Joaquin Phoenix reveals Christopher Nolan offered him Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight: ‘I wasn’t ready then’

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In the world of Batman live-action and the iconic villains in Gotham, if there is one immortal performance that sits at the top of the chain and is unparalleled for decades to come, it’s that of Heath Ledger as Joker aka Arthur Fleck in The Dark Knight. Even with an actor like Christian Bale playing Bruce Wayne, the movie was all about Ledger, and there are no two ways about it. Heath played the part in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and made it immortal in no time. He didn’t even survive to watch his own performance or take home the Oscar trophy that followed. However, can you ever imagine any other actor playing Joker in the Nolan movie? Clearly not. But did you know the role was actually offered to Joaquin Phoenix, who said he wasn't ready then?

Joaquin Phoenix Was Offered Heath Ledger's Joker Too?

Yes, you read that right. Over the years, we have seen a lot of names attached to the Dark Knight trilogy, including that of Leonardo DiCaprio, but never Joaquin Phoenix. Now, as per his own confession, Phoenix has said he was offered the role of Joker in The Dark Knight that eventually went to Heath Ledger. What is surprising is that Joaquin’s name was never attached to the film in all these years. Read on to know everything you should about the same.

As per the Comic Book Movie, Joaquin Phoenix has now revealed he was actually offered to play Joker before the 2019 release, and it was for The Dark Knight. Phoenix said, "I talked to Chris Nolan about The Dark Knight and that didn’t happen for whatever reason, I wasn’t ready then...I can’t imagine what it would be if we didn’t have Heath Ledger’s performance in that film, right?" It seems like the role was meant to have Phoenix listed under it, and he eventually played a different version of the Clown Prince of Crime in a DC Elseworlds film and also took home an Oscar for the same.

Christopher Nolan Saved Joker (2019)

In case you don’t remember, the climax of Joker (2019) has Arthur, played by Joaquin Phoenix, turn into Joker completely and draw a smile on his face with smeared blood. The scene was hailed by everyone and became one of the most intense climaxes in the history of anti-hero movies. However, a new report now claims that the original plan for the film was to have Joker carve a Glasgow smile on his face rather than drawing it with blood.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Joaquin Phoenix was supposed to carve the smile like the scars on Heath's face in The Dark Knight rather than drawing it, as per Todd Phillips' initial idea for the climax of Joker. However, Christopher Nolan, who is the father of The Dark Knight trilogy, intervened and stopped them from doing so. He made the makers understand this would attract comparisons between Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger, which would eventually end up being a not-so-good space. Heath's performance as The Clown Prince of Crime is revered as the best ever and any comparison to him means calling for a problem.