Q: How was it like getting back into character and to the fact you do so much more in this [sequel]?

G: Yeah, it was very nice of Chris Nolan to write me such a good part. Um, eh, I mean it was great to come back because, I know, I really enjoyed working on the first one. You probably met Chris, um, he doesn’t shout. He doesn’t scream. I have never seen him be rude to anyone. He’s really sort of a nice guy to be around. And you finish and you get home for dinner. And you can put the kids to bed. He doesn’t want to work for 17 hours… He’s not a lunatic that wants to work, you know what I mean? [No] shouting and screaming at people.

Q: So it’s a similar atmosphere two times in a row?

G: It’s great… When they say come back and do a second Batman, you know, [Chris] called me and said, ‘Look, there’s more to do. The arc of the character emotionally is bigger, and you’re more involved.’ And it’s nice to work with Christian [Bale]. Great, it’s like a little family. You go back and revisit and see the same people – the same cameraman – all of that is very nice. But you also think, I got to spend 12 hours in the company of someone. And if you’re going to do that, then I can think of worst people than Chris Nolan, you know? And those things become more important to you when you get older.

Q: So working with Chris you don’t sweat as much?

G: When I was 19-20, I’d work a 25-hour day, you know?

Q: When Aaron Eckhart was here and he said when he sat there and went, ‘Oh my God, there’s a lot to the script!’ Do you feel the same way as you went through the script that it is sort of exciting?

G: Yeah, yeah. And it’s really a lot to focus on. I think what Chris [Nolan] has done… Um, in the hands of a less talented director, I think, you might watch this and think there’s too much going on. It’s overloaded. Lots of plot. Two bad guys. The mob, the Lao, the money, the Joker – who doesn’t want the money – there’s all of that going on. When I read the script, I thought where do I focus? I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way there’s a lot going on. But you know exactly where to focus. And where to look. And there is a lot to do. It is a big film.

Q: If you had a smaller role as last time, in the same kind of role, would you come back again?

G: Yeah, yeah! My returning to it is not dependent on whether the role was bigger than the one before. I had quite a bit to do in the first one.

Q: Would you do it again? If it’s as good enough as the last time, would you think, ‘I’ll do this as many times as they ask me?’ Is that how you feel?

G: I think there might be… there’s every possibility that there will be a third. Um, and I think Chris [Nolan] will do a third. If there’s a third, he’ll do it. He’s pretty much… It’s his baby. He’s not going to give this up. I don’t think Warner Bros., I think what they’re learning now, is, that the franchise – because they own it, it’s they’re thing… Maybe Harry Potter you could do it with, but I think they’ve learn that you can’t just… Just the name Batman isn’t enough. You got to have somebody at the helm. You really need a vision for it. And Chris [Nolan] has got that. So I think they will temp him with all sorts of things… hmm!

Q: About a year ago you remarked about Heath’s performance ‘This is so good, it’s going to blow you away’ after seeing him on set and seeing the dailies...

G: Yeah, in the tent. I did say that.

Q: So now that you’ve seen the movie...

G: I was right, wasn’t I? I was right. I got a sense of it the first morning I worked with him, and uh, I thought this kid’s a bit good! And he was doing the scene himself, and I called a respective friend of mine who asked, ‘What’s Heath liked?’ And he said he’s sort of tuned in, it’s like a frequency – he’s found a radio station that we can’t hear. He found something. That happens to actors sometimes… You know, I think over the years when I think of performances – Nicholson in “Cuckoo’s Nest.” Al Pacino in “Dog Day Afternoon.” That sort of work where you look and go, ‘Wow, that’s going beyond… that’s special. I think he’s sort of done that. I think there are times when an actor would just like… go through the sound barrier.

Q: Gary, what was he like as a person?

G: Oh, great. The saddest thing is really, it’s a shame he’s not here to talk about it. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way – it’s just Christian [Bale] is very private, it’s quite intense, and it’s very private. In the way he works on Batman, you know? That’s not to say he doesn’t have a sense of humor. But it’s more fun to hang out with Heath! Because people want, because he died, and I’m not saying you guys, but people want a dark story: "He was so obsessed with the character, and he was contaminated with the Joker, and he couldn’t sleep, and all of that stuff." In-between takes he would sit on the curbside and smoke a cigarette, and laugh, and talk about his daughter Matilda. And I thought he was a beautiful kid. He was wonderful. I had a lot of affection for him. And he’s charismatic. You need a new word for charismatic. Um, but it’s pretty special work, huh?

Q: Hmm-hmm.

G: And he’s probably going to get an Oscar nomination.

Q: There’s already buzz...

G: I think they don’t always acknowledge this kind of genre. They don’t see this work – I don’t know why – it’s just.

Q: It’s sometimes judged as just action, an unserious genre.

G: And it’s just an action movie, and we’re the Academy! But they probably will [nominate] with this.

Q: This is a brainier than the average summer action pic, wouldn’t you say? There’s about ten times more things going on than your comparative action genre piece, yes?

G: Yeah. And it’s darker… I mean it’s really dark, the movie, isn’t it? I was amazed that [Chris] got a PG-13. And Heath, I think, it’s one of arguably the most psychologically, the disturbing villain I’ve ever seen, a bad guy, in a movie.

Q: I was thinking earlier if I didn’t know it was Heath Ledger, I wouldn’t know it was Heath Ledger. Was it like that? You said he “was on a different frequency.” Was it like that on-set, thinking he’s tapped into something completely out there?

G: Yes, there are just certain choices an actor makes – and it’s not like you lose yourself that you lose a sense of who you are – but you know that, it’s like a band in a group. Sometimes the band just plays a song and they find a groove. And uh, and you can tell with Heath that he just found that thing. It’s what musicians call, you know, in the crack?

Q: Have you ever found that in one of your own roles… Where you look back and you found that sort of [frequency]?

G: There are roles that you play, some of, I’ve played roles that it happens easier than others. And that, it doesn’t feel like you’re working. It’s as easy as breathing. And there are other ones that you really have to work hard for. It’s often because of the writing. If the writing’s good –

Q: You get to work on one of those?

G: Joe Orton was one of um… Alan Bennett – great screenplay. [Refers to movie “Prick Up Your Ears” by Stephen Frears]

"The Dark Knight" opens in theaters Friday July 18th.