The Joker ( the Dark Knight ) - wikipedia The Joker ( the Dark Knight ) The Joker The Dark Knight character Heath Ledger as the Joker First appearance The Dark Knight ( 2008 ) Created by Christopher Nolan David S. Goyer Portrayed by Heath Ledger The Joker is a fictional supervillain from American comic book publisher DC Comics and the main antagonist in Christopher Nolan 's 2008 superhero film The Dark Knight. He was portrayed by late Australian actor Heath Ledger. Ledger 's interpretation of the character is specifically influenced by the graphic novels Batman : The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum : A Serious House on Serious Earth. In the film, he wears the character 's traditional color palette, while his facial appearance includes clown makeup that covers facial scars of a Glasgow smile. The film 's interpretation of the Joker embodies themes of chaos, anarchy and obsession : Throughout the film, the character expresses a desire to upset social order through crime, and defines himself by his conflict with Batman. The character also explores techniques found in Ledger 's previous performances, including his clown act in Terry Gilliam 's fantasy film The Brothers Grimm. Further, it references paintings by artist Francis Bacon, Anthony Burgess ' novel A Clockwork Orange and various punk rock musicians. The Joker is considered Ledger 's finest performance ; he himself regarded it as his most enjoyable. When the film was released in July 2008, six months after the actor had died from an accidental prescription drug overdose, the performance caused a sensation and received universal acclaim and numerous posthumous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Contents 1 Fictional character biography 1.1 The Dark Knight 2 Background 3 Performance 3.1 Description 3.2 Development 3.3 Execution 3.3. 1 Effects of Heath Ledger 's death 4 Reception and legacy 4.1 Announcement and early response 4.2 Critical reception 5 See also 6 References Fictional character biography The Dark Knight Main article : The Dark Knight ( film ) The Joker appears in The Dark Knight ( 2008 ). In the film 's first scene, he and five accomplices, all wearing clown masks, rob a mob - owned bank. He tricks four of them into killing each other, then kills the last one himself and escapes with the money. Interrupting a videoconference between mob leaders Sal Maroni ( Eric Roberts ), the Chechen ( Ritchie Coster ) and Gambol ( Michael Jai White ) with their accountant Lau ( Chin Han ), he offers to kill Batman for half of the mob 's money. Gambol refuses the offer and puts a bounty on the `` clown ''. Later, the Joker kills Gambol and takes over his gang. After learning that Batman ( Christian Bale ) has retrieved Lau, Maroni and the Chechen accept the Joker 's offer. The Joker announces that people will die each day until Batman reveals his true identity, and makes good on his threat by murdering Gotham Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb ( Colin McFarlane ) and mob trial Judge Janet Surillo ( Nydia Rodriguez Terracina ). When Gotham 's district attorney, Harvey Dent ( Aaron Eckhart ), attempts to draw him out by identifying himself as Batman, the Joker tries to kidnap him, only to be arrested. Batman interrogates him after Dent goes missing. The Joker also reveals that Dent 's girlfriend ( and Bruce Wayne 's childhood sweetheart ) Rachel Dawes ( Maggie Gyllenhaal ) has also gone missing and reveals their separate locations, both rigged up to time bombs. Switching their whereabouts, the Joker tricks Batman into saving Dent, who is disfigured in the explosion, while Rachel is killed. The Joker then escapes the police station with Lau, who had previously fled to Hong Kong only to be captured by Batman. The Joker kills Lau and the Chechen, burns his half of the mob 's money, and takes over the Chechen 's gang. Then, to prevent Wayne Enterprises M&A law accountant Coleman Reese ( Joshua Harto ) from revealing Batman 's alter ego on TV, he announces that he will blow up a hospital if Reese is not dead within 60 minutes. During the panic, the Joker sneaks into Gotham General Hospital disguised as a nurse to meet with Dent, and persuades him to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for Rachel 's death. He then blows up the hospital and takes a busload of hostages. He rigs explosives on two of the ferries separately containing citizens and criminals and tells the passengers that he will destroy both boats unless one blows up the other. Ultimately, however, the hostages choose not to blow each other up. Batman subsequently apprehends the Joker, who states that neither will kill each other and believes that they are meant to fight each other forever. The Joker gloats that he has won `` the battle for Gotham 's soul '', as the city 's inhabitants will lose hope once Dent 's rampage as the murderous vigilante `` Two - Face '' become known. The Joker is then taken into custody as he laughs hysterically. Batman ultimately foils the Joker 's plan by taking the blame for Dent 's crimes. Background ``... I feel like this is an opportunity for me to not take myself too seriously, and for some reason I just gravitated towards ( The Joker ) and I knew I had something to give to him. And I just instantly had an idea of how to do it. '' -- Heath Ledger on why he preferred playing the super-villain. As a starting actor, Heath Ledger did not attach himself seriously to the roles he was playing. This changed, however, when at age 22 he started to watch some of his films. Realizing that they were movies he himself might not actually have wanted to see, it made him more cautious and respectful towards his professional choices. The 2005 fantasy film The Brothers Grimm marked a turning point for the actor as director Terry Gilliam gave Ledger ( and his co-star, Matt Damon ) opportunities to create characters they had not been given before. Gilliam helped Ledger put on a clown act for that film, an experience the actor later acknowledged as an influence for his performance as the Joker. Director Christopher Nolan had met with Ledger over the years for different roles. While meeting for the part of Batman in Batman Begins, Ledger explained that he was not interested in working on such a film. The actor reflected on his problems with portraying superheroes, saying ; `` I would just feel stupid and silly. I could n't pull it off and there are other people who can perfectly, but I just could n't take myself seriously. '' However, later impressed with Batman Begins, Ledger sought the part of the Joker from Nolan. Impressed with Ledger 's determination, Nolan cast him in the part. `` Heath was just ready to do it, he was ready to do something that big. '' Casting director John Papsidera reflected on the casting choice, saying the filmmakers knew they needed somebody courageous to play the part. Heath Ledger was cast before there was a script. Performance Heath Ledger described the Joker as a `` psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy. '' Highlighting the opportunity for freshness, the actor aimed for a new and different interpretation of the character, separate from previous film incarnations. Ledger and Christopher Nolan both explained seeing eye - to - eye on the Joker 's appearance in the film, sharing common reference points for who the character was going to be. Based on philosophical ideas of anarchy and chaos, they looked at art by Francis Bacon for visual reference and they talked about Malcolm McDowell 's performance as Alex in Stanley Kubrick 's film A Clockwork Orange, and who Alex is in Anthony Burgess 's novel of the same name. Ledger was given Alan Moore 's graphic novel Batman : The Killing Joke for preparation for the role, as well as Grant Morrison 's graphic novel Arkham Asylum : A Serious House on Serious Earth, which the actor `` really tried to read and put it down ''. In an interview with MTV, Ledger said he regarded the experience playing the Joker as the most fun he ever had, `` and probably will ever have ''. Description `` Everything about what he does from every gesture, every little facial tick, everything he 's doing with his voice -- it all speaks to the heart of this character. It all speaks to this idea of a character who 's devoted to a concept of pure anarchy and chaos. It 's hard to get a handle on how those elements combine. The physicality reminds me of the great silent comedians. It has a bit of ( Buster ) Keaton and ( Charlie ) Chaplin about it. '' -- Christopher Nolan on Ledger 's performance. Wearing the character 's traditional color palette, the Joker is dressed with a thin tie and a green waistcoat, topped by a purple overcoat. relating to a feel to New Romanticism. His shoes have an upward swoop at the toe, reminiscent to clown shoes. He carries no identification of any kind and offers no clear details about his true name or background ; when he is arrested by the Gotham City police, they find only knives and lint in his pockets. The Joker 's hair is stringy, unkempt, and dyed green. His face is covered in a cracked and runny layer of white clown makeup, with his eyes thickly rimmed in black. A sloppy red grin is painted on the Glasgow smile beneath the makeup, extending from the mouth to the cheeks. Film critic Peter Travers wrote about the Joker as having `` grungy hair and yellow teeth of a hound fresh out of hell ''. The character 's mannerisms carry a quality of unpredictability. His voice frequently shifts in pitch, so that he speaks his dialogue hitting higher notes, followed by an immediate lower voice capable of landing two octaves below. Nolan acknowledges this unpredictability to be part of the character 's slinky physical movements as well, saying that Ledger 's performance `` ( is ) always a surprise ''. About the Joker 's physical appearance, Geoff Boucher wrote for the Los Angeles Times that the character probes the facial scars with his tongue and `` walks with shoulders bowed and his chin out and down, like a hyena ''. Development Steve Alexander, Heath Ledger 's agent, said the actor had a `` pay - or - play '' deal on The Dark Knight, `` so he felt free to do whatever he wanted to do as the Joker, no matter how crazy. '' According to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, Ledger had talked with him about Johnny Depp 's off - kilter portrayal in Pirates of the Caribbean in relation to The Dark Knight, aiming to make a performance that would be `` so far out he 'd be fired. '' As Ledger was cast early in pre-production, Nolan explained that the actor had `` months and months '' to prepare for the role. `` Inside. He 's laughing red and black and red and black till there 's nothing left to laugh. Until, almost tenderly, he turns inside out through his mouth. '' -- Scrawlings from Heath Ledger 's Joker diary During a span of six weeks, Ledger `` locked '' himself away in a hotel room, forming a character diary and experimenting with voices. `` It 's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it, '' he said about his process. The diary contains scrawling and cuttings inside. Christopher Hooton, writing for The Independent, said that the ' Joker journal ' had several stills from Stanley Kubrick 's film A Clockwork Orange, joker cards, photos of hyenas, unhinged clown makeup and the word `` chaos '' highlighted in green. Furthermore, it contains a list of things the Joker would find funny, such as AIDS, landmines, and geniuses suffering brain damage. It was revealed that Ledger had read Grant Morrison 's writing of The Clown at Midnight ( Batman # 663 ) and based the list upon the Batman writer 's prose. Ledger highlighted the importance of finding an iconic voice and laugh for the character, relating the voice as `` the key to the demented killer. '' Nolan explained Ledger 's early and `` peculiar '' ambition for the voice of the character, saying that the actor had studied the way ventriloquist dummies talk. The filmmaker also acknowledged that the voice performance was based on the Alexander technique. Ledger developed the Joker 's voice and mannerism slowly over time and during camera tests. `` Do n't act, just read it '', Nolan had told Ledger for test screening. In hair and makeup tests, Ledger would start exploring the movements of the character. While test recording without sound, he shared his take on the Joker 's voice and moves, and `` in that way he sort of sneaked up on it. '' The actor developed the physical appearance of the character, being `` very involved '' with the painting of his face, says prosthetic supervisor Conor O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan acknowledged how Ledger, Nolan and makeup artist John Caglione all gravitated towards a Francis Bacon painting Nolan was referring to. Ledger also got to choose the Joker 's weapon among different rubber knives, and he worked closely with costume designer Lindy Hemming on deciding the look for the character. Nolan noted, `` We gave a Francis Bacon spin to ( his face ). This corruption, this decay in the texture of the look itself. It 's grubby. You can almost imagine what he smells like. '' With costume designer Lindy Hemming picking inspiration for the `` chaotic '' look from such countercultural pop culture artists as Iggy Pop, Johnny Rotten, and Sid Vicious. She gave the image for the Joker of someone who is `` very sweaty '' and who `` probably does n't have a proper home. '' She tried to present a backstory for the character `` that he really does n't look after himself. '' Execution Application of Heath Ledger 's makeup was done with the actor scrunching special facial expressions. Caglione called the application work `` a dance ''. This technique created facial textures for the white paint. As Ledger closed his eyes tight, Caglione put on the black makeup. Then, water was sprayed over the eyes and the actor would squeeze his eyes and shake his head and `` all that black drippy, smudgy stuff would happen ''. To get in character for filming, Ledger used his Joker diary which he carried with him on set. Between takes, Heath Ledger stayed out of character even as he wore the character costume, just being himself. The actor would goof around, skateboarding while in his Joker costume on set, and smoking cigarettes. John Caglione described Ledger as helping others around to relax, never letting `` the intense nature of the roles overwhelm him. '' The first sequence shot was the films IMAX opening, the `` prologue ''. As the Joker wears a mask through the scene with minimal dialogue, Nolan set the prologue first in schedule because he wanted to put off performance worries, allowing Ledger to enjoy that relief. The interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker was the first scene shot with Ledger really showing the full performance all together. The director and his leading actors all liked the idea of shooting the key scene early on. During rehearsals, the actors kept things loose and improvisational, saving for the actual shoot. Bale confirmed that Ledger did not perform the Joker 's voice during rehearsals, waiting to get in character when the cameras rolled. Nolan later acknowledged the scene to be his favorite in the film, saying `` I had never seen anybody sell a punch the way Heath was able to do with Christian. '' Ledger was allowed to shoot and direct the threat videos the Joker sends out as warnings. Each take Ledger made was different from the last. Nolan was impressed enough with the first video shoot that he chose to not be present when Ledger shot the video with a kidnapped reporter ( Anthony Michael Hall ). Heath Ledger always showed up early on set. The first thing he would do, according to Caglione, was to give bear hugs to cast and crew members around the set. `` And no matter how banged - up or bruised Heath was after a long day, after we 'd take off the last drop of makeup, he 'd just hug everybody in the trailer before he left ''. At the end of shooting, on his Joker diary 's final page, Ledger wrote `` BYE BYE ''. Effects of Heath Ledger 's death On January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight, Ledger died, aged only 28, of an accidental prescription drug overdose, leading to intense press attention and memorial tributes. `` It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day ( during editing ), '' Nolan recalled. `` But the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish. '' All of Ledger 's scenes appear as he completed them in the filming ; in editing the film, Nolan added no `` digital effects '' to alter Ledger 's actual performance posthumously. Nolan has dedicated the film in part to Ledger 's memory. Ledger 's death affected the marketing campaign for The Dark Knight and also both the production and marketing of Terry Gilliam 's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ; both Nolan and Gilliam celebrated and paid tribute to Ledger 's work in these films. Reception and legacy Announcement and early response On July 31, 2006, The Dark Knight was officially announced by Warner Bros with the casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker. The casting decision surprised others, and was seen as a controversial move at the time, receiving notable negative reactions on the internet. Nolan remembered the cynicism he endured surrounding Ledger 's casting, saying that `` the whole world turned around and said ' What are you doing ? ' You know, Heath Ledger, Joker, did n't make any sense to people at all. '' However, with the first trailer released in 2007, the film and its portrayal of the Joker received very positive response from audiences and entertainment industry professionals alike. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro gushed of his impression for Ledger 's performance, finding it `` really, really edgy and scary. '' American Batman writers Paul Dini and Jeph Loeb both chimed with the positive reactions. Loeb, otherwise critical of Nicholson 's portrayal of the character, expressed his excitement for Ledger 's interpretation, saying the casting felt `` just about right. I eagerly anticipate more ! '' Critical reception `` Heath Ledger is magnificent. The Joker, incarnated with chilling authority by the actor, is simply one of the most twisted and mesmerizing creeps in movie history. '' -- Richard Corliss, Time Heath Ledger 's portrayal of the Joker received critical acclaim, winning numerous posthumous awards for his performance, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, and a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards. `` I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad - crazy - brilliant as the Joker '', wrote Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, stating that the film is deeper than its predecessor, with a `` deft '' script that refuses to scrutinize the Joker with popular psychology. Travers praised the cast, saying each brings his or her `` ' A ' game '' to the film. '' Travers said Ledger moves the Joker away from Jack Nicholson 's interpretation into darker territory, and expresses his support for any potential campaign to have Ledger nominated for an Academy Award, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun - Times stated that Heath Ledger 's portrayal is a `` key performance '' and pondered whether he would become the first posthumous Academy Award - winning actor since Peter Finch in 1976. Mark Dinning from Empire magazine called Ledger 's performance `` monumental '' and wrote `` The Dark Knight is Ledger 's movie. It is a towering performance... A force of fucking nature ''. Kevin Smith commented on Ledger, calling his `` incredible '' performance `` the most frightening, smart and well - played villains ever. Ever. '' Mark Lee, writing for The Daily Telegraph, commented that Ledger accomplished `` a genuinely unsettling, brilliant nuanced portrait of evil ''. Tim Teeman commented for The Times that `` Ledger is so terrifying and unpredictable that his very presence on screen makes you nervous. '' Total Film reviewed that Ledger is `` burning brightly as he embodies an icon... This is the definitive Joker '', calling the performance `` a masterpiece ''. For The Hollywood Reporter, Kirk Honeycutt called Ledger 's performance `` a beauty. '' Entertainment Weekly put the film on its end - of - the - decade, `` best - of '' list, saying, `` Every great hero needs a great villain. And in 2008, Christian Bale 's Batman found his in Heath Ledger 's demented dervish, the Joker. '' Emanuel Levy wrote Ledger `` throws himself completely '' into the role. David Denby of The New Yorker, otherwise critical of the film, praised Ledger 's `` sinister and frightening '' performance, which he says is the film 's one element of success. Denby called Ledger `` mesmerising '' and said, `` His performance is a heroic, unsettling final act : this young actor looked into the abyss. '' `` It 's just one of the most iconic movie performances of modern times, '' declared chief film critic of Variety Scott Foundas. Film critics, co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine, and many of Ledger 's colleagues in the film community joined Bale in calling for and predicting a nomination for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in recognition of Ledger 's performance in The Dark Knight. See also 2000s portal Joker in other media Barack Obama `` Joker '' poster References ^ Jump up to : Collura, Scott. The Dark Knight : Heath Ledger Talks Joker 7 November 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2015. ^ Jump up to : Neumaier, Joe A look at how Heath ledger viewed his career Daily News ( New York ), 16 November 2006. Updated on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Otto, Jeff. Interview : Matt Damon and Heath Ledger IGN, 22 August 2005. Retrieved on 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ The Fire Rises : The Creation and Impact of the Dark Knight Trilogy, 2013. Warner Bros., Blu - Ray DVD. Time : 00 : 51 : 20. Director Christopher Nolan talks about meeting and working with Heath Ledger. English, USA. ^ Jump up to : Christopher Nolan Reflects On His Batman Trilogy, Heath Ledger & More, 3 Dec 2012. Retrieved on 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) ^ Jump up to : Jolin, Dan. The Making of The Joker Dec 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2015 Jump up ^ The Fire Rises : The Creation and Impact of the Dark Knight Trilogy, 2013. Warner Bros., Blu - Ray DVD. Time : 00 : 51 : 20. Director Christopher Nolan talks about Heath Ledger and his role of the Joker. English, USA. Jump up ^ The Fire Rises : The Creation and Impact of the Dark Knight Trilogy, 2013. Warner Bros., Blu - Ray DVD. Time : 00 : 50 : 50. Casting director Papsidera talks about casting the Joker. English, USA. Jump up ^ Mattina, Eric ( November 29, 2012 ). `` Christopher Nolan Spends the ' Knight ' at Lincoln Center : 5 Things Learned About Batman and Beyond ''. Indiewire. Retrieved 5 October 2015. Jump up ^ Lyall, Sarah ( November 4, 2007 ). `` Movies : In Stetson or Wig, He 's Hard to Pin Down ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2013. Jump up ^ The Fire Rises : The Creation and Impact of the Dark Knight Trilogy, 2013. Warner Bros., Blu - Ray DVD. Time : 00 : 51 : 20. Director Christopher Nolan talks about his conversations with Heath Ledger about the Joker. English, USA. Jump up ^ Lesnick, Silas ( November 10, 2007 ). `` IESB Exclusive : Heath Ledger Talks the Joker ! ''. The Movie Reporter. IESB.net. Retrieved November 12, 2007. Jump up ^ Horowitz, Josh. Heath Ledger Discusses Delving Into Dylan For I 'm Not There and Channeling Sid Vicious For The Dark Knight, 12 November 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) ^ Jump up to : PuppetMaster. `` Redesigning the Bat Suit for The Dark Knight '' Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ The Dark Knight Set Visit : Lindy Hemming, 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter. The Dark Knight, 18 July 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ name = `` verbicidemagazine.com '' Jump up ^ Boucher, Geoff. `` Christopher Nolan 's Knight Vision '', Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Biskind, Peter. The Last of Heath, Hollywood, August 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2015. ^ Jump up to : ( 3 ) ^ Jump up to : Hooton, Christopher. A look inside Heath Ledger 's sinister Joker journal, BST, 10 August 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Richards, Olly. World Exclusive : The Joker Speaks EMPIRE. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2015. Jump up ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. Arkham Asylum Scribe Grant Morrison Opens Up On Heath Ledger 's Joker Diary, 4 August 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ ( 4 ) Jump up ^ Murray, Rebecca. Writer / Director Christopher Nolan Talks About ' The Dark Knight ' And Heath Ledger 's Incredible Performance about entertainment. Retrieved 22 October 2015. Jump up ^ James, David ( January 14, 2008 ). `` Indy, Batman, Narnia All Return in 2008 ''. MSNBC. Retrieved January 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Dressing the Joker ''. IGN. February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2008. Jump up ^ Van Luling, Todd. 5 Stories You 've Never Heard Before About Heath Ledger As The Joker, Posted 4 April 2015. Updated 4 July 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Bowles, Scott. Giving voice to the villain presents quite the acting challenge, Posted on 15 July 2008. Updated on 17 July 2008. Retrieved on 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Boucher, Geoff. Christopher Nolan revisits his favorite scene in Dark Knight, 28 Oct 2008. Retrieved on 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Merrick '' ( pseudonym ) ( December 5, 2008 ). `` Nolan Talks DARK KNIGHT Blu - Ray, a 100,000 Person Screening of the Film ( Featuring Live Q & A w / Nolan ), TDK Sequel, and More ! ! ''. Ai n't It Cool News. Retrieved December 6, 2008... WebCitation archive. Jump up ^ Oscar Nominated Make - Up Artist, time, at 53 : 00. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Heath Ledger 's Creepy Joker Diary Revealed, 31 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015. ^ Jump up to : Carroll, Larry ( March 18, 2008 ). `` ' Dark Knight ' Stars, Director Want Film To ' Celebrate ' Heath Ledger 's Work ''. MTV. Retrieved April 27, 2008. Jump up ^ Brown, Scott ( June 24, 2008 ). `` Dark Knight Director Shuns Digital Effects for the Real Thing ''. Wired. Retrieved June 24, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Dark Knight Dedicated to Ledger ''. BBC News. June 27, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008. Jump up ^ Jolin, Dan ( July 2008 ). `` The Dark Knight ''. Empire. 228 : 92 -- 100. ^ Jump up to : Halbfinger, David M. ( March 9, 2008 ). `` Batman 's Burden : A Director Confronts Darkness and Death ''. The New York Times. pp. 1, 16. Retrieved March 10, 2008. Jump up ^ Kilpatrick, Christine ( January 24, 2008 ). `` Production Suspended on Heath Ledger 's Latest Movie ''. People. Retrieved January 24, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Ledger 's Death Puts Last Films in a Bind ''. CNN. January 24, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008. Jump up ^ Batman sequel title announced 31 July 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Jolin, Dan. The Making Of The Joker, December 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Finamore, Brian. Robin Williams ' Batman Near Misses ! The Riddler ? The Joker ? Hugo Stange ?, 15 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Rowles, Dustin. Christopher Nolan Foolishly Casts Heath Ledger Over Paul Bettany as The Joker in Batman Begins Sequel, Posted 3 August 2006. Reloaded 1 April 2013. Retrieved on 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Beall, Mark. Nolan Defends Heath Ledger Casting, 11 October 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ Acuna, Kirsten. Everyone Was Also Furious With The Initial Casting Of Heath Ledger As The Joker, 23 Aug 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Jump up ^ The Fire Rises : The Creation and Impact of the Dark Knight Trilogy, 2013. Warner Bros., Blu - Ray DVD. Time : 00 : 52 : 35. Director Christopher Nolan talks about Heath Ledger and his casting as the Joker. English, USA. Jump up ^ Billington, Alex. Del Toro 's, Dini 's and Loeb 's Reaction to Heath Ledger 's Joker 21 Dec 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2015. Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard. `` Batman Is Back '', Time, 9 July 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2015 Jump up ^ Neumaier, Joe. `` Slumdog Millionaire wins Oscar for Best Picture ; the late Heath Ledger is Best Supporting Actor '', Daily News, 23 Feb 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Elseworth, Catherine. `` Golden Globes 2009 : Heath Ledger wins best supporting actor for The Dark Knight '', Telegraph, 12 Jan 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009. Jump up ^ `` Winslet wins best actress Bafta '', BBC News, 8 Feb 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Kilday, Gregg `` Dark Knight tops Saturn Awards '', Reuters, 24 June 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Brown, Lane. `` PGA and SAG Bow to Peer Pressure, Name Slumdog Millionaire Best Picture '', Vulture Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Heath Ledger honoured by Australian film industry '', Telegraph, 8 Dec 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2015. ^ Jump up to : Travers, Peter ( July 18, 2008 ). `` Dark Knight ''. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008. ( Postdated ) Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( July 16, 2008 ). `` The Dark Knight ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved July 19, 2008. Jump up ^ Dinning, Mark. The Dark Knight, Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Smith, Kevin. Kevin 's Review : The Dark Knight, 6 July 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ Davies, Rebecca. `` The critics ' verdict on Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight ''. The Telegraph. Jump up ^ Geier, Thom ; Jensen, Jeff ; Jordan, Tina ; Lyons, Margaret ; Markovitz, Adam ; Nashawaty, Chris ; Pastorek, Whitney ; Rice, Lynette ; Rottenberg, Josh ; Schwartz, Missy ; Slezak, Michael ; Snierson, Dan ; Stack, Tim ; Stroup, Kate ; Tucker, Ken ; Vary, Adam B. ; Vozick - Levinson, Simon ; Ward, Kate ( December 11, 2009 ), `` THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. '' Entertainment Weekly. ( 1079 / 1080 ) : 74 - 84 Jump up ^ Levy, Emanuel ( n.d. ). `` Movie Review : Dark Knight, The : A ''. emanuellevy.com. Retrieved July 9, 2008. Jump up ^ Denby, David ( July 21, 2008 ). `` Past Shock ''. The New Yorker. Retrieved July 16, 2008. 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Question: who played the role of joker in batman
Answer: Heath Ledger