About.com writer Rebecca Murray interviewed Aaron Eckhart, recently cast as ill-fated Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, at the premiere of 300 in Los Angeles. You can read the entire thing here, but I wanted to share a couple of quick highlights:
Rebecca Murray: Is the opportunity to work with Christopher Nolan what appeals to you about working on The Dark Knight? Is that the reason you signed on?
Aaron Eckhart: “It’s certainly one of them. It’s a huge, huge, deal. I love his work. I think he and his brother just wrote a firecracker of a script. And the cast – everything is first-class. The series, I’m looking forward to working on. Batman Begins, everything is just top notch.”
Rebecca Murray: And working with Christian Bale and everyone who has already done a Batman movie together?
Aaron Eckhart: “I’m looking forward to it. I’m very excited about working with him and Heath Ledger and Gary Oldman, and everybody. That’s something I think about a lot.”
Rebecca Murray: Do you approach playing a character based on a comic book any differently than you’d approach any other character?
Aaron Eckhart: “No, not at all, because you’re a human being and three-dimensional with thoughts. That’s the key, I think, is to make him as human as possible because that way the audience completely forgets that they’re watching anything but just the story unfolding in front of them. Even like tonight, watching this movie … I mean, they’re not going to be cartoon characters. They’re going to be real people with thoughts and feelings and emotions.”
Rebecca Murray: Is there going being a lot of special effects and make-up effects with your character?
Aaron Eckhart: “I think there will be a certain amount of that …”
I like that he thinks it’s “a firecracker of a script.” And the make-up quote, of course, refers to the fact that Harvey gets acid thrown on his face and the disfigurement is so traumatizing that it unleashes a second, murderous personality (that still has its own twisted sense of morality). The result is the classic (and tragic) Batman villain known as Two Face.
Filming begins in April, so hopefully new casting information will be coming soon. No official announcement has been made about Maggie Gyllenhaal taking over for Katie Holmes yet, either. (And I still maintain that she’ll be Selina Kyle and not Rachel Dawes.)
I actually had a dream last night that I rented The Dark Knight and Katie Holmes was in it, which made me happy because I knew that when Maggie showed up later, she’d be Selina Kyle. And show up she did, with a cute, short haircut. Heath Ledger’s Joker looked pretty cool in my dream, and he was trying to blow up a space shuttle. I’m sure Batman stopped him, but I woke up before it happened.
And I wonder why I don’t have a girlfriend.
Update
According to Variety, Maggie is in! (And I still don’t believe she’s playing Rachel Dawes.)
Update
The Hollywood Reporter talked to Christopher Nolan, who said, “I’m extremely excited to work with an actress of Maggie’s caliber, and she’s a great addition to the cast as we continue our story.” Whammy! Thanks to Melissa for the link.