Adrien Brody Could Have Played Nolan’s Joker in The Dark Knight
“Frankly, I was not close to getting the role” admits today the American actor, beaten by Heath Ledger during the casting.
He is one of the rare actors in Hollywood who has never set foot in the Marvel Universe. Or even in the DC Universe. Adrien BrodyOscar for best actor for his role in the film The Pianist (2002) is rather known for this kind of interpretation on a wire, like his new performance in The Brutalistwhere he plays a Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the USA. And yet, his career could have been very different.
Because Brody reveals he was considered to play the Joker in The Dark Knight of Christopher Nolan.
In an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he confirmed that he had been in discussions with Nolan for the role, before being dubbed by Heath Ledgerdied just before the film’s release and was honored with a posthumous Oscar in the process. A performance that marked superhero films and inevitably, Adrien Brody confirms that he was not up to the task: “Frankly, I wasn’t close to getting the role of the Joker (…) It was a role that I felt perfectly suited to play. But Heath did such an outstanding job on this film. He left an indelible mark.”
He goes on to explain that he obviously has a little regret because “every actor has this desire to delve into a character as dark as this, especially with a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan who brought such a deep vision. Nobody was doing that at the time. What he did was breathtaking. This would have been a dream role for me. And I’m sure Heath did too.”
Adrien Brody hasn’t given up on comic book films, however. But it would take a role as strong as the Joker of The Dark Knight : “If I was given the opportunity to play an interesting character with a filmmaker who allowed me to elevate myself and do something completely different, then why not, that would even be great.”