To promote the upcoming television documentary I Am Heath Ledger, the late actor's sister Kate explains that his role as the Joker did not depress him.
Heath Ledger was one talent that we lost much too soon, and to this day he remains the only actor to win an Academy Award for a performance in a comic book movie as the Joker – and the method acting he took to get role is often treated as a scapegoat for his suicide. However, his sister says that this was not the case.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly to promote the upcoming documentary I Am Heath Ledger, Kate Ledger stated that the Joker role did not have an impact on his mental health.
“Everything that came to light about the Joker, we were all so confused. [That line of speculation was] so not true. Honestly, it was the absolute opposite. He had an amazing sense of humor, and I guess maybe only his close family and friends really knew that, but he was having fun. He wasn’t depressed about the Joker.”
The reason that the role is commonly believed to be a factor in Ledger’s death is that he intensely got into the role, with talks suggesting that Ledger locked himself in an apartment with nothing to do but read but some of the darkest Joker-centric Batman stories imaginable. But from the sound of things, it seems as though Ledger’s death really owed itself to a rather tragic accident rather than a depression-based suicide as some believed. In any case, he is still missed even a decade after he passed away.
I Am Heath Ledger will air on Spike on May 17, 2017 at 10 PM ET.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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The film will also be set in Central City.