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

2. The Joker's Shoes Were The First Costume Element To Be Chosen

The Dark Knight
Warner Bros. Pictures

Once Ledger signed on to play the Joker, it was time to devise the character's look.

Obviously, the costume and makeup departments (along with the director) are the two main creative forces during this process, but The Dark Knight is a rare case in that the actor was also heavily involved.

Nolan didn't want to just stick Ledger in a Joker costume and hope that it worked, and so, the young Aussie actually helped to develop the look and feel of the Joker - from his clothes to his shoes to his makeup - with costume designer Lindy Hemming, makeup artist John Caglione, and Nolan himself.

According to Nolan, the Joker's shoes were the first thing that Hemming and Ledger decided upon, with Ledger finding them to be "exactly right".

Contributor
Contributor

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.