THE key to portraying The Joker in the latest Batman movie, and turning him into a truly psychotic character, would be through his voice, the late actor Heath Ledger told director Christopher Nolan.

Ledger, who portrayed the demented killer in The Dark Knight, which opens today, even studied ventriloquists and voices they used for their dummies in order to prepare that unique cadence and tone, USA Today reported Nolan as saying.

In the movie, Ledger often speaks with a menacing hiss that moves in an unpredictable fashion - often changing octaves and peppering it with maniacal laughter.

"We knew he was on to something special," said co-star Christian Bale, who plays Batman, of hearing Ledger use The Joker's voice.

Film author and historian Leonard Maltin said that great villain voices can be the most memorable element of a character.

Think of James Earl Jones as the voice of Star Wars' Darth Vader, and of Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector, who both managed to turn already-menacing characters into ones that were positively sinister through voice.

For Vader, Jones had to create a voice devoid of emotion, while Hopkins based his on a computer (see sidebar).

An effective villainous voice, though, may be hard to pin down.

Some directors, like Sam Raimi, director of the Spider-Man franchise, goes for good laughs.

"People who can laugh when they're committing atrocious acts are truly horrifying," Raimi told USA Today.

Bob Corff, author of Achieving The Standard American Accent and voice coach to actors including Bardem, Faye Dunaway and Forest Whitaker, says the key to a menacing tone can be just slowing down.

"Whether you're looking for a drunk or villain accent, it's very effective to speak your words carefully," he told USA Today.

"In either case, you're trying to hide your true nature. And that's chilling."

Director Ang Lee, who directed Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (2005), says he didn't recognise Ledger's voice at first when he walked past a screen playing a Dark Knight trailer at a convention.

Ledger was hissing the line "Let's put a smile on that face".

"It wasn't until I heard that, that I realised just how gifted he was with his voice," said Lee.

Playing the villain: They got it right

DARTH VADER

Voice: James Earl Jones

Who: Perhaps the granddad of all modern villains, Darth Vader spoke in a trademark breathy rasp that announced his presence.

You might remember the famous line "Luke, I am your father."

What he says: Jones says it wasn't until his second film playing Vader in 1980's Empire Strikes Back, that he learnt what it takes for a voice to make spines tingle.

"At first, I was trying to put heart in character, and (director George Lucas) said that was the problem," Jones says of Vader in 1977's Star Wars.

"He wanted something that could witness and cause all this destruction, yet not be moved by it."

HANNIBAL LECTER

Actor: Anthony Hopkins

Who: The serial killer in 1990's Silence Of The Lambs is best remembered for killing and eating his victims.

Great voice moments include the scene where Hopkins mocks Jodie Foster's character, Clarice, by mimicking her West Virginia accent.

He distorts the word "chianti" and makes a vile slurping sound after he describes eating the "census-taker".

What he says: While much can be credited to improvisational touches that Hopkins added, he has said in interviews that he drew inspiration for the character's voice from HAL-9000.

That's the homicidal computer from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

DANIEL PLAINVIEW

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis.

Who: The ruthless oil baron in 2007's There Will Be Blood.

James Earl Jones called Lewis' pre-murder monologue "the scariest thing I've heard in years".

What he says: Day-Lewis is known for making his voice different from movie to movie, and listens to tapes of various voices until he hits on one that strikes him.

The voice he used supposedly imitated that of the late actor and director John Huston.

"The accent and tone can be one of the hardest things to get right, but if you don't, you'll lose your audience," Day-Lewis said in an interview.


For more my paper stories click here.