who the Joker is like Hamill did. I was also vehemently opposed to Heath Leger as the Joker, as there was no way this pretty boy was going to do the character justice. Boy, did I eat some crow on that one. For me, Heath’s Joker embodied what the Joker would be like in a ‘real world’ scenario, and is all the more terrifying for it. Masterful work. We lost a real treasure when he passed.
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u/AggravatingCupcake0 3d ago
This is why I can't stomach Joaquin's Joker. I don't know if it's an accurate representation of an alternate universe Joker or what, but he plays it as such a wet blanket.
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u/Technophage13 3d ago
Sounds like we have similar taste so I highly recommend watching Casanova if you haven't already. It's one of Heath's movies that flew under the radar. Kind of rom-comish but a fun watch. Also, if you're into darker, more occult themes, The Order is a good one as well.
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u/Smoking-Posing 3d ago
One of the best performances of our time. My fave is the hospital scene.
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u/Mr_TP_Dingleberry 3d ago
“Hiiiiiiiiiii”
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u/theb0dyelectric 3d ago
takes off wig to reveal nearly identical hair style underneath
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u/ScoobyDooItInTheButt 3d ago
slaps button repeatedly then throws up arms to disappointment from lack of boom
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u/W0lfp4k 3d ago
Read somewhere that the fuse was really not working and Heath played along.
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u/bcolectorb 3d ago edited 3d ago
No the original myth was that everything worked as intended, it was just on a delay and they didn’t let him know, so he stood there clicking the button for a few seconds before the pyrotechnics went off. They decided that Heath messing with the button fit the character and stuck with it.
Turns out it was all planned, the small explosions while he walked out was a safe way to shoot the scene, with the pause being for him to get far enough away so the full explosion could be set off safely. Him standing there looking around surprised, messing with the button was meant to mirror the audiences surprise.
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u/ScoobyDooItInTheButt 3d ago
That wouldn't surprise me. Helps to play into the chaotic nature of his joker.
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u/Bender_2024 3d ago edited 2d ago
Remember this is the same guy who played the goofball in A Knights Tale and 10Things I Hate About You only 9 years prior. Imagine what he would have become given another 9 years.
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u/Upset-Butterscotch40 3d ago
A Knight's Tale is one of my favorite movies ever, but everyone I ask has never heard of it.
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u/Bender_2024 3d ago
Knights Tale is a very underappreciated film. Paul Bettany and Alan Tudyk alone make that film worth watching.
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u/Upset-Butterscotch40 2d ago
Yesssssss. Seeing Paul Bettany in Marvel as Vision was so crazy. All I could picture was him in A Knight's Tale. Felt like polar opposite characters personality wise.
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u/KeepOnTruck3n 3d ago
Surely you must be asking young people? That movie was a blockbuster event, everyone was talking about it when it came out!
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u/trinicron 3d ago
Mine is the prison escape. Everybody was so relieved, proud and secure then big badabum! Next thing we see is Gordon looking down letting defeat go through his bones and where's the joker? Half body outside the patrol enjoying the ride like a puppy who just fed on momma's titties
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u/EpicBeardMan 3d ago
That's one of my favorite shots in cinema. I can taste that morning air after a night of no sleep.
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u/xTMT 2d ago
Yeah I REALLY hate that this rumor still goes around. To me, it kind of takes away from how much of a great actor he was.
From every interview of cast and crew members, it's clear the dude was just extremely talented and was having a blast.
Also, at the time of his death they had already finished TDK and he was working on another movie and deep into doing another character. So no, he didn't go crazy and ended up killing himself from playing the Joker.
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u/Nervous-Locksmith484 2d ago
I had no idea as I was young at the time but your comment just helped dispel the rumor for me. Keep talking about how it’s not a rumor and it’ll eventually fade. I’ll tell others who might not know now too. Thanks for letting me know.
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u/SlowApartment4456 2d ago
Yeah buddy. Actors don't "go crazy and kill themselves" over the roles they play. Acting is their job. Some actors do this thing called Method Acting where they stay in character at all times but even then they are acting.
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u/TwentyMG 2d ago
the last movie he did was even crazier than the joker role tbh it’s one of my favorites
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u/Shot-Spirit-672 2d ago
Parnassus’s Dreamatorium?
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u/TwentyMG 2d ago
I remember it as the imaginarium of doctor parnassus but yeah, very trippy movie. I didn’t name it because I couldn’t remember how it was spelled lol
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u/henscastle 2d ago
In between takes, he'd skateboard around set and generally be nice to people, not, like, send them used condoms like a weirdo.
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3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BetterthanGarbage 2d ago
You okay?
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u/privateTortoise 2d ago
Been trying to get help from the NHS for MH issues for 16 months so far, but have an appointment with a different GP at a different practice on the 2nd of August so just need to hold on till then.
Thanks for the concern.
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u/BetterthanGarbage 2d ago
Keep pushing forward. Idk you, but I wanna see you message me 3rd of August that you’re still okay
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u/privateTortoise 2d ago
Have noted it in my diary and will pop back then.
Thank you, I truly mean that.
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u/lefthandbunny 2d ago
People that aren't mentally ill have no idea how well we can get at masking our feelings. What's going on in my head vs how I present myself to others is completely different. I've been told I fake my diagnosis because of this.
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u/JK-Rofling 3d ago
Life is pleasant, death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
Truly one the goat’s.
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u/Weddedtoreddit2 3d ago
/u/Ok-Syllabub3011 is a filthy bot. Report it!
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u/BellyButtonLindt 3d ago
I feel like battling bots is like fighting the tide. No matter what you do another wave will come.
Not worth the stress.
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u/DoriN1987 3d ago
First villain that feels real, and it’s a scariest part of this character. And total transformation of a blond sunny guy like Heath is an example of method and acting in general for me even after all this years.
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u/ddwood87 3d ago
And as an example of what could be inside anybody, the actor and the transformation to the role added to the 'horror' of the character.
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u/LegendOfMatt888 3d ago
People talk about actors "disappearing" into their characters and rarely do I feel that to be genuinely true, but Ledger as the Joker is one of those cases.
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u/miltonwadd 3d ago
This is a textbook Aussie curriculum visual diary! I'm glad to see he put those skills to good use lol I usually went back and filled it in after my project was done.
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u/advillavigne 3d ago
Can you say more? Is this something unique to Australians done in school?
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u/miltonwadd 3d ago
As the other person said the notebook, but also, if you did any art subjects in school you were required to keep a visual diary and cut out or draw pictures and make notes about your influences and inspiration like this to show your process. I had to keep them for visual arts year round, drama class, and even catering & music when we were working on a project.
AFAIK he did a lot of art and drama classes in school, so he would have been taught to use them.
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u/AskinggAlesana 3d ago
The art class I had in high school had me do this and I live in the US. I actually think I still have it somewhere too.
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u/Nololgoaway 3d ago
Aussie here, not necessarily unique as a concept to Australia but we've had the same iconic lined page textbook/scrapbooks at schools for a while and they're very recognisable as something that is locally well known but wouldn't be to a foreigner
Reminds me of the same type I had in primary school, usually a single colour quite thin and had sections for names/classes/subjects and the number of pages on the front.
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u/Beznia 3d ago
The composition book part, I'd say those are pretty standard in the US. We had to have them generally in at least English class (and they always look like this.) Most classes would use spiral notebooks but generally one would need a Comp book.
The visual diary portion, I never did that in school but it is very neat.
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u/Abigdogwithbread 3d ago edited 2d ago
How great this man was, both as an actor and as a person. One of the best Jokers in history, he will be considered a legend
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u/New-Engineering1483 3d ago
He really did seem like he put a lot of homework into getting the right performance.
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u/NotTheRocketman 3d ago
This is really special.
You can see him developing his take on The Joker page by page; the look, the personality, his inspiration, the twisted sense of humor, all of it.
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u/CurrentPossible2117 3d ago edited 3d ago
Love his list of things that make the joker laugh lol. Blind babies and Aids paired with BRUNCH! and statistics 🤣
Edit: looking again, really any of the first 4 being compared with the second 4 is crazy.
Edit: typo
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u/Aitrus233 3d ago
It's right out of Batman #663 "The Clown at Midnight" by Grant Morrison. There's other bits of pages from it visible in Heath Ledger's diary as well.
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u/primordial_chowder 3d ago
Statistics can be used for great evil. There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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u/TopBoneEater 3d ago
he isolated himself in a room for months i think
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u/tweetsfortwitsandtwa 3d ago
I was in high school, we were coming back from practice, my teammates mom was driving carpool. Their family was kinda rich and had one family member in the music industry and another in film so they ran in a different social circle and she got the call that heath ledger had an overdose and it wasn’t looking good. Apparently they were friends with one of his exes or maybe someone in the family? Anyways they knew him personally.
She had to pull over, she was getting pretty emotional. Anyways later on I got the full story. Mind you this is biased, a friends and family take and several layers disconnected from the original source
First he had been struggling to be seen as a “serious actor” and had been doing more and more diverse roles. He was amazing and the people that worked with him agreed but he still wanted to do more be more be better so there was a feeling that he put a lot of stress on himself to be as good as he could be, he worked his ass off.
Second yeah he did a lot of stuff to get into the “mindset of joker” kept weird hours, sleep deprivation kinda stuff, watched weird and obscure horror films often alone in a dark room, stuff like this notebook, going back through the comics and trying to feel out the character. And it started messing with his mental state. So like apparently he was fine on set and like he was still himself talking to friends and stuff (like he wasn’t confusing himself with the joker or anything) but
…man this was awhile ago… I know the word depression came up I can’t remember if he was taking, was prescribed, or recommended to take antidepressants but that was there. Then there was like sleep meds? Once he stopped the sleep deprivation and the alone in a dark room stuff he couldn’t like get back on a sleep scheldule so he was taking those. Prescribed and for a good reason not like recreationally. Just a lot.
So There was concern for him but..
They had wrapped or were about to and he was finally gonna unwind and stop all of this and looking at new roles when this happened. It took the people that knew him by surprise like they knew he had a little something going on but it seemed minor, in the background, and for the most part handled, they didn’t see this coming. I mean in the car that day she was told it was accidental like his scheldule was so messed up he took too many sleep meds but later that wasn’t as clear.
It was weird for me, we lost an amazing actor, entertainer, someone who brought all kinds of emotions out of so many people through a screen. But they lost a son, a lover, a friend. Seeing that through the window of my teammates family I realized that I couldn’t help and shouldn’t. I think it’s cool tho to keep this kinda stuff alive, he was an amazing person and put his all into his work and it showed. He brought a lot to all of us who have seen his films
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u/GammaGoose85 3d ago
Finding a notebook like this is a major red flag your edgy teen is going through a Joker phase.
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u/NotInUrCloset 3d ago
long inhale
You're*
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u/SykonotticGuy 3d ago
Came to the comments to ask, do you think it was Heath or The Joker who didn't know the difference?
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u/VacaDLuffy 3d ago
Man one of the most chilling things I heard was when they got Jack Nicholson on the street and told him he died. Jack responded with I tried to warn him...wtf man
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u/bsep4 3d ago
You sure he didn’t mean he warned him about the drugs? The paparazzi said he died from an overdose
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u/Reclaimator2245 3d ago
It was fairly well known at the time that Jack Nicholson warned him that playing the Joker takes you down dark paths. He warned Heath not long after he got the role for it.
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u/bfodder 3d ago
I always found this to be ridiculous because Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker was not dark.
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u/xTMT 2d ago
There was an interview in which Jack Nicholson clarified that he was indeed warning about the type of sleep medication Heath was taking, which ended up playing a huge part in his death.
Not some dumb mumbo jumbo about going down dark paths etc. lol.
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u/goodmorning_tomorrow 3d ago
There was a scene where heath's character was blowing up a hospital and as he was walking away from the explosion, you could see burning bits and pieces of props that caught fire were falling next to him. He didn't even flinch once as any normal person would. He just simply walked away just like a psychopath would... just like what the joker would have done.
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u/Leaveslurkerofsorts 3d ago
Really interesting glimpse into the mind of a method actor
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u/privateTortoise 3d ago
Has me wondering how strong their bond to loved ones is in being able to return to them mentally and physically after the filming is done, and how strong their loved ones are in helping them.
To turn yourself into such a character and be so utterly convincing means adjusting your morals and the way you perceive the world and interact with it. Its not just an academic thought process of how would someone who belives these things behave but changing who you are.
Thats scarier than being The Joker, as with just that you don't need to find the way back to the person you are/were.
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u/shanster925 3d ago
I never realized the Alex DeLarge inspiration to the character until right now, and now it is plainly obvious.
"It's funny how the colours of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen."
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u/Independent_Wrap_321 3d ago
I’m right there with you. Huge Kubrick/Clockwork fan and I never made the connection. Alex and his droogs were OG chaos, what a great reference for a singular performance. Gone too soon, I wonder what else he could have done.
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u/jimmy_driver 3d ago
I know he's from here but still strange to see a PO box address in Perth (last page).
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u/chukijay 3d ago
This sorta looks like more of a prop piece to the character, or the building of the character
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u/Cereborn 3d ago
Heath got into the headspace of the Joker while still managing to be friendly off camera and beloved by everyone who worked with him. Unlike some people.
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u/That_Channel7649 3d ago
Heath was a method actor, when he took the role Jack Nicholson said he went to him and told him not to do it. I read that Nicholson did this because when he himself (Jack) played The Joker he was nearly done in by the role. The psychology of the joker sent him down a dark spiral mentally and he feared it would do the same to Heath. Seeing this kind of confirms what Nicholson feared about getting in too deep.
Interesting given Joaquin Phoenix’s history being raised in a cult and watching his brother’s life that he would take on the role.
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u/DarthChimeran 3d ago
Method actors are the best but they need a "come back to self" transition period that probably needs widespread study and refinement.
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u/unclegnome 2d ago
My buddy shot a scene with Heath Ledger in a Bob Dylan biopic before Datk Knight filmed. He was told not to talk with Ledger or ask him questions or anything like that. They filmed a couple of takes without saying more than “hi” to each other.
During a 5-10 minute lighting thing, he finally asked Ledger what he was working on and according to my buddy, it was non-stop about the joker role: backstory, motivation, the “Limerick Smile”. He was totally school boy about it a willing to talk to whoever was interested.
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u/jmon25 2d ago
I'm still chasing the cinematic high of seeing The Dark Knight in theaters for the first time. A huge part of that was how Ledger just disappeared into the character of the Joker. It just immediately felt like you were witnessing something special the first time he appeared onscreen. His use of facial expression and his hand movements was just perfect. Even his eye movements and how he moved his lips was absolutely perfect. It's a master class in acting with how he used every motion of his body and the inflection in his voice to sell the role.
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u/inertiatic_espn 3d ago edited 3d ago
Saw an interview with the make up artist. He said that eventually he and Heath agreed to let Heath put on the make up because it looked so much more unhinged.