 Heath Ledger plays the Joker, who the actor described as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". Before Ledger was confirmed as the Joker in July 2006, actors Paul Bettany, Lachy Hulme, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, and Robin Williams had publicly expressed interest in the role. Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past, but had been unable to do so. Ledger expressed heavy interest in the role, and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation of the character. The Joker marks Ledger's first villainous role. To prepare, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice and psychology. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson's take on the character in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance, and he also looked at the books Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious. Ultimately, "there’s nothing that [is] consistent", as his main objective was to frighten the audience. Playing the role put a strain on the actor's sleeping patterns.
 
Wizard Magazine: Word is we see the Joker's sidekick and girlfriend Harley Quinn make an appearance in the film. Or is that just all a rumor? That's all, folks...  |
