HEATH LEDGER - LEDGER: NOTHING INTIMIDATES JOKER

Heath Ledger has explained the demands of taking on one of the most famous roles in cinema history - that of crazed Batman villain The Joker.

Jack Nicholson defined the role in Tim Burton's Batman and has very publicly expressed his dismay at not being contacted for Christopher Nolan's imminent (well, it's out in July) film The Dark Knight.

And though his Dark Knight co-stars have gushed in admiration for the Brokeback Mountain actor's portrayal of the cackling comic book villain, Ledger himself has admitted a great deal of trepidation when approached for the part.

"I definitely feared it," he told Empire magazine, but added: "Anything that makes me afraid I guess excites me at the same time."

"I don't know if I was fearless, but I certainly had to put on a brave face and believe that I have something up my sleeve. Something different," he said.

Though Nicholson (not forgetting Cesar Romero in the unforgettable TV series) might have given the character iconic status, Ledger's portrayal of the ribald rogue is all together more frightening, he stressed.

"I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices — it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh," he explained.

"I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He's just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown, and Chris [Nolan] has given me free rein.

"Which is fun," he went on, "because there are no real boundaries to what The Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke."

While The Dark Knight hits UK screens in July 2008, Ledger will next be seen in Todd Haynes' brilliant Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There, released on December 21st.

The January issue of Empire Magazine is out now.