10 Actors Who Conducted Insane Research For Iconic Movie Roles

2. Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (2008)

How does one research a role as difficult as that of a fully-fledged psychopath, exactly? Though many actors might opt to, say, check into a mental institution for a few weeks, or read up on famous sociopaths,

Heath Ledger went down a different route entirely when it came to preparing for his Oscar-winning turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight: he went balls to the walls insane in real life. And to be fair, for a character as demented and unhinged as the Joker, that might've actually been the best (and only) option. I mean, the Joker is unlike so many of Hollywood's most famous villains, because he has no real motivation - all he inhabits is a twisted desire to merely watch the world burn.

Ledger obviously picked up on this fact, because he opted to "research" his role by barricading himself in a hotel room for a month. Seriously. The actor shut himself away and spent a month keeping a diary and experimenting with voices. He eventually came to the conclusion that there was no humanity in the Joker, and - given that Christopher Nolan had given him free reign and creative control over the character's mannerisms - emerged with the persona we all know and love today.

Whether or not this research contributed towards Ledger's sad and untimely death just after shooting had commenced is unknown, though an entire month in a hotel room certainly can't have been healthy.