By Bob Strauss > Film Writer

The 28-year-old actor was making Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" at the time. While the director was forced to alter the film, Gilliam has vowed that Ledger's scenes will remain. The film is due out next year.

Ledger - - died shortly after filming on "The Dark Knight" was finished, shocking his colleagues, who greatly admired the Oscar-nominated actor ("Brokeback Mountain").

(See related: Deep into the Knight; High-tech Knight moves; Catching 'The_Dark_Knight'; Batman Interactive)

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, director:

"Working with Heath was absolutely marvelous. I think it's a real testament to his extraordinary ability that, when people see this film, they are so struck by the monstrous nature of this character.

But anybody who knew him knew that he was utterly the opposite to that. I've worked for a long time with the performance, putting it together. It's very gratifying to me, at this point, to see that people are receiving it very much the way he intended it to come across. That makes me feel like I've done right by him, because it's very easy for a director to mess up a great performance."

CHRISTIAN BALE (Batman/Bruce Wayne):

"Clearly, I would love for Heath to be sitting here, talking about himself. It's tragic that this is the last complete movie of his. I view it as a celebration of his talent. But, you know, he's somebody that I discussed things with. I wanted to work with him again in the future and expected to do so, expected to know him for many years to come. I hope his performance and talent are appreciated, because they're fierce. It's a pleasure to have known and worked with him."

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL (Assistant Gotham District Attorney Rachel Dawes):

"I knew him some before we did the movie together (her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, co-starred with Ledger in `Brokeback Mountain'). Heath hit a stride that was absolutely free, which is rare for an actor. The scene I did with him was very scary and full of tension and horrible in a lot of ways. But I actually had such a blast shooting it with him because anything I did, he would roll with me and he threw all sorts of things at me."

CHARLES ROVEN, producer:

"The one thing that we don't have, of course, is Heath here. But when he passed - after an appropriate time, because we all wanted to take some time to mourn - we spoke about it, and we felt that the best thing to do was to do everything else like we would have done. His family supported this completely, and that's really what we've done, and I think that that's all that we can continue to do. The movie's promotional campaign has not materially changed. And if what we're fortunate enough to be hearing is the buzz of an Oscar campaign, we'll do one like we would have done whether he was here or not."

GARY OLDMAN (Gotham Police Department Lt. Jim Gordon):

"He was completely committed to this character, and so free when he worked. And there's a real sense of danger there that really comes across. But we would cut, and I would sit on the sidewalk with him and he would have a cigarette and laugh and joke and talk about (his young daughter) Matilda. Y'know, people want to believe that playing The Joker contaminated him, but you'd have to have a neurological disorder for that to happen. I've played a lot of weird and wacky characters in my time and I've always managed to get to sleep, you know what I mean? But people want a darker story there than there really is, I think. It was just an accident, probably, sadly. But I think Heath's looking down from heaven going, `I'm going to be nominated for an Oscar? S-! You're kidding me. What bad timing!"' who took on the pivotal role of Batman's arch-nemesis, The Joker