Harvey Dent in the movies

B A T M A N

Relatively briefly shown in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Harvey Dent, just like Commissioner Gordon, was one of the few who weren't corrupted and truly wanted to bring peace to Gotham by capturing Mob boss Carl Grissom. Billy Dee Williams who played Star Wars' Lando Calrissian presented a strong and confident political figure. A role that, albeit brief, was memorable enough for the press to often cite it as one of his most known roles.

It is worth noting that this is the only portrayal of Dent as African American. The comic book character was a white Caucasian, however at the time of his inception there was a racial segregation and discrimination going on, and the portrayal of African American in comic books was non existent.

Billy Dee Williams: "I was happy that I was asked to participate. You know I always feel good about that because it’s saying people when they see me, as individual, as an actor, they’re not looking at me based purely at my ethnicity  but looking at a certain quality I might bring to the situation, so that made me feel very, very good" (BA)

I thought it was a real interesting idea to do it that way, because, originally, it wasn't written that way. But to carry on the character in -- how do I say it? -- in a different ethnicity? I thought it was a very interesting idea. A forward idea. (Bullz-eye.com int, 2007)

Williams said that he originally took the role believing that it would land him in a sequel playing the supervillain Two-Face, but as we know that did not happen. Burton's Dent never turned bad and did not reappear in Batman Returns. There is a rumor that he signed under the contract that he will play Two-Face in the future, however Williams himself denies it:

Billy Dee Williams: "The contract I signed was to play Harvey Dent, it wasn't a two or three picture situation. With Star Wars, I signed for two pictures. I think that at that stage, after the first Batman, some Japanese, Sony or something like that bought out the contract. I can't really recall it." (Starwarsinterviews1, 2005)

Bullz-Eye: Was Tim Burton ready to go with you in the role of Two-Face if he'd stayed on for another film? 

BDW: I hope so! (laughs) (Bullz-Eye.com, 1997)

However he did signed in hoping that he will end up being the Two-Face

Billy Dee Williams: And I wanted to play Two-Face; I thought it would have been a very unique thing to do. I would have done something interesting with the character, there's no question about it. It's just too bad I didn't have the opportunity. (amc, 2009)

When I took on the role I was looking forward to play Two-Face, but it didn't work out. (starwarsinterviews1, 2005)

Right, yeah, Two-Face. Which is one of the reasons why I decided, why I took on the role -- because I was hoping to play Two-Face. (Bullz-eye.com, 2007)

Since he was originally planned to appear in the possible sequel, Harvey Dent appeared in Batman in a little more than a cameo. He's appearance was just meant to show that the character is there and prepare the groundwork. While he wasn't a focus in the movie and just aided Mayor Borg, Dent was presented in a certain fashion and charm that Williams often brings to his characters

Billy Dee Williams: I had Adam Clayton Powell (Jr.) in mind when I played the character. He was not only a politician, but he was a reverend, a preacher, and he was a playboy. You talk about a romantic character. (BA)

 

In the Official comic book adaptation of the movie, Harvey Dent was reduced to only 2 panels, in one of which he's unidentifiable, standing next to Comissioner Gordon who is the one reading the letter from Batman instead

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B  A  T  M  A  N      F  O  R  E  V  E  R

Replacing Billy Dee Williams created a major inconsistency which became an argument for the fans who were disappointed with Schumacher's Batman movies to dismiss them as reimagination, reboot or a separate entity from Tim Burton's movies.

Tommy Lee Jones had worked with Joel Schumacher on "Client" and Schumacher wanted him for the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face

BullzEye: I've always found that jumping from you in the part, to Tommy Lee Jones, is an insurmountable continuity problem. 

Billy Dee Williams: (laughs) Yeah, I would say so. But, c'mon, it's the movies. They can do anything they want to do in the movies, and either people will buy it or they won't buy it.(Bullz-Eye.com int, 2007)

BDW: It was OK. Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor, and it was a different regime then (starwarsinterviews1, 2005)

Largely considered the film that began a slow, painful, camp-fueled death for the black-suited superhero (with "Batman and Robin" marking the final nail in that coffin), the "Forever" villains are often listed among the worst comic-book performances of all time.Asked bluntly whether he would've liked to play Two-Face again, Tommy Lee Jones offered a stiff, one-word response: "No." (MTV.com)

Tommy Lee Jones' performance as Two-Face was criticized by both the fans and the casual audience as being both cartoonish and barely resembling his comic book counterpart. While being faithful to the source has nothing to do with the actual quality and all of Batman's movies are known for their major changes applied to the characters, this character has little of its comic book counterpart in it and seems to be heavily based on another villain - Joker. 

 Tommy Lee Jones played Harvey Dent as a Joker knock-off rather than a multi-layered rogue (Scott Beatty)

Tommy Lee Jones claimed to have done a lot of research on the character, but his focus was on the duality

Not even Tommy Lee Jones could make too much of Two-Face, who, in the script by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler, and Akiva Goldsman, lacked most of the qualities that make him potentially the most tragic and terrifying of Batman's foes (Batman: The Complete History)

Jones' Two-Face is extremely energetic and flamboyant, and admittedly not very intelligent. One would wonder if the splash of acid would in fact take District Attorney's IQ down so drastically. He is basically a gullible and hyperactive lunatic with an energy and, arguably, mind of a child

Tommy Lee Jones: Acting silly and villainous was fun -- and playing this strange character especially jumping around with Jim Carrey. (Douglas Thompson int.)
He's completely, I guess, over the top (HBO first look) 

But as portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in 1995's Batman Forever, Two-Face is a cartoonish creep of the most stereotypically hysterical variety. (Premiere.com)

Joel Schumacher: I wanted to create a living comic book, and I think the word comic is important (B:TIH)
I think Tommy Lee Jones was great (avclub int, 2003)

Schumacher's Two-Face, like the comic book Joker, wore all kinds of flamboyant and weird custom outfits

Two-Faces origins were recreated faithfully from the comic books. Dent was splashed with a vial of acid when questioning a mob boss Sal Maroni, losing his mind and becoming a villain with split personality.

Just like the entire Schumacher's neon world, Two-Face's face is pink and his clothes partially red, which meshed him well with the bright and colorful so-called 'Barbie' Gotham.

Ve Neill (makeup artist): I made sure that the veins were really hot pink, and then the recessed areas in his face were dark luminescent blue and purple. We used this beautiful cobalt blue luminescent powder, so the makeup was very colorful and pleasant to look at. 

While today Jones doesn't look fondly at Batman Forever and his role in it, at the time of the release he felt radically different

Tommy Lee Jones: I hope Harvey 's back (...) I want to play Two-Face in the next Batman (Douglas Thompson int.)

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T  H  E   D  A  R  K   K  N  I  G  H  T

Two-Face was often described as one of the most dangerous and terrifying classic Batman villain, and when it came time for Nolan to present his version, he made sure that his Two-Face was a worthy contender for that title. It is the first feature film portrayal of Two Face that focuses on the character's pathos and tragic story.

Aaron Eckhart said that he didn't re-watch older movies so he wouldn't be influenced by Jones or Williams' performance.

PF: And you're playing the same character that was once played by somebody else.

Aaron Eckhart: Well I see no connection between the two. And I've not had any discussions about that. That's one thing about movies. What somebody else did is what somebody else did. In soap operas you're willing to believe that a character can come back to life. Basically, you just want that guy on screen. You don't care what happened before. It's like balance. I mean J.R. could come back today and nobody would care. I mean nobody would care about the logistics of him coming back. So I don't think people are going to get hung up on my performance versus Tommy Lee's. It's just two different things. (Paul Fisher int, 2007)

I did [see the older movies], years ago. I’ve seen all [the Batman films]. Christopher [Nolan] comes at [“The Dark Knight”] with such a different take on Batman, I didn’t feel I had to be true to any other actor playing this role.(CBR, 2008)  

CBR: There’s a lot of different ways you could go with Two-Face. In the cartoons, he’s a cold-hearted gangster. With Tommy Lee Jones, he’s a cackling mad man. Where are you taking Harvey?

AE: It’s early days but I believe that it’s stronger if you have a heart. If you can relate to a character if he’s a villain or not, it’s always better. If I can help you to relate to my character, I think that I am more than likely to keep your attention. (CBR 2008)

Billy Dee Williams: I haven't seen The Dark Knight. I understand it's very good (AMC, 2009)

Tommy Lee Jones: [Aaron is] a good guy. I’ve worked with him. He’s an awfully good guy.(...) That make-up, however, is difficult (MTV, 2007)

 Nolan presented a non-corruptible character who wants to catch the mobsters (who eventually get involved with Joker, like in the 89's movie). But this Dent goes even further because not only we see his unbreakable morals and political side, but also his human side. He is a likable character that people see hero in, and an honest person. Those are exactly the qualities that Christopher Nolan was looking for

Christopher Nolan: We wanted Harvey to be the most all-American, kind of heroic figure - Aaron's got that kind of Robert Redford thing going on. He just embodies that kind of chiselled American hero, and he has such confidence in the movie.(EmpireOnline, 2008)

Harvey loves Rachel and even sacrifices himself for the good of the city claiming that he's Batman. And then the tragedy strucks and, in a way, he witnesses his love's death while getting terribly burnt. Brainwashed by sadistic Joker, he takes on his own personal Vendetta to kill those who didn't save Rachel. It's a quite complex character and an incredible twist on his personality.

David Goyer: The Joker doesn’t change and Batman doesn’t really change, but Harvey is the one that changes as a result of his interaction between The Joker the Batman. And obviously he changes in a tragic way so you know, that means the movie has to be a tragedy. (FilmSchoolRejects, 2008)

He basically turns from someone we care about on screen into a cold murderer, but we understand his pain and what he's been through.

Christopher Nolan: Well that's what I think is wonderful about Dent's character, he's just this flawed human being, he's a very interesting guy. He's this White Knight, this heroic figure for Gotham and yet, under the surface, there's an anger, a darkness that relates very strongly to Bruce Wayne's.(EmpireOnline, 2008)

"The difference between Batman and Two-Face is how far they are willing to go and how they make their point," Eckhart said. "Otherwise, we're talking about vigilante crime-fighting. That's what Batman is all about. He has a strong sense of justice. And Harvey Dent has an extremely strong sense of justice. His fiancée is killed. He's horribly injured. But he is still true to himself. He's a crime fighter, he's not killing good people. He's not a bad guy, not purely." (...) I think that the audience is going to have a little more empathy and understanding for Two Face, because they got to know him as Harvey Dent. (LA Times 2008)

While Eckhart read comic books to get to know the character, it wasn't his only or primary source of information on Two Face.

Aaron Eckhart: I was familiar with Dent in as much I knew he was an iconic Batman character. I didn’t know the ins and outs of Dent. And when I got the part, Chris [Nolan] sent me the comic books and I started to do research and I met people. It’s funny, when people knew I was going to be Harvey Two Face, they came out of the woodwork. And the most unlikely people were coming up with facts. You know, it was baseball statistics from 1942 World Series third innings. It’s like, ‘How do you know this stuff?’, which I used. (...)

But I’m not an aficionado of Harvey Two Face and I’m sure the fans, once this movie comes out, will approach me and ask me if I know everything, and I won’t. But I do have a great love for him now." (The Dead Bolt Int, 2008)

Worth noting is that this Two-Face does NOT have a split personality. He doesn't refer to himself as "We". He also appears to be ruthless and deprived of any pity but very stoic at the same time.

As everything in Nolan's movies, Two-Face's appearance gets a realistic makeover and really looks like wounds of a severely (if not fatally) burned victim.

Aaron Eckhart: I can tell you that, basically, when you look at Two-Face, you should get sick to your stomach. Being the guy under all that, well, that was a lot of fun for me. It's like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid. (LA Times, 2008)

He’ll admit only that he spent “less than five years and more than a day” wearing the Two-Face makeup. (cinemasource.com, 2008)

Chris showed me a sculpture of Two-Face and what he thought he looked like and what we'd be working on, and it was just beautiful. What I did like was the fact that we didn't go over-the-top with it. I mean, yes, we have this, that and the other, but it wasn't cartoonish in my opinion.(Brad Brevett int)

In what now seems to be typical Nolan fashion, the origins were radically changed from those from the comic books

Jonathan Nolan: The thing is that you want to view the world [Batman’s world] through a certain lens and our lens -- Chris’ lens -- and the mandate from him that were to work under is realism. A universe which operates under the laws of physics and our heroes have to adhere to.(...) The arc of the film is the tragedy of Harvey Dent. In a sense, it's the origin of Two-Face -- which, I think, we’ve told as a more complete story. (BOF 2008)

Christopher Nolan: But what I would say about the way in which we view Harvey Dent's story is through that prism of Batman Begins, of trying to be a bit more real with things…where it most applies to Dent and Two-Face is in emotional terms; we've tried to make his story – which is a great tragedy, a great, great epic sort of tragedy – we've tried to make that the backbone of the whole movie. We're very much addressing Dent and Two-Face in an emotionally real way. (CBR, 2008)