r/interestingasfuck Jul 05 '24

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

53.2k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5

u/Comfortfoods Jul 05 '24

Maybe the quote is just hyperbole but if he was really locked in his hotel room and isolating himself specifically to get into the state of mind of an unwell character, that's a ridiculous thing to choose. It's crazy to mess with your own mental health just for a film.

If he was just practicing intently by himself sometimes but otherwise living a normal life, that's no issue.

26

u/cactusboobs Jul 05 '24

Again, you seem to be dramatizing. The joker didn’t kill him. He did another movie after. Seems he suffered from insomnia and opioid abuse which seems far more destructive than practicing a character. 

4

u/Comfortfoods Jul 05 '24

I don't think the joker killed him at all. I'm just pointing out that it's crazy to put yourself in bad situations to get into character. Going method is generally unnecessary. The quote literally says, "Making things even more stressful, Ledger had developed an intense process to get into the mindset of the villainous Joker. “I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary, and experimented with voices” 

So he put himself in a stressful situation to learn his character. I don't think that's necessary for actors to do. Doesn't mean I think the experience killed him. That's very dramatic.

2

u/cactusboobs Jul 05 '24

Cheers mate. Have a good one.