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September 24, 2007 - Oscar winner Michael Caine has reportedly gone on record about Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in the Bat-sequel The Dark Knight.

Batman-on-Film.com, citing The Melbourne Herald Sun and The Mercury, quotes Caine as saying that Ledger has beaten the odds and topped Jack Nicholson's much-ballyhooed performance as the Clown Prince in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman.

"He's gone in a completely different direction to Jack. Jack was like a clown figure, benign but wicked, maybe a killer old uncle. He could be funny and make you laugh," Caine said of Ledger (a MINOR SPOILER follows). "Heath is like a really scary psychopath. I did one scene with him and he was ready to go and had to come up in a lift and raid our place."

Caine recalled, "I didn't see him for rehearsal and when he came out of the lift he was so incredible I forgot my lines. He frightened the life out of me. ... I'd never met him before. He's a lovely guy and his Joker is going to be a hell of a revelation in this picture."

In other Bat-news, Variety reports that Beatrice Rosen (Peaceful Warrior) and Joshua Harto (The Believer) have joined the cast of The Dark Knight.