The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features Batman (Christian Bale) and the Joker (Heath Ledger) on the cover and includes a feature that looks at the tragedy and triumph of The Dark Knight. The exclusive interview inside EW with Christopher Nolan has The Dark Knight director reflecting on Heath Ledger’s performance:

On Heath’s commitment to his character: ”The guy had serious nuts. What I needed was someone who wouldn’t be afraid of the comparison with Jack Nicholson. And then I saw Heath’s incredible performance in Brokeback Mountain. Such a lack of vanity. This was an actor who wasn’t afraid to bury himself in his character — to a massive extent.”

On Heath’s work with a coach to “get” the Joker’s voice: “He tried to articulate to me what he was doing with his voice, but it was sometimes hard to understand. He talked about ventriloquist dummies, the way their mouths moved, the way their voices wouldn’t appear to come out of them. He said he wanted the voice to have a mocking quality, a sort of disconnectedness.”