VIDEO INTERVIEW: It is "bittersweet" that Heath Ledger's final completed role as The Joker is being remembered as one of his best, director Christopher Nolan says.
Nolan, who had long been a fan of the young Australian, and steered Ledger through the making of his latest Batman film, says he was looking for a fearless actor who wasn't afraid of taking on the iconic role. With Ledger he wasn't disappointed.
"Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning. It's captivating. It's going to blow people away," he says.
With white face paint that appears creased and sweaty in places, red lips smeared across his face and smudged black panda eyes, Ledger's punk inspired take on the murderous anarchist in The Dark Knight is generating Oscar buzz.
The Dark Knight's cast and crew believe Ledger's breathtaking and edgy performance will see him posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.
The Perth-born actor died in January at 28 from an accidental drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment. He was filming Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest and most respected directors, says the critical reviews of Ledger's performance are "bittersweet".
He says it is heartbreaking to see an actor, who stamped his mark with his tender portrayal of cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, achieve so much and have his potential tragically cut short.
Nolan says in the editing process of any movie there is always a "tremendous responsibility" to reflect the performance of an actor who has given their all.
He concedes in editing The Dark Knight that "responsibility felt massively multiplied".
"But now people are getting to see the performance finally and I am very relieved to hear people reacting to it, I think, in very much the way that Heath intended the performance to be understood," he says.
Asked what other characters in the Batman universe appealed to him as a possible hint at a third instalment, Nolan smiles and coyly says, "I wouldn't like to say".
