It’s become impossible to picture anybody but Heath Ledger playing The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight." Ledger has become the embodiment of that film, and even won a well-deserved posthumous Oscar for his performance.
Apparently, Joaquin Phoenix came very close to getting the Joker role in “The Dark Knight.” This is the first I hear of this. Phoenix was on Rick Rubin’s podcast and mentioned how Nolan approached him to play Joker, but the actor turned down the offer because he “wasn’t ready” to embark on the role:
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?
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think it’s ever been reported before that Nolan reached out to Phoenix for the role. The irony of it all is that Phoenix, much like Ledger, would go on to play Joker in Todd Phillips’ 2019 film and win the Oscar for his performance. Go figure.
What’s even more amusing about this Phoenix/Nolan news is that, just a few weeks ago, THR reported that 2019’s “Joker” was initially supposed to end with Phoenix carving a smile on himself like the scars Heath Ledger’s Joker had in “The Dark Knight.” This was director Tod Phillips’ original idea for the climax, but Nolan intervened and convinced Warner Bros. not to go forward with this.