Heath Ledger was famous for throwing himself into a role. But according to his father, he took that dedication to "a whole new level" for The Dark Knight.
Kim Ledger, the late actor's father, tells in a new video that it was "typical of Heath" to "immerse himself in [an] upcoming character." The short clip is from a 2014 documentary on Ledger's life and death called Too Young To Die: Heath Ledger. (Too Young To Die appears to be a series of documentaries that also includes the likes of Kurt Cobain, John Belushi and River Phoenix.)
In the video, you can see a diary that Ledger created while preparing for his role as the Joker. According to his father, Ledger went to great lengths to ensure that his take on the character was both authentic and different than any we've seen before, including sequestering himself for a month to get into Joker's head.
Part of his process for the Christopher Nolan blockbuster was to create a one-of-a-kind diary, which includes numerous scribblings of what appear to be parts of the script, Joker playing cards, pictures of hyenas and Malcom McDowell's character in A Clockwork Orange, clippings from Batman comics, and more.
One page has the word "Chaos" in all-caps and highlighted in green, while another has a similar heading that reads "Things That Make Me Laugh," highlighted in pink. The latter is obviously written in character, containing a list of things that include "blind babies," "land mines," "AIDS," "beloved pets in bad road accidents," "statistics," "brunch" and "the periodic table of elements."
Ledger's father also shares an insight that the scene in the film where Joker dresses as a hospital nurse was not the first time the actor had worn a nurse's uniform. As a child, his sister would dress him up in a nurse's outfit during playtime.
Heath Ledger died tragically in 2008 of an accidental prescription drug intoxication, at just 28 years old. His work on The Dark Knight was complete, but he didn't live long enough to see the finished film in theaters. A year later, Ledger posthumously received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
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