Paintings by Francis Bacon, the character of Alex in Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of the same name, and various punk rock musicians also served as inspirations for Ledger's performance.Īlthough Ledger's casting as the Joker was initially controversial, it is now widely considered to be his finest performance Ledger himself regarded it as his most enjoyable. He wears the character's traditional purple and green color palette, while his disfigured clown-like appearance is the result of smeared makeup that covers facial scars of a Glasgow smile, rather than bleached white skin from falling into a tank of chemical waste like in the source material. Ledger's portrayal of the Joker as an avatar of anarchy and chaos was specifically influenced by the graphic novels Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.

He targets Batman's allies, including police lieutenant James Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent, to prove that no one is incorruptible. In the film, the Joker tests how far Batman will go to save Gotham City from descending into chaos. Based on the DC Comics supervillain of the same name, he is depicted as a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped, sadistic sense of humor who defines himself by his conflict with the vigilante Batman. The Joker is a character portrayed by Heath Ledger and the main antagonist in Christopher Nolan's 2008 superhero film The Dark Knight.

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