Heath Ledger Improvised Joker Myth: What Really Happened In The Dark Knight
It is widely believed that Heath Ledger improvised part of the iconic hospital explosion scene from The Dark Knight, but here’s what really happened.
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Heath Ledger’s improvisation skills in The Dark Knight have been overblown thanks to an internet myth. The talented actor went against type to play Joker in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie in 2008 and gave an incredible performance. In the years since The Dark Knight’s release and the devastating loss of Ledger, his work as Joker has only continued to be highlighted. Thanks to easily quotable lines, his maniacal laugh, and a variety of meme-inspiring moments, Ledger’s Joker has remained a big part of fandom over a decade later.
But, the unreliable narrator aspect of Joker has manifested in the online discourse and has turned what was a planned sequence into an example of Ledger’s improvisational skills at display. The scene in question is the famous hospital explosion sequence in The Dark Knight. Nolan famously was allowed to blow up an actual building for this scene to do it practically, but this also meant that he had one shot at getting it right. The scene shows Joker walk out of the hospital as some bombs explode and never cuts away until he gets on the bus to leave. However, Joker is momentarily confused when not every charge goes off, only to be startled when the final big explosions take place.
For years, that moment has been attributed to Ledger’s improv abilities, knowing that he needed to stay in character until the scene was completed. The fidgeting was believed to be a spur of the moment decision and Joker’s surprise genuine of Ledger. But, this is not the case and part of a widespread myth about this scene from The Dark Knight. In reality, the pause was planned by Nolan as a means to do the scene practically and keep Ledger safe. Nolan confirmed this to be the case in the special feature Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene that was part of The Dark Knight’s home release. Here’s what he said:
[Special effects supervisor Chris Corbould] was able to come up with a scenario in which Heath could actually be walking out of the building because what Chris worked out is if we put in a little beat where the first set of explosions stops as if something’s gone wrong, and the Joker just takes a second to look around surprised like the audience is surprised, then the major demolition comes in and he jumps straight into the school bus. In that way he was able to come up with a practical scenario in which we could actually take a principal actor, walk him out of a building that’s about to be destroyed, and literally drop the building to the ground.
Although the idea that Ledger managed to save a broken scene does make for a great story or piece of trivia about The Dark Knight, it is definitively not true. Not only was the scene executed exactly as Nolan and his team wanted, but it also came after extensive practice. A sequence of this size and precision could not be done well or safely without rehearsals. This way, everyone on the set was on the same page.
While it’s possible – if not likely – that Ledger added some of his own flair to the scene, the notion that the pause and delayed explosion in The Dark Knight was not planned could not be farther from the truth. But, this takes nothing away from Ledger’s all-time great performance as Joker. This is just another great example of how misinformation can spread quickly online and a friendly reminder to not believe every bit of trivia you read.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dark-knight-heath-ledger-joker-hospital-explosion-explained/