Heath Ledger created ‘Joker shrine’ during The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger was allegedly so obsessed with perfecting his performance as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ that he turned his entire New York apartment into a “shrine” dedicated to the villain.

The New York Post have reported that the police that responded to his drug overdose in his Manhattan abode in 2008 found that it was covered in Batman comic-books, various pieces of clown memorabilia, and other bits of research surrounding previous incarnations of the character.

An insider told the publication,” [Ledger] was studying up on the origins of clowns and all of the previous Jokers like Jack Nicholson’s character and Cesar Romero’s, who was the first Joker on TV.”

“He was trying to make his role different from the roles of the other actors. He was even studying how to make his voice different from theirs.”

This included recording himself using different voices in an attempt to hone his voice as the legendary villain.

Despite this description, the source insisted that the apartment, which is located on Broome Street in the city, was “immaculately” tidy, going on to add, “He was a perfectionist who clearly had a lot of respect for the character.”

Ledger died on February 6, 2008, of an accidental drug overdose just five months before ‘The Dark Knight’ was released. Ledger’s performance as the character was roundly lauded, so much so that he was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

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[Images via Warner Bros./20th Century Fox]