The Dark Knight actor recalls how he could have died during the Joker's pencil trick
The stunt actor was knocked out three times, and narrowly avoided a pencil to the eyeball
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When Heath Ledger uttered the immortal words, “How about a magic trick?” in The Dark Knight, he wasn’t lying about what we were about to see.
Cast and crew who worked on the grisly scene have explained how it worked, how they ultimately ended up going with slight of hand instead of CGI, and how the stuntman on the receiving end of the Joker’s desk slam was knocked out several times and could easily have been seriously injured or even died.
“I think even Chris [Nolan, director] assumed we were going to have to do some CG,” VFX supervisor Nick Davis told Vulture.
“It’s not particularly difficult to build a CG pencil and track it in and kinda make it disappear out.... [But] wherever possible, we tried not to do unnecessary visual effects shots.”
Instead, Nolan, who had worked with his production team on magic tricks in previous film The Prestige, decided to stage the stunt for real, with the stuntman swiping the pencil away at the last minute – so swiftly and at such an angle that it wouldn’t be obvious to the viewer.
“We did a couple of half-speed rehearsals just to get the hand action of my right hand sweeping across, taking the pencil as my body was going down, and my head striking the blank surface,” stunt actor Charles Jarman recalled to Vulture. “It was a little hairy, because the pencil’s stuck in the table. If, for some reason, I didn’t get my hand in time, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Well, possibly through a Ouija board.”
Jarman apparently had “three knockouts” while filming the scene, which was the only time Heath Ledger broke character, asking Jarman “Are you okay? Are you okay?”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments