Heath Ledger Talks About Batman, The Joker

We don't know who Daniel Robert Epstein is. But he recently sat down with Heath Ledger and talked about the next Batman movie.

DPE: Have you started to think about how you will play The Joker?
Heath Ledger: Yeah. I've been trying to delay my commitment to the preparation process on that because I'm trying to extend my holiday time. I definitely have an image in my head. I definitely have something up my sleeve. I want to be very sinister. It's so early that I'm trying to be open at this point. I don't want to be glued down to anyone.

DRE: Have you read many Batman comics?
HL: No and I think that's kind of helping me a little bit. I was never really a fan of comic books or comic book movies. I never despised them but I was never one to read them. I never sought out the films but I would sit down and enjoy them. So because of that I really feel that I'm not carrying much pressure.

DRE: Have they given or asked you to read certain comics?
HL: The Killing Joke was the one that was handed to me. I think it's going to be the beginning of The Joker. I guess that book explains a little bit of where he's from but not too much. From what I've gathered, there isn't a lot of information about The Joker and it's left that way.

DRE: Is doing the role of The Joker scary after Jack Nicholson did it so well?
HL: I'm not going for the same thing he went for. That would be stupid. It is also two very different directors with different styles. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing nitty gritty handheld realism. I love what [Jack] did and that is part of why I want to do that role.

I remember seeing it and thinking how much fun it would be to put on that mask and attempt to do something along those lines. But it would obviously be murder if I tried to imitate what he did.

DRE: Have you ever wanted to do superhero movies before?
HL: Not really. With the tights and undies and the boots, I would just feel stupid and silly. I couldn't pull it off and there are other people who can perfectly. But I just couldn't take myself seriously. I feel like this is an opportunity to be in one and not do that. I just gravitated towards the villain role because I felt I had something to give to it. I instantly had an idea.