Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two chronicles the second half of the yearlong crime saga that began in Part One. As the mysterious Holiday Killer continues their deadly crime spree, District Attorney Harvey Dent is pushed to the brink in his quest to bring justice to Gotham City.
Making matters worse, Bruce Wayne has been captured by Poison Ivy, leaving Gotham undefended during its darkest hour. Even mob boss Carmine Falcone is becoming increasingly desperate, striking a Faustian bargain with Gotham's new generation of super-criminals. You'll get to see how it all ends as the movie is now available on Digital platforms before it arrives on Blu-ray on August 10.
We were recently fortunate enough to catch up with Josh Duhamel to discuss his role as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the movie. In this interview, he delves into the D.A.'s transformation into one of Gotham City's greatest villains, the possibility he could one day find redemption, and what it was like to see his performance come to life on screen alongside actors like Jensen Ackles and Billy Burke.
You can find Josh's comments on possibly returning as The Utopian after Jupiter's Legacy was cancelled by Netflix right here, but for Batman and Two-Face fans, this chat is an absolute must-read...
With everything going on in the world these past eighteen months, you must be having a fun time doing the rounds to talk about a film as awesome as this one?
Yes! This is pretty cool. What a movie. I love it.
I loved the vocal transformation Harvey undergoes when he’s transformed into Two-Face, but as an actor, how much of a challenge was it to find that voice?
It’s a good question. It was fun. We’ve got one of the best in the business over there in Wes Gleason. He’s a really supportive, optimistic presence in the recording booth and he worked closely with me. Harvey is Harvey and he starts to crack as the first movie led into the second before he fully loses it in that courtroom. We approached it like this acid that was thrown on his face physically damaged his vocal cords. That mixed with the fact he was already losing it and had this dark duality to his character that came to the forefront. That combined with the damage to his voice is what we tried to capture, and it was funny because we were sitting there trying certain things and then all of a sudden, boom, I said, ‘That’s it. That’s Two-Face.’
It’s fun to do this stuff because when you’re in front of the camera, sometimes you forget how important the voice is. I’ve really worked hard the last few years on using my voice and not just depending on the visual, but also the audio side of things. I’ve worked a lot with Larry Moss and we talk a lot about how important your voice is. These kinds of projects I love because it gives me a chance to really try to stretch myself and try new things and see where I can go. You don’t necessarily get a chance to do that in front of the camera.
As Harvey starts to break with reality, how interesting did you find it to explore what’s happening in his mind leading up to that breaking point when he becomes Two-Face?
Yeah, though we also didn’t want it to feel like two different people. He already was Two-Face working as Harvey Dent; he just knew how to keep him at bay. Even though you can start to see him crack and you know something is coming, I think we all have this dark side we keep hidden in the dark recesses of our subconscious [Laughs]. With this guy, he couldn’t help it. It keeps coming to the forefront more and more and then that acid that gets dumped in his face opens him up 100% to this menacing jerk he’s been trying to hide for so long.
Having got to know this character so well, and I can tell you just get this guy, do you think there’s any path to redemption for Harvey or do you think he’s simply no longer there now Two-Face has been created?
I don’t think there’s going back after having half your face melted off and you become a psychopath [Laughs]. Maybe there’s a redemption story there, but I’ve never seen it. It would be an interesting turn, for sure. Do you see a redemption story there? What makes you ask that question?
It just occurred to me with Harvey being such a complex character that even by the end of the film, you see those glimpses of him left in Two-Face. Like you said, I don’t think he’s ever getting back to being a D.A. and his old self, but I could imagine this version maybe working with Batman even if was just for his own selfish reasons, you know?
Yeah. It’s interesting to hear you say that because, as I mentioned before, I don’t see these as two characters. He is one character and I think we all have these dualities to our personalities, but where most of us are able to keep that repressed, it doesn’t mean Harvey is gone now he’s Two-Face. That side of him does still exist and there’s possibly an inner battle between him and Two-Face...perhaps he is able to reform in some way. I don’t know. It’s a really interesting question and exploration.
After seeing these two films, like a lot of fans, I would love to see you play a live-action Harvey Dent. Is that something you’d like to explore?
I don’t know. It’s been done a few times, and it’s been done well. I would certainly consider it. It just depends on who is involved and if they’d even want me! Typically in these stories, you don’t see how he became this menacing villain. He was just Harvey Dent and then he was Two-Face. You kind of get an insight into why he became this and some of the psychological problems and issues he had at home, not to mention the pressures of work...it all becomes a little too much and all these factors lead to it. This is a train heading down the track and it’s just a matter of time before he completely cracked. It wasn’t until his face became all burnt up from the acid Two-Face really came to the forefront. Who knows. Do you think he would have become this guy had he not been deformed by this acid?
I think he probably would have become a version of him, yeah. Taking aside the deformed aspect, he was already heading down such a dark route, it feels like he was on the verge of breaking and the acid was the tipping point.
Yeah, I agree. It’s interesting, right?
Definitely. Finally, you, Jensen Ackles, and Billy Burke have such great chemistry as Harvey, Batman, and Jim Gordon, but what was it like for you to see that dynamic come to life in the finished product?
It’s so great because you go into the booth by yourself and you don’t ever see any of the other actors. You go in and do your thing and hope that it all jives. Jensen is a friend of mine and a really talented dude. I had no doubt Billy would do a fantastic job. He was one of my favourite characters in this. It’s always interesting to do these animated projects because you’re almost never in the same room as the other actors so kudos to the animated and audio team that edited all together. Visually, I loved how this movie looks and feels. I love the vibe of it. I love the dark film noir tone of this thing. I was really pleased with what they did. You never know. You go in and record your voice, but you don’t know what the movie is going to look like. I was very happy with that.