Heath Ledger’s chilling Joker diary revealed haunting final message before death

The disturbing diary kept by the late Heath Ledger while preparing for his Oscar-winning Joker role has been revealed, containing unsettling inspirations, handwritten dialogue, and a chilling final message written months before his tragic death.

A German documentary has offered a rare glimpse into the intense process of Heath Ledger, with his father sharing the scrapbook his son compiled to become the Joker in The Dark Knight.

According to a Buzzfeed report, Ledger locked himself in a London hotel room for about a month, diving into the character's chilling psyche and experimenting with voices.

In a 2007 interview, the actor explained his method. "I sat around... formed a little diary... it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh."

The diary's pages were filled with a terrifying collage of muses, including images of hyenas, clowns, and stills of Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange.

Ledger even wrote out the entire hospital scene by hand, meticulously crafting the Joker's unnerving dialogue.

His father, Kim Ledger, confirmed the sheer dedication involved. "He liked to dive into his characters, but this time he really took it up a notch," he said.

This immersion led to one of cinema's most acclaimed performances but also fuelled speculation that the role took a toll on the actor, who died from an accidental overdose at just 28.

The most haunting element of the diary came after filming had concluded. On the final page, Ledger had scrawled two words in large letters: "BYE BYE".

Looking through the book, his father confessed the emotional impact of that final entry. "At the end of shooting, he wrote goodbye... It was hard to read that."

While friends rejected the notion that the role led to his death, Ledger acknowledged the darkness he channelled, calling his creation "an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown."