Films about Batman, shot by Christopher Nolan, are almost the most popular adaptations of the Dark Knight in the history of cinema. “Batman: The Beginning”, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight: Revival of a Legend” were glorified not only by the director, but also by the actors who played the main roles. Who played the Joker in Nolan's Batman? And how did this role affect the fate of the actor?
Who played the Joker in the movie Batman? Heath Ledger and his biography
Heath Ledger is from Australia. Parents of the future actor named their child in honor of Heathcliff from the novel "Wuthering Heights" Emily Bronte.
Heath's father was the owner of a foundry. He left the family when the boy was 10 years old. According to Heathcliff, he maintained a wonderful relationship with his dad.
Ledger studied at a mathematical school. But from a young age he showed interest in the acting profession and even led the school team of artists.
Heath moved to Sydney at the age of 17, but did not go to get an acting education, and went straight to the auditions. At age 20, Heath has already starred in Hollywood.
The best films with Ledger: "10 reasons for my hatred"
The public recognized Heath Ledger even before she wondered who played the Joker in Batman. In 1999, the actor became famous all over the world thanks to the role of Patrick Veron in the comedy "10 Reasons for My Hate."
This teenage melodrama is dedicated to the first love affairs of Katharina and Bianca Stratford. The girls have a very strict father who forbids them to go on dates. The youngest of the sisters early begins to be interested in guys, but she will not be released anywhere without Kat. Then Bianke comes up with the cunning plan to “organize” a romantic relationship for his sister by bribing local guy Patrick. Bianca hopes that her sister will be distracted and thereby allow her to do whatever she sees fit. But the situation is getting out of hand, and everything is not going as the younger sister would have liked.
Together with Heath Ledger, Julia Styles (The Bourne Ultimatum), Larisa Oleinik (Hawaii 5.0), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Beginning) and David Kramholtz (Playboy Club) also played in this comedy.
"Patriot"
The fame to the Manager was added by the military drama "Patriot", in which the actor played together with Mel Gibson.
The painting highlights the events of the era of the 1770s, when there was a war for independence in the United States. The son of Benjamin Martin, performed by Mel Gibson, is killed in cold blood by English soldiers. After that, Benjamin, along with his son Gabriel, performed by Heath Ledger, stands at the head of the militia and fights against the British.
The picture is full of spectacular scenes. Heath Ledger surprised the director, coping with all the tricks without a stuntman.
"The story of a knight"
In 2001, Heath Ledger played in the adventure film The Knight's Story. His character William Thatcher is an ordinary squire who dreams of fighting in knightly tournaments. But he is not supposed to do it by rank. When the master of William dies, Thatcher assumes the name of the noble Mr. Ulrich von Lichtenstein and wins in a number of tournaments. Ahead of the young hero is waiting for the love of a beautiful lady, the revenge of a sworn enemy and many more trials.
The film was a success at the box office and raised 117 million dollars.
Who played the Joker in Batman? The Dark Knight and the story of its creation
In 2008, a movie adaptation of Batman comics titled The Dark Knight was released. The director was Christopher Nolan. This time, the half-mad villain Joker confronted the superhero in a dark cloak on the screens. The character had a dense make-up on his face, so the audience had a completely fair question: “Who played the Joker in Batman this time?”
This daredevil was Heath Ledger. The audience is already accustomed to Ledger’s experiments in the cinema: either the actor appears as a knight, now as a gay cowboy, then he plays Don Juan. Now he decided to play one of the most complex screen characters - the cunning villain Joker.
After Ledger received an Oscar for this role, even those who did not watch the film knew about who played the Joker in Batman 2008. Only now the actor did not manage to live to his triumph.
Death
No one would have thought that the actor who played the Joker in Batman would die so quickly. Even before the premiere of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment: on January 22, the actor was discovered by his housewife.
External examination and autopsy did not clarify the situation, so it was decided to conduct a toxicological examination. It turned out that Heath took incompatible drugs, as a result of which he developed pulmonary edema. Ledger was treated for depression during this period, so the doctor prescribed him antidepressants and sleeping pills. On that fateful evening, Heathcliff took the prescribed medications, but supplemented them with a painkiller, which could not be done. The official conclusion claims that it was an accident - the actor did not take his own life.