'Dark Knight' Q&A: Aaron Eckhart

The actor explains why you have nothing to fear from Harvey Dent

By Geoff Berkshire

Metromix

Since “The Dark Knight” is a Batman movie unlike any Batman movie before it, it’s fitting that Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of district attorney Harvey Dent is equally unique.

The character was previously played by Billy Dee Williams in a small role in Tim Burton’s “Batman” and more memorably by Tommy Lee Jones in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever”—in which Dent fully assumed his comic-book role as Batman nemesis Two-Face.

Eckhart’s Dent represents a beacon of hope in the corrupt political world of Gotham City, but anyone who’s seen the actor’s career-making turn in the dark indie “In the Company of Men” knows the actor specializes in masking evil under an All-American surface. It’s no fun spoiling whether or not Eckhart brings those talents to “The Dark Knight,” or whether he might be saving them for a return trip to the Batman universe.

Instead Metromix spoke with the actor about the virtuous side of Dent and what he did to fit in to director Christopher Nolan’s striking vision.

Were you worried at all about separating yourself from how Tommy Lee Jones played Harvey Dent as Two-Face in “Batman Forever”?
It’s a whole different tone. It’s interesting if you look at the Batmans, you can really tell which director directed it by the tone of the movie. Chris has really brought an excitement to Batman and a reality to it. Thematically this Batman is just so full of political, personal and sociological [ideas]. I’m just starting to understand what’s going on in the movie myself. It works on so many levels of pure action, Batman fantasy, comic and then what’s going on in the world today—terrorists, choices…the whole status of what is a human being and who deserves to live or die—and you have the morality tale and [a love] triangle. It’s pretty dense.

What did you think when you first read the script?
I knew that Heath was playing the Joker, so I [didn’t] know why Harvey would be in the movie. I read the script and I was so thankful that [Nolan included] Harvey Dent to show the altruist, the American hero, the great hope of Gotham city as a person both at work and in his personal life. You really get to know who Harvey Two-Face is, and why he is the way he is. I thought that was important and fun to play as an actor.

Were you a “Batman” fan when you were younger? Did you read the comics?
Growing up I watched the show and I had the pajamas, I slept on the pillow. I woke up early on Saturday mornings and I watched the series, all that sort of stuff, I loved that. Chris sent me the pertinent comics. That’s a discussion with Chris you have to have: “How dedicated are we to this?”

What was the biggest challenge for you with this role?
The biggest challenge for me was the tone of the movie. Obviously I had seen “Batman Begins” and Chris and I talked about it. When you have such an outrageous thing going on, with both Heath [Ledger] and I, you work in the ballpark. So I would ask Chris “What’s Heath doing with it? What should I be doing with it?” Chris said “play it right down the middle,” and I appreciate that. I think that’s just the way the tone of the movie is. Heath honestly portrays the character’s mental state. We’re all in the same ballpark, and we’re all playing the same game.

What is it like playing a hero in a Batman movie who isn’t Batman? We all know about Two-Face, so as the audiences watches the movie they’re wondering “is he for real, does this guy have some other darker thing that’s going on”?
Harvey has a lot of levels to him. The whole relationship with Bruce Wayne, the playboy billionaire—Harvey looks at himself as a more serious figure in Gotham. Then [there’s] the relationship with Batman. Two crime fighters, one in law, one without the law. There are a lot of dynamics going on in there. I liked playing the crime fighter and the politician at the same time. It was fun because you had to be slick but on the other hand you had to have a lot of heart. Harvey had a lot of heart.