"I was terrified!" - Michael Caine on being "floored" by Heath Ledger's Joker 

Sir Michael Caine opened up about working with Heath Ledger in the iconic 2008 movie The Dark Knight. In his new memoir, Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over: My Guide to Life, the legendary actor recalled how he was completely "floored" when he watched Heath Ledger perform. He writes:

"Absolutely floored me the first time I saw him in action — I was terrified!"

In the 2008 fan favorite movie, The Dark Knight, Michael Caine played the role of Bruce Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who assisted him with surveillance and provided technical support.

Michael Caine reflects on Heath Ledger's legendary performance in his memoir

In the excerpts obtained by Entertainment Now, Michael Caine confesses to wondering if Heath Ledger would rise to the challenge of playing the complex villain in the movie.

"He was a lovely guy, very gentle and unassuming. I wondered how he was going to play the Joker, especially as Jack Nicholson’s take had been so iconic. Brilliantly, Heath ramped up the character’s psychotic side rather than going for one-liners. His Joker was deeply, deeply warped and damaged, though you never find out exactly why, or what he’s really looking for."

The "two-time Oscar-winning actor" also talks about the untimely death of Heath Ledger, adding that if he were alive today, he would certainly go on to achieve great things.

"It still makes me sad to think of it, more than fifteen years on. An accidental overdose, just tragic. Heath was only twenty-eight when he passed away. I hadn’t even made Zulu when I was that age. You think of what he might have gone on to achieve, it’s just heart-breaking."

In his book, Caine reflects on how shocking the news of the "Brokeback Mountain" actor's death was for everyone and the difficulty with which the cast did the subsequent press tour.

"We were all terribly shocked, and it made doing the publicity for "The Dark Knight" that summer much more intense, because all the journalists wanted to talk about his death.

He further added:

"I was so pleased when he was awarded the posthumous Oscar, because it must have been at least some sort of comfort for his poor family."

The Cider House Rules actor writes how Heath Ledger had the ability to effortlessly switch from his sweet personality to that of a "scheming monster."

"He and Christian [Bale] were good friends and always having fun together. And then he was transformed into this scheming monster, driving a whole city towards mayhem,"

Caine adds that the brilliance of Ledger's performance also forced others to bring their best acting skills to the table. He says:

"Looking back, I think Heath’s excellence made all of us raise our game."

Michael Caine added that even before the movie was released, everyone on the set was blown away by Heath Ledger's performance in The Joker.

"The truth is, we’d all hoped he would win an Academy Award and thought he should, even while we were still filming the movie. So it was just a very sad thing that he wasn’t around to accept it in person. It’s a performance for the ages, and even though his career was cut short so soon, he’ll be remembered as a great actor, I believe."

Michael Caine's latest book, Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over: My Guide to Life, released on 25 March, written in conversation with writer Mathew D'Ancona, also sheds light on the celebrated actor's life and career.