"Joker" took over Heath Ledger....

[Dr Mordrid]

A bad side effect possible when you mix someone with psychological problems and "method acting**"....

Link....

LOS ANGELES — Heath Ledger's tragic death earlier this year came as a surprise to the public, but the warning bells were ringing two years ago during the filming of the latest "Batman" flick, “The Dark Knight."

According to an on-set source, Ledger was advised to seek professional help for his personal problems, but turned to the Joker role to mask his psychological woes.

"Heath refused to talk to anyone out-of-character," the source said. "If you tried to communicate with him normally instead of the Joker, he would just ignore you.

"He would often come to the set to hang out even on his days off in character, freaking everyone out," the source continued. "Toward the end of filming, he was warned by people that he’d gone too far, but it was almost like he couldn't connect with those who cared for him anymore."

Ledger reportedly locked himself in an apartment for an entire month to fully become the crazed, criminal-minded character, and we're told by another source on the set of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" that Heath couldn't "snap out of it" and basically "lost sense" of who he was.

"Heath couldn't be himself anymore and that terrified him," said the source, adding that the controversies surrounding his will, alleged cocaine usage and possible love child prove that no matter how “removed” Heath tried to be from the limelight, he could never escape the constant hearsay.

“When you have people talking s—t about you all the time, of course it's hard to stay levelheaded and remember who you really are,” the insider said.
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**Method acting is an acting technique in which actors try to replicate the emotional conditions under which the character operates. This contrasts with a more abstracted, less involved style of acting in which the actor remains an outside observer of the character.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

I read somewhere Jack N. warned him before he took the role of the Joker how much it messes with your head.

[Dr Mordrid]

IMO presented correctly (not Jack N.'s or from the TV show) Joker is one of the most inherently evil characters I've ever seen, so crawling into his head and living there for several months presents that risk bigtime, especially if done by someone with troubles.

Since they were using the Joker presented in the nothing-short-of-great (and for adults) graphic novel "Batman: The Killing Joke" as a jumping off point the risk was extreme. That Joker was a homicidal psychopath of the first order.

TKJ was written by Alan Moore who also wrote The Watchmen, From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (much better than the film!) and V For Vendetta, among many other excellent graphic novels. He also created the character John Constantine, yes that John Constantine, who later got his own series titled Hellblazer.

[Claymonkey]

Alan Moore's writing is brilliant and his graphic novels are 70% of my short list of must read material. His characters are real... but they CAN be twisted and warped but you can relate to them. THAT is what makes them scary. The fact that the Joker is THAT evil AND you understand him... yeah.

Take that, mix it with method acting and the fact that actor's by there nature have a few screws loose...and make them understand an Alan Moore reinterpretation...yeah not a good mix.

There is a reason I don't date actresses, and art circles mix with acting circles a lot, so I've gotten my fair share of opportunities is that they tend to be a little high maintenance and basically a train wreck. I think it was Jack N. that said that the average person has 1-2 odd quirks to their personality, and actors have 5-10. If you go by that loose concept (which I've found true) I'd say that basic concept taken from on high view shows you that:
Average person: 1-2 quirks
Classical musicians: 2-4
Visual artists: 3-5
Rock musicians: 4-6
Actors: 5-10.

Rock musicians includes any musician where its as much about the fame, fans and showing off as the music. They are an odd mesh of musician/actor. Performance art tends to work in the same way as well so throw them in that lump.

This is obviously a loose concept but I've found it to be... generally true. If I don't want to be the 'stable' one in a relationship I try to stay in my group or lower down the ladder (ie date a cellist, but not a singer in a band).

Psychatrists often become psychatrists to figure out there own quirks and have more than their fair share of them. Actors... are running from themselves and trying to figure themselves out. The best way to do that? Be someone else. You have problems though and have a less than stable mind... yeah lets through the Joker's thought process at that. GOOD IDEA!

[Claymonkey]

As always... generalizations CAN and will bite you in the arse. I do know completely sane and normal actors... They for me have been the exception that prove the rule. Just like insane normal people prove the rule for the 'average person' (still don't know what that means honestly).

I've lived all over the world growing up and everyone is different but there are more similarities than most want to admit. I went from a High School with 700 in my class to finish in a high school that had 250 students... total. Go from that to a university where the art school has 1000 students (visual, music, theatre), and you're in awe in how its nice to be among 'your people'. Until you realize your people are insane. Still some of the best years of my life, but I didn't date 'inside the pool' much.