Heath with daughter Matilda, as the Joker, and fiance Michelle Williams

via HeathLedger.net

Crazy record-breaking numbers aside ($314.2 million to date! WOW!), the Dark Knight has definitely made its mark across the nation since its July 18th release. With the late Heath Ledger’s mind-blowing performance as the crazed joker, the unfortunate consequence of his intense role is the talk of the town.

Taking on the job of the psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown, the Australian father of one, went a little too deep into character. “Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” he told the New York Times last November. “My body was exhausted and my mind was still going.”

Ledger suffered from insomnia due to his method-acting madness, and turned to the sleeping pill, Ambien for relief. The original Joker himself, Jack Nicholson, gave him the heads up when he took on the risky role. He warned him about playing the joker and the toll it would take on him.

It was also the Oscar-winning legend that advised him about Ambien, the sleeping pill. Ledger suffered from insomnia due to his method-acting madness, and turned to the aid for relief. “I warned him to stop,” Nicholson told the U.K.’s Mirror. “I tell people about Ambien. Somebody said, ‘Take this it’s mild.’ I almost drove off a cliff 50 yards from my house.”

An amazing performance: legendary. The result, absolutely heartbreaking.