The Dark Knight Trilogy: 18 Cool Behind-The-Scenes Details You Didn't Know

3. Nolan Met With Heath Ledger To Discuss Him Playing Batman

The Dark Knight
Warner Bros. Pictures

Before Christian Bale was cast as the first movie Batman of the 21st century, Nolan met with dozens of other potential candidates, and one of those candidates was the man who would one day win an Oscar for playing the Joker: Heath Ledger.

However, in those pre-Batman Begins days, Ledger explained to Nolan that he simply wasn't interested in doing a superhero project.

So, what changed his mind when it came to The Dark Knight?

Well, Ledger saw Batman Begins, and was so impressed with what Nolan managed to accomplish that he called the director to chat about a possible collaboration.

That's right. Nolan didn't go to Ledger - Ledger went to Nolan.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.