We're still absolutely fascinated to see what went into Heath Ledger's iconic, Oscar-winning, and brutally engaging Joker. Over a decade later, Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' arguably remains the best film in the DC world as well as perhaps the best superhero movie ever made. Put all the capes and crazy stunts aside, it's one of the best movies made of the past two decades. Without a doubt, Heath ledger's groundbreaking performance is one of the main reasons.

There are a ton of behind-the-scenes details of the making of The Dark Knight. But fans are still interested in what it was like to work with the late-Heath Ledger.

Working with Heath Ledger has been a massive topic of conversation for the other cast members of 'The Dark Night'. Here is just a snippet of some of the things they've said about being around the late, great, Joker.

Heath ledger as The Joker Dark knight
Slant

Christian Bale Was Pushed To The Limits By Heath

Other than director Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale has been the most vocal about his experience working with Heath Ledger. it makes sense, after all, he was the Batman to Heath's Joker.

First and foremost, Christian has said that he was amazed watching Heath become the Joker. His work ethic truly inspired him. And, when he and Heath weren't in character, the way they would speak about the acting experience was also deeply rewarding.

Christian was also one of the most vocal supporters of Warner Brothers promoting Heath's work as The Joker after he passed due to the sheer amount of work Heath put into the role. In Christian's opinion, Heath was deserving of all the praise and recognition he received.

Related: There Will Be More Than One Batman In DC’s Upcoming ‘Flash’ Movie

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christian said that he loved the intensity and the seriousness Heath brought to the set. This was especially true for the interrogation scene:

"As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realizes that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him the more he enjoys it. The more I’m giving him satisfaction. Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion. He was kinda egging me 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….” 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."

Batman and Joker in the dark knight
LA Times

Aaron Eckhart Was Part Of Heath's Creative Process Without Knowing It

While being interviewed on Larry King in 2013, Aaron Eckhart described the one epic scene he shared with Heath Ledger in the beloved superhero/crime movie. Of course, he was talking about the scene where The Joker speaks with Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the hospital.

"My one experience with Heath on the film was our scene together in the hospital, " Aaron told Larry King as he started to get somewhat emotional. "I was in the hospital bed that day. And I thought, 'well, I don't really have any lines. What am I going to do?' I didn't know what was going to happen."

Aaron Eckhart Heath Ledger Joker and Two-Face in Dark knight
Twitter

Aaron then went on to describe how the scene was getting set up and all the while Heath was always in character. He'd be talking to himself in the corner. He'd be grunting and making noises while pacing around the room for nearly an hour. The whole time, Aaron was watching him. He then stuck his hand up in the air and Heath immediately caught it... Heath was paying attention to Aaron the whole time. So, without knowing, Aaron was part of Heath's creative process.

The whole day, the two never spoke a word to each other as they choreographed the scene. At the end of the day, Heath put his hand on Aaron's shoulder and said, "That's what acting is all about."

Related: An Inside Look At ‘The Batman’ Movies We Never Got To See

The two also got to spend some time together in the make-up trailer in the early stages of production.

"Heath and I were in the same trailer coming up with our looks. And so I would be working on Two-Face over here and Heath would be on the other side of the trailer with his make-up. And Heath would be going [convulsing] -- making noises from the other side of the room. And I would look over and he was coming up with his make-up, which I thought was real special. And then we would talk about it and that sort of thing."

What Some Of The Other Cast Members Have Said

In a press junket for The Dark Knight, Gary Oldman claimed that Heath "oozed charisma" and that he could see that Heath had found some sort of "frequency" that allowed him to do something really special with the role and that was admirable.

Heath Ledger Joker police car
Empire

While Gary Oldman echoed what Aaron Eckhart said about Heath remaining in character, he said that as soon as Heath took off the make-up he was a wonderfully "sweet guy".

Related: All Of The Dark Knight Trilogy Villains, Ranked

In the same interview, Maggie Gyllenhaal claimed she knew something remarkable was happening with Heath's performance as soon as he stepped on set. Years later, during an interview with Andy Cohen, she praised him for doing the near-impossible -- giving a stellar performance in a blockbuster film.

Each and every one of the main cast members of 'The Dark Knight' seem to praise Heath's performance but, more importantly, they adored the man's work ethic. And there's no doubt that all of Heath's hard work truly paid off.

Next: Why Did Fans Speculate Mary-Kate Had Something To Do With Heath Ledger’s Death?