Wednesday, 28 May 2008

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Christian Bale: Heath Ledger was incredibly intense

Heath really got into his role as the Joker in Dark Knight says his co-star

Christian Bale stars opposite the late Heath Ledger in Dark Knight

Actor Christian Bale says co-star Heath Ledger was a brooding presence on the set of Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins.

‘He was incredibly intense in his performance, but incredibly mellow and laid-back’, Christian, 34, tells Details magazine.

During preparations for the role of Batman’s arch-enemy The Joker – a role first played by Jack Nicholson - Heath lived alone in a hotel room for a month, taking inspiration from Sex Pistols rocker Sid Vicious and the film A Clockwork Orange.

Sir Michael Caine, who plays Alfred the butler in the new movie, believes that Heath’s Joker is ‘going to be a hell of a revelation’.

‘Jack was like a clown figure, benign but wicked, maybe a killer old uncle. He could be funny and make you laugh,’ says the veteran star. ‘Heath's gone in a completely different direction to Jack, he's like a really scary psychopath.’

Heath died earlier this year of a prescription-drug overdose at the age of 28.

Rossanne Spencer