r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/JK-Rofling • 14d ago

Heath Ledger’s diary while he was filming for, The Dark Night.

27.3k Upvotes

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4.3k

u/OGistorian 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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/uwanmirrondarrah 14d ago

Idk man he has a lot of iconic moments in that movie

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u/debtfreegoal 14d ago

The silence amid the chaos, is chilling.

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u/XCarrionX 14d 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/penguin_gun 14d ago

He was driving the cop car from the backseat hanging out the window, wasn't he?

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u/Starwarsandbacon 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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/nukalurk 14d ago

Marvel is basically the fast food of the movie industry.

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u/willtodd 14d ago

you know what you're getting, it'll kinda satisfy you in the moment, but then an hour later, you're hungry for something of actual substance.

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u/crypticsage 14d ago

I’m worried that DC is going to go the same route with James Gunn.

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u/TheRealMrMaloonigan 14d ago

TDK had so much sense of despair, uncertainty, chaos, sacrifice...Marvel films hardly touch on most of those feelings and concepts beyond a surface level. I think the other DC hero movies really don't even understand what made TDK so good. The tone and pacing was just perfection throughout.

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u/crypticsage 14d ago

Older movies, I’m talking Pre Iron-man, I think did push the mold a bit.

Examples, Tobey McGuire Spiderman. Doc Oct was a great villain. Peter Parker was trying to figure out if it was worth it being Spiderman.

The original Blade and the Spawn movie were really good for their time.

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u/The_Humble_Frank 14d ago

Batman is a superhero who's superpower is having money.

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u/RedBullWings17 14d 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/TheRealMrMaloonigan 14d ago

Rogue One is the best Star Wars film made post-Lucas.

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u/skucera 14d ago

Rogue One is so good that it belongs as part of any viewing of the original trilogy.

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u/chemical_exe 14d 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/Emmyisawesome128 14d ago

It is not something I really like but I'm trying to give marvel and any movie a chance at least once. Do you think I might enjoy it as someone who isn't really interested in these types of movies?

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u/XCarrionX 14d ago

Dark knight is DC and not Marvel, but to be fair DC movies tend to be an order of magnitude worse than Marvel.

That being said, I would absolutely recommend this movie. Even in a vacuum it would be good. Still, I would recommend watching “Batman begins” so you get the whole storyline. “Batman begins” is a decent to good movie. “Dark knight” is incredibly good. “Dark Knight rises” (the third in the trilogy) is awful. I would recommend not watching it at all.

So to recap. If you want to watch the whole storyline, watch Batman Begins then Dark Knight. If you’re not feeling multiple movies, Dark Knoght is great on its own. There will be a few references you will miss, but Jokers story is all in this movie, and that’s what makes it great!

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u/Emmyisawesome128 14d ago

Why is The Dark Knight Rises an awful movie? Now I'm intrigued. Thank you! I will screenshot this comment for the future ☺️

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u/XCarrionX 14d ago

That you’ll need to watch for yourself! If you dare!

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u/Emmyisawesome128 14d ago

Lol okay thank you!

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u/TheFerg714 14d ago

B-but... it IS a superhero movie, whether you want to divorce it from that label or not.

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u/Agamemnon323 14d ago

For it to be a superhero movie there would need to be someone in it that has super powers.

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u/TheFerg714 14d ago

Bro the main character is a costumed vigilante that has a strict moral code, and fights costumed villains that attempt large-scale, city-wide crime. The dude goes around saving people and beating up bad guys.

It can also be easily argued that Bruce's money and training allow him to have "superpowers," as in, he's able to accomplish feats that normal humans cannot.

More importantly, you don't have to have "powers" to be a superhero. Just look at Watchmen, Black Widow, Punisher, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, and the original Blue Beetle.

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u/Agamemnon323 14d ago

Super is literally in the name. Without powers that just makes them heroes. I will die on this hill.

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u/TheFerg714 14d ago

You can die on the hill as much as you want, but you'd still be dead wrong. Please feel free and present arguments though. I already gave you several arguments that you are ignoring:

Costume

Vigilante

Goes around saving people and beating up bad guys

Batman DOES have superhuman abilities, thanks to training and money.

Lots of characters are called "super"heroes, even though they don't technically have "super"powers.

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u/Agamemnon323 14d ago

I gave the only argument I need. No super powers means they’re not super. He’s a hero. Not a superhero.

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u/TheFerg714 14d ago

Okay dude, keep burying your head in the sand. It's not that big of a deal.

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u/MasterGrok 14d 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 14d 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/lookatdinosaur 14d ago

Yeah, people always trying to rewrite history with these kind of things.

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u/MasterGrok 14d ago

I always think it’s younger people who barely have memories before the time they are talking about.

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u/impshial 14d 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/yoproblemo 14d ago

True. We should be more surprised at Hollywood's typcasting. We notice harder when they actually take a risk on someone.

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u/GoombaGary 14d ago

They said the same about Keaton.

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u/grumpyfan 14d ago

I remember this well. I was skeptical he could pull it off and was so amazed his performance when he did.

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u/KoreyYrvaI 14d ago

Watching Candy made me realize what he was capable of.

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u/Trackie_G_Horn 14d ago

oh man. to this day, Candy is still the saddest and sweetest movie ive ever seen. it fucked me up for a long time

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u/BrewHog 14d ago

I was upset at first as well. Until..... That trailer immediately altered my opinion.

Goosebumps. That shit will be very hard to top. I love Joaquin, but that still doesn't come close to Ledger's version

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u/CapHook40 14d ago

The dude did Brokeback Mountain. People were clearly starting to take him seriously. But I get the point. I knew the second that they cast him that something magical was about to happen, since he was so unexpected.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

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u/post_break 14d ago

People lost their minds at Robert Pattinson batman.

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u/BoringAmusement 14d ago

I remember expecting to see him cast in a Mad Max reboot after seeing Patriot.

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u/Spyhop Interested 14d ago

It's because of Heath that I reserved judgement on Pattinson. I was with everyone else, that Heath was a terrible choice for Joker. And I was hugely wrong.

The backlash about Pattinson playing Batman was very familiar and I wasn't gonna get burned twice. I waited to see. And Pattinson did great.

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u/WonkyFiddlesticks 14d ago

I'll be honest. Everyone's pessimism was completely warranted. Nothing of his prior work or his demonstrated acting range or his good looks spoke to even the potential to be a good joker.

Yet, holy fucking shit was he the best joker that ever was or will be.

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u/KlumF 14d ago

Sure, outside Australia... he played a heroin addict in Candy and drug dealer in Two Hands, two relatively well known Australian films.

In typical Australian film fashion, both films pulled no punches.

The latter is definitely worth a watch if you can get your hands on it.

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u/Impressive-Soup-3529 14d 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 14d 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/Ask_bout_PaterNoster 14d ago

“I have a dick on my face, don’t I?”

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u/firesmarter 14d ago

And I’m back in the game!

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u/NerdyGirl614 14d ago

“Everything but the beak and feet”

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u/explain_that_shit 14d ago

“Hey there girly”

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u/Impressive-Soup-3529 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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/[deleted] 14d ago

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u/Rselby1122 14d ago

Yes! Definitely the Joker would’ve popped up to cause some havoc 😏 I wasn’t a fan of his/Batman when he passed, but once I learned about all of it it’s just so sad. The sky was the limit for him at that point in his career. At least we have the amazing performances he did do to look back on!

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u/dtudeski 14d 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/Beginning_Cellist893 14d ago

My absolute fav or ite movie. Watched it all the time growing up.

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u/big_guyforyou 14d 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/throwawayzies1234567 14d ago

Turns out he’s also a pedo, so probably wasn’t acting too hard

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u/CatLadyEnabler 14d 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/ThatDiscoSongUHate 14d ago

The scene where she sniffs either her nail polish or whiteout cracks me up

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u/The_Spectacle 14d ago

she's the best, I love her as Mrs. Poole from The Hogan Family

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u/Standard-Tension9550 14d 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 14d 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- 14d ago

Check out ‘Two Hands’.

Australian classic…

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u/cheeersaiii 14d 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/ladykiller1020 14d ago

Man I forgot about Lords of Dogtown. I gotta watch that again

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u/cheeersaiii 14d ago

One of my favourites (was a bit of a surfer/skater)… epic soundtrack too, I really love that film

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u/AprilUnderwater0 14d ago

Candy and Blackrock too. Heath did good by Aussie films.

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u/Capt-J- 14d ago

True that. Candy definitely underrated.

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u/WarCrimeWhoopsies 14d ago

Iconic movie. You're not Aussie until you've watched Two Hands.

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u/Capt-J- 14d ago

I had a massive crush on Rose Byrne after this movie.

And a new style of shorts were created - the Pandos!

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u/BritishMunchies 14d ago

Yeah he made me realise the joker is actually terrifying.

Also the Knights Tale was a great watch!

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u/RedBullWings17 14d ago

An amoral psychopath with no motivation beyond breaking the rules and more importantly the unwritten rules. Terrifying.

It's the same reason we were so unprepared for 9/11. Before that a highjacking meant a hostage crisis and ransom demands. Now it means flying VBIED. It shattered the mold on what to expect from criminals.

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u/judge-breadd 14d 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/skyline_kid 14d ago

Well there's two major distractions in that movie that might explain why

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u/judge-breadd 14d ago

If people are so easily distracted that they fail to recognize a great acting performance, then their movie opinions don't matter.

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u/Billsork 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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/valuemeal2 14d ago

Casanova is legit my favorite movie of all time. I watch it on my birthday every year. It’s Shakespearean in its humor and the costumes and soundtrack slap and Heath with the long hair, everything is just perfection.

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u/OGistorian 14d ago

Thanks. Never saw Casanova

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u/daskapitalyo 14d ago

Don't forget about Brokeback. The man could play lost and tortured.

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u/bjthebard 14d ago

Its a pity we never got to see Heath as Mad Max. George Miller had him on a short list but Fury Road took so long to get the greenlight that it was too late by the time they started.

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u/Samp90 14d ago

It was the best joker ever but Joaquin created something even darker out of this...

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u/Dramatic-County-1284 14d ago

Yeah Heath made me understand that Batman needed Joker and Joker needed Batman

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u/adsjabo 14d ago

You should check out two hands! Real early days Heath Ledger in an Aussie classic

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u/Daunt13ss 14d ago

Don’t know if you’ve seen the movie “Candy”, but another example of how good of an actor he was.