Joaquin Phoenix Claims Nolan Offered Joker Role in the Dark Knight

Joaquin Phoenix revealed that Christopher Nolan approached him about playing the Joker in the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, far before his turn in The Joker. Phoenix did not get the role but said he didn’t feel he was ready at the time.

Luckily, Heath Ledger was very ready and gave us a live-action performance that arguably hasn’t been beaten. Ledger delivered a critically acclaimed performance but, unfortunately, died before the film’s release, leaving a lasting impact on the film industry. His role in The Dark Knight earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

It’s kind of hard to understand him, but during the Rick Rubin podcast, Pheonix said, “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?”

We have seen some say that Phoenix clarified he turned down the role in this podcast. However, listening to the podcast does not seem to make us think that’s what happened. Phoenix says he was approached and it “didn’t happen for whatever reason.” The only clarification he gives is that after being told Nolan wanted him for the part, Phoenix said it didn’t work likely because he wasn’t ready, and then Nolan may have alluded that Phoenix wasn’t right for the part anymore.

Related: ‘More Like a Nightmare:’ Fans Can’t Believe How Joaquin Phoenix Came Up With Joker 2’s Story

It was more of a conversation where Phoenix shows that he would eventually be ready for the Joker, but things happen for a reason. If we were to reword what he said, because it’s hard to understand, it’d be that the universe works in ways that aren’t clear until much later.

Phoenix was not the actor for Nolan’s version of Joker, but Ledger was. Phoenix ended up being the actor for his version of the Joker, and we’re glad things worked out the way they did because both actors were able to shine in their versions of the character (we’re not going to talk about Joker 2).