10 Behind-The-Scenes Screw-Ups That Created Iconic Movie Moments
5. The Dark Knight Faulty Explosives Let Heath Ledgers Joker Look Even More Awesome
Ok, its a classic, but I couldnt not stick it in such a list. So if you do know, bear with me for this slide, but if you dont, carry on reading.
If theres a universal truth everyone agrees on, its that The Dark Knight was awesome, and Heath Ledger put on an awesome performance. Denying such things can actually earn you death by stoning during Comic-Con, and often causes the entirety of a forum to turn against you in passionate Batman-inspired fury.
Of course, Christopher Nolan knew he'd struck gold with Ledgers Joker so just let him run with it, improvising all the on-shot slurps and tics which came as part and parcel of the unhinged performance. So when it came time to blow up a hospital, they knew Ledger might have something special planned. What they didnt realise was that the very real explosives being used to blow up the dummy building would falter, and how the actor would respond to this.
Ledger already looking delightfully mental in his nurses outfit was given the actual trigger to start the one-shot effect, but when he pressed it, nothing happened. Quick as a flash, he stayed in character and just shrugged in an exasperated fashion at the whole thing before everything exploded and he was allowed to flee.
That moment is now seen as one of the quintessential Joker moments, effortlessly capturing the essence of a character who treats hospitals not being bombed on time in the same manner you or I would late buses. For something that came about only because of a special effects goof, it wasnt bad at all.