“Dark Knight” star Christian Bale talks with the Dish Rag about working with an “uncompromising” Heath Ledger, who brought an anarchic, “Clockwork Orange” edge to the classic character the Joker. And Christian also spills the beans on Batman’s new suit (a movable neck?) and his upcoming role as John Connor in the new “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.”

DR: What was it like working with Heath Ledger?

CB: There was a great dynamic. You know, the Joker is just gleeful to come up against Batman, because everyone else has been too easy. He’s an intelligent psychopath. He’s bent on chaos and destruction. And if that means self-destruction, so be it. It’s impossible to leverage him, because he’s not looking for anything but living in the moment, living in that anarchy.

“Dark Knight” star Christian Bale talks with the Dish Rag about working with an “uncompromising” Heath Ledger, who brought an anarchic, “Clockwork Orange” edge to the classic character the Joker. And Christian also spills the beans on Batman’s new suit (a movable neck?) and his upcoming role as John Connor in the new “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.”DR: What was it like working with Heath Ledger?

CB: There was a great dynamic. You know, the Joker is just gleeful to come up against Batman, because everyone else has been too easy. He’s an intelligent psychopath. He’s bent on chaos and destruction. And if that means self-destruction, so be it. It’s impossible to leverage him, because he’s not looking for anything but living in the moment, living in that anarchy.

DR: Did the new batsuit make shooting this film easier?

CB: It was much more comfortable. It was heavier, but it was actually much more comfortable. There’s, like, 110 parts to this one, there was 103 to the original. And I could move my head. It was more mobile. For the Casey fighting method that we used, the martial art, the suit actually was compatible for that.

Where in the first one, I was having to fight against the suit in order to be able to do the fight sequences. In every way it was more advanced. And I think also more in keeping with images that the military have of future soldiers and their gear.

DR: So the scene where Morgan Freeman gives Bruce Wayne a better bat suit is art imitating life?

CB: Yes. Exactly, yeah. Obviously, the suit has to evolve. But there were certain personal requests that I’d made and I know Chris had been very adamant about we’ve got to be able to move the head, you know? Batman has never moved his head in any of the movies.

DR: What drew you to play John Connor in another classic film franchise, the new “Terminator Salvation”?

CB:  In a similar fashion that “Batman Begins” revitalized and reinvented, even though with “Terminator Salvation” we are, of course, continuing a mythology, we’re not ignoring a mythology as we did with Batman.

I see there being great potential for reinvention and revitalization of the mythology of it. And that’s when I’m aiming to do. That’s what I feel like our responsibility is; otherwise there’s no point in making it.

Source: LA Times Blog