The untimely death of the “The Dark Knight” actor has left many questions surrounding the circumstances that lead to his demise. Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment on January 22, 2008, a couple of months before the release of the second Batman movie “The Dark Knight”. He locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks to delve into the character. The Joker is depicted as a maniacal criminal mastermind who terrorizes Gotham City and whose goal is to plunge it into anarchy. The Joker has been described as a “psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy. The preparation for the “The Dark Knight” and Ledger’s divorce may have contributed to his tragic death.

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Heath Ledger

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The Joker, Heath’s final role

The late actor left a diary in which he noted ideas and sketches to assist him in unpacking the requirements to portray Batman’s arch nemesis, The Joker. Heath’s last words is scribbled on the last page of the diary, “BYE BYE”. The final page is the sum of the contents in the diary that can only be described as heartbreaking.  The Australian actor passed away at the age of 28 from an accidental prescription drug overdose. It only makes you appreciate Ledger’s performance more, to see all of the inspirations that motivated his intense portrayal of the character.

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The final words scribbled in capital letters on the last page of the diary

The clip is from a German documentary with the dialogue overdubbed into French.  Kim Ledger’s (Heath’s father)  flips through the diary as he comments:

“This is the Joker’s diary. In order to inhabit his character, he locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks. He would do that. He liked to dive into his characters, but this time he really took it up a notch.

The hospital scene is interesting because when he was a kid, his sister Kate liked to dress him up as a nurse. He was really funny like that. He also was in the movie. This is a make-up test which was done eight months before. Before the end of the shooting he wrote ‘bye bye’ on the back of the page. It was hard to see this.”

Have a look at the clip below that reveals a disturbing last look at Heath Ledgers final thoughts captured on what seems more like a scrapbook:

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Alex from ‘A Clockwork Orange’

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Inspiration from classic characters

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