Heath Ledger’s Joker Diary from The Dark Knight
Following his tragic death before the film’s release, it was widely circulated that in preparation for the role of The Joker in The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger locked himself in a room for some time and scribbled notes into a journal. Now, a sequence from an upcoming documentary about the late actor (via EW) has surfaced online, featuring the very journal that Ledger used to get into the character of the clown prince of crime.
“He pretty well locked himself up in a hotel, in his apartment, for a month or so, to sort of galvanize the upcoming character in his own mind,” Kim Ledger, Heath’s father, says in the clip. “That was typical of Heath on any movie. He would certainly immerse himself in the upcoming character. I think this was just a whole new level.”
The contents of the journal feature images of the character from comics, playing cards, Hyenas, and a photo of Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. There’s also a few pages of his dialogue from the film when he meets Harvey Dent at Gotham General Hospital. You can check out the clip in the player below.
Ledger was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor the year after The Dark Knight was released. He co-starred in the film with Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart Aaron, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman.
