Heath Ledger begged Christian Bale to actually hit him in scene from ‘The Dark Knight’

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In this image, Heath Ledger portrays The Joker in a scene from "The Dark Knight." New interviews from around the time of the film's release suggest that Ledger actually wanted Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne, aka Batman) to strike him during the interrogation scene.
Stephen Vaughan/AP
This photo shows actors Heath Ledger as The Joker and Christian Bale as Batman in a scene from "The Dark Night." According to a new book, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him during the scene.
Christopher Smith/Invision/AP/Evan Agostini/AP
Christian Bale (l) portrayed Batman in Christopher Nolan's trilogy. Heath Ledger (r) famously portrayed the comic book villain The Joker, a role which won him a posthumous Oscar. As it turns out, he "egged" Bale on to hit him during a famous scene in the film.

PUBLISHED: October 17, 2017 at 1:16 p.m. | UPDATED: April 7, 2018 at 2:06 p.m.

As it turns out, The Joker wanted his clock cleaned by Batman, all in the name of authenticity.

Interviews with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and director Christopher Nolan from 2007 and 2008 — shortly before the release of “The Dark Knight” — have emerged in Joseph McCabe’s new book, “100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.”

As previously documented, Ledger, who famously played The Joker, took method acting to a whole new level with his portrayal of the comic book villain.

So much so, his co-star said, that he asked to actually get hit during the famous interrogation scene.

This photo shows actors Heath Ledger as The Joker and Christian Bale as Batman in a scene from “The Dark Night.” According to a new book, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him during the scene.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, McCabe’s interviews uncover the actor’s demand — he wanted the interrogation scene to be fully authentic.

McCabe interviewed Bale and Nolan around the time of the film’s release in 2008.

The excerpt appears to fall in line with what others have said about Ledger’s harrowing performance.

At the time, Bale noted that Ledger completely embraced Nolan’s vision for the film — which was a darker drama, instead of just comic book “caricatures.”

Christian Bale (l) portrayed Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. Heath Ledger (r) famously portrayed the comic book villain The Joker, a role which won him a posthumous Oscar. As it turns out, he “egged” Bale on to hit him during a famous scene in the film.

“When he (Ledger) was in the makeup and the garb he was in character the whole time; and when he took it off he was absolutely fantastic company to be around,” Bale said.

Recognizing that Ledger’s character had a thirst for blood, Bale said that in the interrogation scene, the young actor began “egging him on.”

“I was saying, ‘You know what, I really don’t need to actually hit you. It’s going to look just as good if I don’t.’ And he’s going, ‘Go on. Go on. Go on…'” Bale noted. “He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total.”

Asked if he felt upstaged by characters like The Joker, Bale said that he wasn’t worried in the least. Bale added that with Nolan’s trilogy, Batman became an intriguing character again, not so much a cutout. “I feel like we gained that back with ‘Batman Begins’…” he said, according to the excerpt published in THR. “So I have no problem with him competing with somebody else. Because that can only make for a better movie…”

In this image, Heath Ledger portrays The Joker in a scene from “The Dark Knight.” New interviews from around the time of the film’s release suggest that Ledger actually wanted Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne, aka Batman) to strike him during the interrogation scene.

Speaking with Nolan, McCabe uncovered some influences for The Joker character. According to the excerpt on THR, Nolan said Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and Alex from “A Clockwork Orange” all appeared to be prime examples for Ledger. The auteur also said that ventriloquist dummies were of interest to Ledger during preparation for his role as the Clown Prince of Crime.

McCabe spoke with Ledger in November 2007, just two months before his January 2008 death. He was busy promoting his film, “I’m Not There.”

The actor, who won a posthumous Oscar for his role in the DC Comics film, said that he wouldn’t have accepted the role in an adaptation rivaling Tim Burton’s, because he didn’t want to even “touch” Jack Nicholson’s performance.

“I knew it was open for a fresh interpretation. I also instantly kind of had something up my sleeve, which happened to be exactly what Chris was kind of looking for…” he said at the time.