Heath Ledger Voted The Best Joker Of All Time

Heath Ledger's Joker has been voted the best portrayal of the character of all time.

In a poll of more than 23,000 LADbible followers, the late actor won with 77 percent of the vote for his performance in Christopher Nolan's 2008 film The Dark Knight.

Joaquin Phoenix, who played the villainous character in 2019's Joker, came up with 11 percent.

It was actually Ledger's penultimate film performance, and was released six months after his untimely death in January 2008.

The second film in the Dark Knight trilogy, it was released as a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, and saw Christian Bale reprise his role as the caped crusader alongside the likes of Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.

Having originally been asked by director Christopher Nolan to play the title character in Batman Begins, Ledger declined, saying that he would 'never do this type of film" and the role went to Christian Bale.

However, when it came to securing Ledger for the role of the Joker, Nolan didn't have to do much persuading, saying that instead, 'Heath chose me'.

Warner Bros

"He just was determined to do it," Nolan said during a Q&A at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

"He just had a vision for something, and the way he termed it to me at the time was, he really didn't like to work too much.

"He liked to do a character and then stop working then let enough time go by. He wanted to be hungry for it. And when he came to me, he was clearly in that state: very hungry. He was ready to do something like that and just own it - which is what he did."

After his death, Ledger's father appeared in a documentary and showed viewers his son's personal diary/scrapbook that he filled in while preparing for the part. It showed just how dedicated he had been.

"He pretty well locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks," Heath's dad Kim explains in the film.

"He galvanised the upcoming character. That was typical of Heath. He would do that. He liked to dive into his characters, but this time he really took it up a notch."

Ledger's dedication in bringing the Joker to life didn't go unnoticed as he posthumously won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for the role.

Topics: TV and Film

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward