“He was absolutely fantastic company”: Christian Bale Debunked Method Acting Rumor of Heath Ledger After Working Together in The Dark Knight
Christian Bale is one of the most renowned actors in Hollywood. He is a method actor known for his versatility and capability to undergo extreme physical transformations for his role. He has demonstrated the range of his excellence in The Dark Knight trilogy, American Psycho, The Machinist, Ford v Ferrari, The Fighter, Vice, and many more.
However, one of his best performances is still considered to be in The Dark Knight trilogy, which reinvigorated DC at a very crucial time. It not only changed how the audience feels about superhero films but it turned the genre from the inside out. The series went on an Odyssey into the moral and psychological complexities of not just Batman but also some of its most iconic villains, one of them being the Joker. Played by Heath Ledger, it is still considered one of the most exemplary method acting on-screen.
In 2017, Christian Bale appeared in an interview and debunked many false notions surrounding Heath Ledger’s method acting in The Dark Knight.
Christian Bale Opens Up About His Late Co-Star Heath Ledger To Debunk Method Acting Rumors
Heath Ledger’s performance as Batman’s arch-nemesis deserves to go down in the history of cinema just on its own merits. However, his performance was overshadowed by his tragic death just before the movie was released. Many started speculating that Ledger being too involved in such a twisted and dark character was what led to the final blow to his mental health, which led to thousands of rumors surrounding his role to this date.
Sometimes, while doing method acting, many actors go to extreme levels and do not want to break out of their character even when they are off camera, which can lead to people around them being miserable. Be it Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln or Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables, the examples are countless. Actors like Jared Leto, especially, did not help to give method acting a good rep by sending bats to his co-stars. However, according to Christian Bale, who is a seasoned method actor himself, Heath Ledger was anything but that. In fact, to quote his own words, he was a “fantastic company” on set.
In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christian Bale opened up about what it was like working with Heath Ledger on the set of The Dark Knight and he said that Heath Ledger was only in the character when he was on-screen. When that makeup came off and the camera shut down, he was an absolute delight to be around.
“You go into character and you stay in the character…I find that so ridiculous that I love it, and I take that very seriously. Heath was definitely embracing that. When he was in the makeup and the garb he was in character the whole time; and when he took it off he was absolutely fantastic company to be around.”
This is not the first time Christian Bale tried to demystify and debunk some of the false rumors surrounding the film (many believe Ledger’s too much involvement and devotion to get the role perfect is what led to his ultimate demise). While celebrating the 15-year anniversary of The Dark Knight, Nolan and Bale appeared on Entertainment Tonight and talked extensively about Ledger. While Christian Bale could not stop heaping praise on the late actor, Nolan spoke about how, although he was terrifying on screen, working with him was “fantastic and phenomenal.” He also mentioned how he was a professional but, at the same time, “such a warm and gentle guy, unlike the character he created.”
Christian Bale Opens Up On His Batman Portrayal: “Didn’t Quite Nail It”
Although many think that Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader is one of the best things that happened to cinema, he himself is not quite sure about that. While promoting his new film Knight of Cups he opened up to Yahoo about how he felt like his role did not quite land as he envisioned.
“I didn’t quite manage what I hoped I would through the trilogy. (Director Christopher Nolan) did, but my own sense of self is like, ‘I didn’t quite nail it.’”
It made many wonder exactly what more he wanted to achieve from the role, even after giving such a phenomenal performance. He then attributed his sense of failure to Heath Ledger’s amazing performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. He felt that Heath Ledger’s performance outshined his and everyone else’s by a large margin and it completely messed up his plans, like in the movie Joker messes up the plans of Batman.
“Heath turned up and just kind of completely ruined all my plans. I went, ‘He’s so much more interesting than me and what I’m doing.’”
Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker went on to get him an Oscar nod posthumously. It was a milestone for comic book movies across all comic book universes.
The Dark Knight trilogy is streaming on Netflix.
