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10 Years Since ‘The Dark Knight,’ No One Understood Heath Ledger’s Casting

According to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Nolan shares that he and the studio didn’t get why Heath Ledger was cast as the joker.  Jonathan, as in brother to Christopher…

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Visits New York City School

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 08: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon looks through a magnifying glass while visiting a school in Brooklyn at the start of a four day trip to the United States on June 8, 2015 in New York City. Since taking over from Alex Salmond as the first minister from Scotland, this is the first time Sturgeon has represented Scotland in the United States. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

According to an interview with The Hollywood ReporterJonathan Nolan shares that he and the studio didn't get why Heath Ledger was cast as the joker. 

Jonathan, as in brother to Christopher Nolan, the director of 'The Dark Knight,'  says in the interview that “No one got it, the studio didn’t get it. Everyone was coming at Chris [Nolan] and saying, ‘we don’t see it’.”

He goes on to say “And the fan community was … we were f—ing pilloried for it... It was a disaster. This was the worst casting decision ever made. Chris just hunkered down and stuck to his guns and kept moving along."

It ended up being the best casting decision for the movie, considering that not only did Heath make what's called one of the best Jokers of all time, but according to NME, Ledger's sister shared that Heath had every intention of working with Christopher Nolan on another Batman film.

“He was so proud of what he had done in Batman,” she was quoted saying, “And I know he had plans for another Batman. He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film."

Heath Ledger was one of the only actors to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor posthumously (joining Ralph Richardson of 'Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes') and it was very well deserved.

VIDEO: All Of Heath Ledger's Scenes As The Joker In 'The Dark Knight'

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights