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Had he been still alive today, Heath Ledger would turn 43 years old in 2022. The Australian actor passed away in January 2008, shortly after giving the performance of his life - as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
Ledger's career before The Dark Knight was impressive nonetheless, having featured in movies like Brokeback Mountain, Monster's Ball, and 10 Things I Hate About You - alongside Julia Stiles.
It was as the Joker, however, that Ledger's star really shone around the world, although he sadly never even got to see the release of the movie.
Joaquin Phoenix's more recent star turn in the same role might give him a run for his money, but many fans remain convinced to date that Ledger's is the best version of the Joker to ever grace our screens.
It is not just audience members who were mightily moved by Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight. Titan of industry Christian Bale played Bruce Wayne / Batman in the film, and he would later say he felt 'overshadowed' by his co-star.
The most incredible testimony of Ledger's talent came from Michael Caine, another main cast member of The Dark Knight.
What Character Did Michael Caine Portray In 'The Dark Knight'?
One of the common characters in any Batman story will usually be Alfred Pennyworth, described as 'Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, legal guardian, best friend, aide-de-camp, and surrogate father figure following the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne.'
Originally known as Alfred Beagle, the character was created by writer Donald Cameron and first illustrated by Bob Kane in the 1940s. Over the decades, the part has been played by actors Ian Abercombie, Michael Gough, and Jeremy Irons.
Douglas Hodge (The Joker) and Andy Serkis (The Batman) have also stepped into the shoes of Alfred Pennyworth in the most recent iterations.
Michael Caine was first offered the role in the early 2000s, as Christopher Nolan assembled his cast line-up for Batman Begins, the first installment of what would end up being The Dark Knight trilogy.
The director originally had Anthony Hopkins in mind for the part, but the Hannibal actor refused, and the opportunity arose for Caine.
In order to convince Caine to agree to the gig, Nolan personally delivered the script to his country house in Oxfordshire, England.
Michael Caine Enjoyed Working With Christopher Nolan
When Christopher Nolan first delivered the script for Batman Begins to Michael Caine's house, the actor had no idea who he was.
"The doorbell rang, and I was near it, so I answered it. And there was a man standing there with a script in his hand and he said he was a director of movies," Caine said in an interview with Variety Magazine last year.
That would become the beginning of a very fruitful partnership and friendship between the two men, one that Caine came to thoroughly enjoy.
"Playing the movie was absolutely fantastic," he reminisced, before going to explain what he thought made Nolan special: "The thing about Nolan is you don’t always know what’s going on in the scene, as an actor. And you ask him, and he says, 'I’ll tell you after you’ve done it.'"
Caine would go on to reprise the role in The Dark Knight (2008), and eventually in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). It was in the second installment that his paths crossed with Heath Ledger's for the first time.
Heath Ledger's Transformation Into The Joker Caused Michael Caine To Forget His Lines
Heath Ledger quite famously pushed his limits in order to get ready for the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight.
He spent an extended period of time before filming began secluded in a hotel room, and began collecting and consuming material that helped him construct the character that he eventually delivered on screen.
The results were quite apparent, not least to Michael Caine, who was so frightened by his colleague's transformation that he forgot his lines.
"Heath will frighten the life out of you," he said. "He did me the first time I saw him, because we did a rehearsal on the first day, and we hadn’t met or anything. He had to come up in an elevator to our home, Batman’s home. I’m thinking I’m letting friends in, instead of which he’s killed them all, and he’s coming up in the lift.
"So on the first rehearsal, when the bloody door opened on that lift, he came tearing out," Caine continued. "I forgot every line. Terrifying."
At that moment, he knew what the rest of the world would soon come to realize as well: Ledger had created one of the best characters of modern day film.
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