The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and based on the DC Comics superhero Batman.
Starring the likes of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Cillian Murphy – the cast is star-studded and full of Hollywood A-listers.
It is the sequel to the 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins, and the second instalment in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
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In the film’s plot, the superhero Batman, Police Lieutenant James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent form an alliance in a bid to stop crime in Gotham City.
With their efforts derailed, the Joker causes chaos to see how much Batman will do in order to save the city.
But what about the actors behind the characters? Here at Daily Star we take a look into their lives before and after The Dark Knight
Christian Bale
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Christian, who is 48, has played Batman in movies since 2005.
As a child he actually trained in ballet but decided to switch to acting instead.
He first stepped into the role for Batman Begins, before doing so again for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
The Wales-born Hollywood star was praised for his portrayal in the franchise, but what did he do next?
Continuing to act after his blockbuster performance, he has starred in many hit movies like The Prestige, American Hustle, Terminator Salvation, and more recently Thor: Love and Thunder.
Away from the big screen, Christian is married to Sandra “Sibi” Blažić, a former model.
The pair wed in Las Vegas in January 2000 – meaning they’ve been married for more than 22 years.
The couple share two children – one daughter and one son.
Heath Ledger
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Heath Ledger played the role of the Joker in the 2008 movie, which was released nearly six months after his tragic death.
While working on the film in London, the actor who was 28 at the time, told the New York Times that he thought the Joker was a “psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy”.
Sadly in 2008, the Australian star died at the tender age of 28 years old.
The legendary Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight star was found unconscious in bed by his housekeeper, and though CPR was administered, the actor sadly could not be revived.
Gary Oldman
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Gary Leonard Oldman was born in New Cross, London, but has made a huge name for himself in the film industry.
Before his stint in the Batman films he starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal, as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter.
Gary went on to play the role of James Gordon in Batman Begins, a role that he reprised in the sequel The Dark Knight, and then again in The Dark Knight Rises.
After his stint in the Batman movies, he starred alongside Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol – playing three roles.
Michael Caine
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Michael Caine, or Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, is an English actor known for his strong London accent.
His career dates back to the 1950s, with the actor still working in hit movies today in the 2020s.
Between 1952 and 1954, he did his national service and served in the British Army’s Royal Fusiliers.
In the 80s he starred in The Jigsaw Man, The Island and The Hand – among a slew of other popular movies throughout the decades.
In 2005 he was cast as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins – and then reprised his role for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
Away from his enormous career, Michael lives in Leatherhead, Surrey, in a house that only set him back £100,000 to build.
Throughout his life he has dated a string of famous faces including the likes of Bianca Jagger and Natalie Wood.
He was married to actress Patricia Haines from 1955 to 1962, and the pair had a daughter – Dominique.
Michael remarried to actress and model Shakira Baksh in 1973, and they have a daughter – Natasha Haleema.
Cillian Murphy
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Cillian Murphy, 46, is an Irish actor who is best known for starring in the likes of Peaky Blinders and in Dunkirk alongside Harry Styles.
He is also well known for working with Christopher Nolan and playing the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
Since 2013 the Irish hunk has portrayed the role of Thomas Shelby in the BBC television series Peaky Blinders – which follows a criminal gang in Birmingham before the first world war.
Speaking to The Independent, he said: “[The scripts] were so compelling and confident, and the character was so rich and complex, layered and contradictory. I was like, ‘I have to do this.'”
The Irish actor married his long-time girlfriend Yvonne McGuinness in 2004, after meeting her in 1996.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
(Image: Getty/ Warner Bros.)
Margalit “Maggie” Ruth Gyllenhaal played Rachel Dawes in the superhero film.
Away from The Dark Knight, she has popped up in Crazy Heart, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, The Lost Daughter, and The Honourable Woman.
She has a famous brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, who starred alongside Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, and who dated Taylor Swift for a short while.
Maggie is married to Peter Sarsgaard after becoming engaged in 2006, and marrying three years later in 2009.
They have two daughters, Ramona and Gloria Ray and live in a townhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and they own a home in Vermont.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
