Joker star Joaquin Phoenix says he talked to Christopher Nolan about playing the iconic Batman villain in The Dark Knight: "I wasn't ready then"

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie À Deux — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Joaquin Phoenix may have just played the Joker for the second time in the divisive Joker: Folie à Deux, but it turns out he could have taken on the iconic Batman villain a while back.

In a new interview, the actor revealed he actually spoke to Christopher Nolan about playing the part in The Dark Knight. Famously, the role went to Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal which was widely lauded as one of the best performances of the character.

"I remember I talked to Chris Nolan about The Dark Knight and that didn't happen for whatever reason," Phoenix said to Rick Rubin on the Tetragrammaton podcast. "I wasn't ready then. That's one of those things where it's like, 'What is in me that's not doing this?' And it's not about me. There's something else. There's another person who is going to do something. I can't imagine what it would be if we didn't have Heath Ledger's performance in that film, right?"

Phoenix went on to give some more context too about why it didn’t work out. "I don't know whether Christopher Nolan was coming to me saying, 'You're definitely the person.' I can't remember the context of how we met, but I know we met. My feeling was I shouldn't do this, but maybe he also was like, 'He's not the guy.'"

The actor went on to play Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips’ Joker, winning his own Oscar for the role. The film’s sequel starring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn has been less critically acclaimed (check out our Joker: Folie à Deux review for why), but is now out on digital.

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I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.