Adrien Brody Recalls Meeting Christopher Nolan for Dark Knight’s Joker: “I Wasn’t Close”

Actor Adrien Brody nearly played the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, he just revealed in an interview with podcaster Josh Horowitz. Brody doesn’t think that he was very close to getting the role, and he is a huge fan of Heath Ledger’s iconic performance in the final product. Still, Brody said that he was pretty excited for the chance at the time — both to work with Nolan and to play a character he thought he could do justice to. Although that opportunity passed him by, Brody said that he is still open to appearing in a comic book movie.

“Oh no, I wasn’t close,” Brody said humbly when discussing the audition process. “It was a role that I felt very suited to do. Heath did such a remarkable job in that movie. It was indelible. Such beautiful work. Any actor who has a degree of edge would like to delve into a character like that, especially with a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan who brought such a profound vision.”

Like many other, Brody feels that Nolan’s Batman movies look even better in hindsight, saying, “Nobody was doing that at the time. There was nothing like that. Christopher Nolan’s work and what he gave actors in that was such a revelation. It was mind-blowing to see. That would have been such a dream role and I’m sure it was for Heath.”

Ledger’s performance as the Joker became legendary in part because it was his last performance on film — the actor passed away before the movie hit theaters due to a drug overdose. Rumors and speculation have often hinted that Ledger’s “method acting” approach had something to do with his death since he spent so much time in the mindset of such a manic character, but there is much more evidence to suggest that other factors were at play in Ledger’s personal life.

Brody is no stranger to genre fiction, but he has yet to delve into the comic book adaptation space. He told Horowitz that he would consider a role in the MCU “if I was presented with an opportunity to play an interesting character with a filmmaker that elevated me and gave me space to do something vastly different in that world.” He added, “People love them. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something beloved?”

Brody is currently promoting The Brutalist — a tragic biopic of architect and holocaust survivor László Tóth. The movie is currently playing in theaters around the U.S.