The first actor from a superhero movie to ever win an Academy Award.

The movie The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. The Best Supporting Actor award was won by Heath Ledger for his portrayal of The Joker.  This win was the first for any movie based off a superhero. He was also the first posthumous winner of the Best Supporting Actor Award.(source)

Did you know Heath Ledger was down to 150$ at one point in this life?

Once Heath Ledger decided that he had to take his stage/TV acting career to movies, he started refusing every single TV role that came his way. This hurt his bank balance as well. It was only when he was left with just 150$ in his bank account was he offered a role in the movie “10 Things I Hate About You”.

Michael Caine forgot his lines once because he was so scared of Heath Ledger’s portrayal as the Joker! 

Do you remember the elevator scene in the movie The Dark Knight? Michael Caine was in such a fright while The Joker visited the penthouse of Bruce Wayne that he forgot his lines. Michael later stated that Heath’s portrayal of Joker was more of a scary psychopath when compared to what Jack Nicholson portrayed. He compared the latter to be funnier and more of a clown figure.(source)

The second most searched term on Google was “Keith Ledger” the day after the actor passed away on January 23, 2008.

A day after the actor’s death on 22^nd January 2008, he became the most searched person on the popular search engine Google. Some popular search strings included his family, apartment address, famous movies and his daughter Matilda Ledger. What is interesting is that people didn’t know how to spell his name and ended up searching for “Keith Ledger” instead.(source)

Heath Ledger maintained a Joker Diary!

Yes! It’s true. Heath Ledger didn’t leave any stone unturned while preparing for his iconic role in the movie. He stayed alone in a hotel room and jotted down things that Joker would find funny such as injured doctors, landmines, AIDS, blind babies, geniuses with brain damage. Heath said that this diary helped him to switch his persona. According to Kim Ledger, Heath’s father, the diary helped him delve deeper into this character. (source)

Heath Ledger designed his own makeup for the character.

Don’t you still remember the white makeup sported by Heath in The Dark Knight? This became an integral part of the personality of The Joker. What’s fascinating is that this makeup was designed by Heath himself. He used makeup used by clowns and also considered cosmetics from drugstores for his role. His makeup was approved by the team and then the makeup team helped him do the same during each day of the shoot. (source)

Did you know that Heath Ledger was a proficient chess player?

Heath Ledger was an accomplished chess player which is proven by the fact that he won the Western Australia’s Junior Chess Championship while he was just ten years old. He did not give up on this game even while he grew up. He used to play with other enthusiasts at the Washington Square Park. He was actually planning to direct and perform in a chess-related novel by Walter Trevis, The Queen’s Gambit. This would have been his first directorial venture. He seldom had any idea about what was in his fate.(source)

Do you remember what the nurse’s name tag read during the hospital scene?

When the Joker was dressed as a nurse, he wore a name badge. The name   imprinted on the badge read Matilda which is the name of Heath’s daughter.(source)

Heath Ledger requested Christian Bale to beat him as hard as he could.

Once again, we marvel with Heath’s dedication to his role! Do you remember the interrogation scene from the movie? Heath requested his co-star to swing him as hard as Batman would, for the scene. He believed this would give him a real feel of the scene.(source)

Heath was working on a music video before his death.

Before his untimely death, it was said that Heath had started working on his music video for Modest Mouse, an American indie rock band. The unfinished video was then completed by the co-director after Heath’s death. This video was released during August 2009. The clip also showed Ledger who was trying to create awareness about the illegal whale hunts that were being carried out off the shores of Australia. (1, 2)

Have you heard of the Glasgow Smile made famous by Heath?

The scars on Joker’s face from a wound in the movie resemble the Glasgow smile. The term originated in Glasgow and became popular with the street gangs. This was given to the actor Tommy Flanagan while he was attacked in Scotland outside a bar. The Glasgow Smile was one of the many striking features of The Joker. Now, you know where his peculiar smile draws inspiration from. The modern gangsters take a credit card and insert it lengthwise into a person’s mouth to keep it open. The cuts result in a Glasgow smile.(source)

Heath Ledger’s Ad Libs during the movie shoot made the movie a pure genius.

Do you remember the scene when James Gordon received the news that he had been promoted as commissioner? The people around him start clapping and The Joker who is in the jail starts clapping in a mocking and sardonic way. What is interesting is that the clapping part by Heath Ledger was not a part of the original script. This was a purely unscripted action by Heath which just went on to add to the movie’s magnificence.(source)

Heath would skateboard on the set.

While shooting for the movie in Chicago, Heath Ledger would wear his full costume and makeup and would be seen skateboarding. The crew believed Heath did this for his own relaxation.(1, 2)

Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp gave their salaries to Heath Ledger’s Daughter

The actors who played variations of Heath’s character in the movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” donated their entire salary to Matilda Ledger who was just 2 years old during Heath’s death. This was a gesture of concern for Matilda’s future because Heath had not updated his will before his death.(source)

Harvey Dent was actually not given an option by The Joker during the Hospital scene.

Another classic scene defines Heath Ledger’s awareness as an actor in all the little things he does. The Joker places a revolver in Harvey Dent’s hand and asks him to either join him or blow off his head. While this may seem like Harvey was given a choice, the truth is that The Joker was still in command and was manipulating Harvey. During the scene, the Joker’s fingers can be seen holding the revolver’s hammer such that even if Harvey had decided to pull the trigger, he wouldn’t have been able to shoot Joker. Truly brilliant indeed!(source)

The action sequences of the movie were choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping of The Matrix

Are you a fan of martial arts movies? If yes, then you would have certainly watched movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Matrix. Yuen Woo-Ping is a reputed martial arts choreographer as well as a film director. He supervised the action sequences of Kung Fu Hustle. Yuen Woo-Ping started off his career during 1978 with the movie Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow followed by The Drunken Master.In fact, he was responsible for launching Jackie Chan! He has worked with several prominent actors from the Chinese Film Industry and he’s considered to be a legend. He was hired by the Wachowski Brothers for The Matrix after his impeccable work in the movie the Fist of Legend.(1, 2)

Chow’s childhood memories inspired “Pig Sty Alley” design.

Pig Sty Alley has been portrayed as an impoverished place where one comes across retired Kung Fu masters who have taken up modest jobs in their lives. The alley was the prime location in the movie and Chow made it his first priority to design it. He stated in an interview that this alley was inspired by his childhood memories of crowded, slum neighborhoods of Hong Kong.(1, 2)

Chow spent a considerable amount of time working on the leader of the Axe gang.

The role of “Brother Sum” was portrayed by Danny Chan Kowk-Kwan who is not just a lead singer of a rock band and a dance choreographer but is also skilled at Jeet Kune Do, a martial art form. Bruce Lee is believed to have created Jeet Kune Do. Danny’s dancing skills prove beneficial when Chow was brainstorming ideas for creating a tough character as the leader of the Axe gang in the movie. Chow incorporated the dance sequence in the movie rather than making scenes depicting pure violence.(source)

Chow originally wanted the two assassins to fight with a shark in the movie!

Do you remember the scene in which the two assassins are seen playing a magical Guqin? This seven-stringed instrument was capable of launching invisible blades at the Pig Sty Alley. Originally Chow wanted to show the two assassins fighting a shark. This was not possible people the CGI said they couldn’t do it. Chow had no choice but to use a magical Guqin instead.(1, 2)

Stephen Chow is a trained Kung Fu practitioner.

Stephen is a great fan of Bruce Lee and learned martial arts by imitating him. He gives all the credit to Bruce Lee for inspiring him to be an actor as well as a martial arts practitioner. He did attend Kung Fu classes in school but couldn’t continue because of his financial situation. Instead, he watched the movies of Bruce and imitated his moves.(1, 2)

Yuen Qiu won the role of the landlady while she was watching her friend audition for a role in the movie.

Yuen Qiu was smoking a cigarette while watching her friend audition for a role in the movie. She had a sarcastic expression on her face and was offered the role of the Landlady despite not auditioning for it. Chow wanted his cast to be unusual and atypical. He took his time in auditioning the cast. Chow was inspired by the way Yuen Qiu managed to look snobbish and arrogant which he thought perfectly fit the character.(source)

Bruce Leung was Stephen’s childhood martial arts hero.

Bruce Leung portrayed the character of the Beast in the movie. Leung Siu-Lung assumed the stage name Bruce Leung following the death of the legendary Bruce Lee. Many Chinese filmmakers at that time tried to cast actors who could imitate Lee. Leung is often referred to as the Third Dragon after Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. He eventually retired and came back on screen fifteen years later with Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle.(source)

Chow was looking for an innocent looking girl for the role of Sing’s love interest. Ultimately Eva was picked from a pool of nearly 8,000 girls!

Eva Heung made her movie debut with Kung Fu Hustle. She was a TV actress before that and the movie became her debut. Eva was chosen from a pool of 8,000 girls for the character!(source)

The Landlord and Landlady’s cha-cha dance an ode to Bruce Lee.

The cha-cha dance was incorporated in the movie as a nod to Lee who won the cha-cha championship during the year 1958. This was not the only reference to Bruce Lee in the movie. The Landlady also mimics the gestures of Bruce Lee that he made in the movie Return of the Dragon. The Landlady wags her finger at the Axe gang leader then closes both her fists where you can hear her knuckles cracking. She then thumbs her nose imitating Bruce Lee.(source)

The name Pig Sty Alleyis a play in Chinese based on the Walled City of Kowloon.

The Walled City was actually a military fort. It became enclaved when China leased its territories during 1898 to Britain. When the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, the population of the city rose during 1990 dramatically. The city experienced drug abuse, gambling and high rates of prostitution. The government of Hong Kong then planned to demolish the enclave in 1987. (source)

The martial arts style that Sing learns in the movie as a child is a real Shaolin style of Kung Fu.

If you are a great fan of this movie, you must remember the last fight with Beast where Sing uses the Buddhist Palm. This leaves a hole in the building in the shape of a palm. In reality, the Buddhist Palm style delivers a powerful punch to the opponent utilizing the palm. This belongs to a relatively modern style of Kung Fu which is referred to as the Fut Gar Kuen.  (1, 2)

Most of the names of the character in the movie have been taken from the novels of Louis Cha.

Louis Cha Leung-Yung is a popular Chinese novelist. He has written over 15 wuxia novels withover 100 million copies of his novels been sold worldwide. The names of the characters in Kung Fu Hustle are a comical reference to a popular novel by Louis, The Return of the Condor Heroes.(1, 2)

Kung Fu Hustle surpassed Shaolin Soccer by being the highest-grossing Hong Kong movie in North America.

Kung Fu Hustle became the highest grossing movie made in China during the year 2005. The movie gained a cult following and became the highest grossing foreign language movie in North America. The movie earned HK$4,990,000 on the first day. The movie was released in 2,503 theaters after its success. This is the highest for any foreign language movie ever. Though it wasn’t a blockbuster, it managed to become the highest grossing foreign language movie in North America.(source)

Kung Fu Hustle was described as a supreme achievement in terms of comedy in the modern age by Bill Murray.

Billy Murray during an interview with the GQ magazine, mentioned how impressed he was with the movie. He described the movie as a supreme achievement in terms of action comedy in the modern era. (source)