Christian Bale, the star of the new Batman film, says he sees some truth in the evil logic of the film's villain the Joker as played by the late Heath Ledger.
In The Dark Knight, which has shattered box office records, Ledger plays the Joker who questions whether Batman is ready to kill a villain like him in order to save thousands of others.
"The thing about the Joker that's so good is that he's an agent of chaos and destruction and claims that these are the only two things he can trust and believe in," Bale said at a news conference in Tokyo to promote the film.
The Joker "mocks society's idea of order without having any faith in order. There is a certain amount of truth to what he says, and he's incredibly intelligent," the Welsh-born star said.
"He really knows how to get underneath Batman's skin to the point where he is questioning his own ethic."
Bale was arrested last week for allegedly attacking his own mother and sister in a London hotel after the film's opening in Britain.
Bale, who frowned throughout the Tokyo news conference and rarely looked up when answering questions, declined to discuss the arrest, replying tersely: "It's a private matter."
The latest Batman film is directed by Christopher Nolan and has topped the box office in Australia and the US.