Isn't it always more fun to be the bad guy?

Heath Ledger may be most famous for playing the super villain The Joker, but it was recently revealed that the actor was almost cast as Batman. 

Ledger was among the many young stars who director Christopher Nolan met with to play the Caped Crusader in 2005's "Batman Begins." 

After meeting with Nolan, the late Ledger turned down the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, which of course eventually went to Christian Bale. “He was quite gracious about it, but he said, 'I would never take a part in a superhero film,'" Nolan said at an event billed as Film Society of Lincoln Center - An Evening with Christopher Nolan, sponsored by Film Comment. 

By the time Nolan was casting "The Dark Knight," however, Ledger had come around to the idea of being in a superhero movie, preparing his role as the Joker months before the script was even completed. Nolan explained the actor's about-face. “I explained to him what I wanted to do with 'Batman Begins' and I think maybe he felt I achieved it.”

Ledger's performance as the Clown Prince of Crime won him a posthumous Oscar.