Christian Bale Rejects Claims That Playing ‘The Joker’ Killed Heath Ledger

The Dark Knight, the latest movie in the Batman franchise is just over a month away from release, and one of the most intriguing aspects of the film that fans are waiting for is to see Heath Ledger’s final performance on screen, a performance which is said to be mind blowing.

However, following Ledger’s death in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, there was speculation that the effort he put in to the role was too much for him, and contributed to his untimely death. He was said to have become too involved and wrapped up in the character, with members of the crew allegedly urging him to get help.

According to Digital Spy, Christian Bale, the Dark Knight himself has rubbished the claims in an interview with Total Film magazine, whose July issue is totally given over to the upcoming film. He said:

“It’s not for me to tell anybody or to pretend to have insights beyond what I absolutely know, but my instincts are that the idea Heath was disturbed by playing The Joker is ridiculous.”

“Heath was somebody who, like myself, acted for that immersion in a character. It’s not an unusual thing. And from working with him and knowing him, I don’t think that was unusual for him at all.”

I certainly think it’s possible that Ledger’s complete and utter devotion to his performance as The Joker could have contributed in some way to the depression and problems Ledger seemed to be suffering from at the time of his death. However, Bale is more likely to know than anyone else having worked so closely with him for months during the shoot.

Whatever the truth, I’m looking forward to the film massively, and will be in the queue when it comes out (on July 18th in the States), and I’m fully expecting to be blown away by Ledger’s performance.