Heath Ledger Was Considered For Another Major Batman Role Before The Joker

Heath Ledger's passing in 2008, when he was only 28 years old, stands as one of the most tragic cultural losses in living memory. Ledger was on the rise as a leading man, and he wanted to supplement his acting career with directing, a la Clint Eastwood or Robert Redford. Saddest of all, he passed mere months before "The Dark Knight" premiered and never got to bask in the praise of his titanic performance as the Joker.

The idea that Ledger "lost himself" in the Joker is an urban myth, but his performance was a committed and transformative one. His voice is unrecognizable, and he added his own details to the Joker — like licking his scarred lips, or leaving traces of make-up on his fingers — to make the larger-than-life villain feel like a real person. 

Ledger has and will continue to be remembered for the Joker. It's not a bad legacy! Ledger's Joker is listed in the same breath as Darth Vader or Hannibal Lecter as one of the great villains of popular cinema. Granted, that legacy has also been undermined a bit by both embarrassing fans who don't realize the Joker is the bad guy, and the lesser Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix iterations of the character. But hey, that also shows how good Ledger's performance was; people are still discussing and trying to imitate it almost two decades later.

Another part of the myth is that Ledger was initially written off as miscast, but proved the doubters wrong. He was a pretty boy most famous for romantic movies ("The 10 Things I Hate About You," "Brokeback Mountain," etc.) with no sign he could play a villain like the Joker. In fact, before "The Dark Knight," Ledger seemed like a close fit for a hero like Batman himself. Would you believe "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan thought so too?

During a 2012 event at the Lincoln Center (via The Playlist), Nolan revealed that Ledger was one of the actors he met with while casting Batman for "Batman Begins," the first movie in his trilogy. According to Nolan, "[Ledger] was quite gracious about it, but he said, 'I would never take a part in a superhero film.'" 

Keep in mind, this was in the early 2000s; superhero films were still largely the pits, and the last Batman movie "Batman & Robin" had been a laughing stock. Even though Nolan explained he wanted to do a more mature and realistic take on Batman, Ledger still declined. However, his interest was apparently piqued enough that he ended up watching "Batman Begins," and was won over. He didn't just wait around to be cast in the sequel, he actively sought it out.

Nolan said that Ledger would only take a part when he was "hungry" (read: super-enthusiastic to play it), and the chance to play the Joker made him ravenous. Ledger showed that enthusiasm leading up to "The Dark Knight," reportedly expressing no doubt it would be anything but great.

Obviously, Christian Bale ended up playing Batman in Nolan's movies. Unlike Ledger, he was convinced by Nolan's pitch of a dark Batman from the start, despite the doubters. As Bale told the Washington Post in 2022:

"I would [tell people] we're going to sort of do Batman, but take him seriously. I had tons of people laugh at me and just say, 'well that's just not going to work at all. So, it's wonderful to be a part of a trilogy that proved those people wrong."

It's fun to follow this counterfactual even further, though. Imagine their roles completely flipped: Ledger accepts the part of Batman for "Begins," which opens the way for Bale to play the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

Both of them absolutely could've pulled off the opposite roles. Ledger had both the intensity for Batman, and the charisma to play Bruce Wayne, plus experience playing someone hiding a secret (see: "Brokeback Mountain"). Bale was obviously never considered to play the Joker, but he absolutely could've done it. His breakout role was a grinning and unhinged murderer to rival the Joker: Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho." Yet Bale's "American Psycho" performance also informs his Batman; both characters are rich men who feel alienated from others and live a violent double life. In scenes where Bruce Wayne is wearing the smarmy mask of a playboy, you can hear some of Bateman's cadence in his voice.

Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are the best big screen Batman/Joker we've had, and I think we'd be saying that even if they'd swapped parts.