Do you give your clients what they ask for or what they, really, deeply want?
That was Christopher Nolan with Heath Ledger.
He didn’t focus on what the fans were asking for —an “evil” actor.
He focused on what they deeply wanted: a serious actor who’d tear the role and make them feel. Who’d blow their minds.
Nolan stuck to his guns.
The studio backed him up. They trusted the process (and the project), even when they “didn’t get it”.
And that’s how we ended up with the best Joker.
Now, when leading projects with your clients, are you building trust to have your own Ledger?
So that —even when things seem counterintuitive— you got the support and back to push through?
To have the goal of getting their minds blown.
To help them figure out what they really [deeply] want.
Not necessarily what they need.