Joaquin Phoenix almost played Joker in The Dark Knight instead of Heath Ledger; says he ‘wasn’t ready'
In a recent interview, Joaquin Phoenix revealed how Christopher Nolan had asked him to play Joker in The Dark Knight, but he turned down the opportunity; read
In an interview on Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin, actor Joaquin Phoenix revealed how Christopher Nolan had approached him to take on the role of the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. He said, “I remember I talked to Chris Nolan about The Dark Knight and that didn’t happen for whatever reason,” Phoenix said. “I wasn’t ready then. That’s one of those things where it’s like, ‘What is in me that’s not doing this?’ And it’s not about me. There’s something else. There’s another person who is going to do something. … I can’t imagine what it would be if we didn’t have Heath Ledger’s performance in that film, right?”
The actor was most recently seen alongside singer-songwriter Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux. Phoenix has also previously embraced the role of the Joker in Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker. That role won him the Oscar for Best Actor, successively achieved remarkable commercial success — grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
“I don’t know whether Christopher Nolan was coming to me saying, ‘You’re definitely the person.’ I can’t remember the context of how we met, but I know we met,” he added. “My feeling was I shouldn’t do this, but maybe he also was like, ‘He’s not the guy.’” The role ultimately went to Heath Ledger who went on to win a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, creating a defining portrayal of the character with his rendition.
There was also a report that claimed how Nolan had an impact on the original Joker movie by allegedly blocking director Phillips' idea to end the film with Phoenix’s Joker carving a smile into his face. Claims are that since the facial scars were iconic of Ledger's Joker, Nolan didn't want the similarity in Phillips' Joker. The reason Folie à Deux ends with a character carving a smile into his face is because Nolan is no longer in business with Warner Bros.
