A busy day had already begun in New York on this early morning. In a four-story apartment on Broom Street in Manhattan, the young Heath Ledger awoke from his sleep. As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt that something was off.
His mind was filled with the fluttering sounds of mosquitoes and flies, a constant "buzz buzz buzz… buzz buzz buzz…" that grew louder and louder, eventually escalating into a deafening roar. He felt as if something was pressing out from within his blood vessels, nearly tearing his body apart. All the surrounding sounds became muffled and distorted as if wrapped in soundproofing layers, like the noise from electronic equipment. The images before his eyes twisted and distorted constantly.
His skin began to feel cold, and Heath Ledger could sense it twitching uncontrollably. It felt as if some kitten was scratching his raised goosebumps with sharp claws, a tingling pain burrowing into his bones through his pores. He tried to touch it with his hands but couldn't reach, tried to scratch but it was useless. He could only shake his body, trying to use the motion of his flesh to rub his bones and relieve the itch.
It was truly an inhuman torment, and if it continued, he would definitely break down.
Having experienced this condition for several years now, Heath Ledger naturally knew where the problem lay. He propped himself up and reached for a pill bottle on his nightstand. After hesitating for less than half a second, he unscrewed the cap, poured out a few pills, stuffed them into his mouth, and swallowed them without even drinking water.
As if under some psychological suggestion, all the bizarre sensations in his body and mind suddenly vanished. He instantly felt revitalized. That young, handsome, and talented actor was back.
Gradually, Heath Ledger returned to a normal state. He shook his head vigorously, and his eyes fell on another item on the nightstand—an acting script. It was for the villain role in the second Batman film, personally delivered by the agent of the famous director Duke Rosenberg.
Although he had been told that the script was not finalized yet, the role itself would not change much. The character script had been in his hands for some time, and Heath Ledger had read and studied it multiple times. It was a character full of magic—a role in which he could truly shine!
In 1989, Jack Nicholson had played the role once and received countless accolades.
Normally, with such a prominent predecessor, most actors would shy away from such roles.
Heath Ledger initially wanted to decline as well, but after reading the script, he realized that the character had undergone a complete transformation. Though both were called the Joker, they were entirely different characters.
Moreover, the character setup in this script… how should one put it? Even words like "insane" and "stunning" failed to capture its essence.
It was said that the character's setup came directly from Duke Rosenberg himself. Perhaps only such a unique director could reshape such a special character.
Thinking of this, Heath Ledger picked up the script again and started flipping through it.
In this character script, the Joker displayed a kind of madness—a madness without bottom lines or principles, reaching the pinnacle of evil.
And what is the pinnacle of evil? In the pinnacle of evil, evil is not a means but an end. The pinnacle of evil is pure—not for money, not for lust, not for any other goal. Creating evil and manifesting evil was the only pursuit.
The Joker's evil was just such pure evil. Not for anything else—he merely sought to bring a "higher taste of evil" to the city. In Heath Ledger's view, even the crimes of the nameless man in Se7en did not qualify as "high-taste evil," because there were too many additives beyond evil in that story.
Just as Batman was a knight strictly upholding justice and morality, the Joker was also a kind of puritan in evil. In his eyes, crimes committed for money, power, lust, or any other motive were actually a blasphemy against "evil." Only in his hands was evil truly pure.
In the Joker's hands, evil and chaos became a work of art. He wielded evil like a painter with a brush or a composer with notes. Therefore, from beginning to end, no matter the circumstances, he always maintained a kind of arrogance and pride as a demon.
At first glance, the Joker's behavior in the script seemed deranged and chaotic, but Heath Ledger could easily discern that this character had a fanatical pursuit—to break everyone's bottom line.
This was a mad character indeed!
Closing the script, Heath Ledger sat quietly on the edge of the bed and thought for a long time. For the past ten days or so, he had been debating whether to accept the role or not.
To be honest, he didn't like superhero movies. So, because it was Batman, he had hesitated until now. But the name Duke Rosenberg and the role script that was sent to him had captivated him immensely.
In Hollywood, how many actors didn't want to work with Duke Rosenberg? That often meant a career explosion, fame, and a windfall of wealth.
Heath Ledger was no exception. That's why he hadn't directly turned the role down.
Now, after thinking it through, he made a decision.
Picking up his phone, Heath Ledger dialed a number. "Mara, I want that role."
His agent, Mara Buxbaum, immediately said, "I'll contact Charles Roven right away and have the production arrange your audition as soon as possible."
The voice on the phone sounded a little excited. No agent wouldn't want to represent a superstar.
The news quickly reached Duke. Although the project wouldn't officially begin development until July, it had already passed Warner Bros.' review committee, so there would be no obstacles to greenlighting The Dark Knight.
Duke gave Charles Roven a few instructions—once production officially began, Heath Ledger's Joker audition would be scheduled first to give him more time to immerse himself in the role.
But as always, Heath Ledger was only the top choice for the Joker not the only one. After all, no one knew yet whether Heath Ledger could truly meet the demands of this role.
Additionally, for the role of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, Duke had also asked his team to contact Nicolas Cage's agent. Perhaps tipped off in advance by Sofia Coppola, Nicolas Cage accepted the audition invitation without hesitation even before seeing any character script or related materials.
Likewise, even considering his friendship with Sofia Coppola and her recommendation, if Nicolas Cage were in his worst acting state and couldn't meet the requirements, Duke wouldn't use him either.
In this regard, there was no shortage of candidate actors. Some news about the second Batman inevitably leaked out for example, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber, and Josh Lucas had all sent word through their agents, expressing interest in the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent.
As the project was about to be approved, Warner Bros. also began some targeted publicity so that fans would know the second Batman film was about to begin filming and production.
In mid-June, someone revealed on Instant Share and multiple film-related websites that Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, the "Penguin," would appear in the new Batman, and a fairly influential voting campaign was launched for the most suitable actor for the role. Bob Hoskins received an overwhelming number of votes.
Apparently, Warner Bros. had done some PR in advance. During an interview, Bob Hoskins said he was very willing to play the role and was looking forward to working with Duke, even calling him a "dream director."
This news fermented on the internet for a long time and even triggered discussion among Batman fans and comic book enthusiasts.
It wasn't until the news reached a certain level of popularity that Duke made a statement through his Instant Share account, saying he had no plans to use "Penguin."
Although this disappointed some fans of the Penguin, it achieved enough publicity effect.
"The Penguin doesn't really fit into the movie. It feels a bit forced."
In the office, Duke was discussing some Batman-related matters with Anna Prinz, Hannah Selina, and John Schwartzman—especially the characters, which Duke emphasized as a key topic. "Having the Joker in this film is enough."
"This character's design…" Anna Prinz held a Joker concept sketch drawn by Hannah Selina, "has already deviated significantly from the comics."
"Strictly speaking," John Schwartzman chimed in, "after reading the script, I feel like the whole movie no longer has a comic book style. If it weren't under the guise of Batman, it wouldn't even have much in common with superhero films."
"So, John, pay attention to the cinematography style." Duke thought for a moment and said, "The cinematography should be darker and more realistic, so it feels more like a crime thriller."
As he spoke, he reached out for the Joker concept sketch Anna Prinz was holding and said to his art director, "Try to make the Joker's costume and makeup look shabby and messy. Avoid making him look like a comic-book tramp. The overall design should highlight the character's edginess and neurosis."
"I understand." Hannah Selina pointed to the concept sketch and said, "This is just a draft. I've thought it over carefully. Based on the comic character, I'll draw inspiration from counter-culture icons like Pete Doherty and 'the Godfather of Punk' Iggy Pop."
Duke nodded and added, "This is also a way of using clownish performance to mask personality. My goal is to dig out the character's deeper realist traits. For this character, dressing up as a 'clown' is, to some extent, a flamboyant revival of his life's fire."
In the entire film, the Joker would outshine Batman. To some extent, Bruce Wayne would seem more like a major supporting character.
As time entered July, Warner Bros.' series of approval processes were all completed. Duke's team also regrouped, and even Christian Bale resumed training. Batman now met all the criteria for greenlighting.
Right after the Independence Day holiday, Warner Bros., DC Comics, and Duke jointly held a press conference to announce the project launch of The Dark Knight.