Aaron Eckhart has weighed in on the "Joaquin Phoenix vs. Heath Ledger Joker" Debate.
The actor, who played Harvey Dent/Two-Face alongside Ledger in 2008's The Dark Knight, gave a diplomatic response when asked about the comparison between the two performances. "I think Heath and Joaquin are showing the way," Eckhart told Entertainment Weekly. "They’re showing the way in the sense that they’re just being very real and that they go all the way into the bottom of their soul and find where it comes from and they give it to us. That’s what those guys did and I think audiences appreciate that the most."
The internet comparisons of "whose Joker was best" started shortly before the release of 2019's Joker film. While Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight is considered iconic and won him a posthumous Academy Award, Phoenix's performance is being hailed as one of the best of the year and is also expected to garner him awards attention. However, both films and performances have been praised by critics for expanding the understanding of what comic book films can be.
Eckhart, who is currently promoting his action film Line of Duty, also coyly admitted that while working with Tommy Lee Jones on the upcoming thriller Wander, it "came up" that Jones had also played Harvey Dent, in 1995's Batman Forever. While he admits the comic book genre is becoming "boring" to him, Eckhart shared that he is "happy and very honored to be in The Dark Knight and all of the tentacles and the connections that it has throughout life and everybody’s life in Hollywood now.”
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film is now in theaters.