'The Dark Knight' star talks about the late actor and his own burgeoning fame.

CHRISTIAN BALE opens up about working with HEATH LEDGER in the new Details magazine, on stands June 3, calling the late actor "intense," yet "mellow."

"He was incredibly intense in his performance but incredibly mellow and laid-back," Christian says. "Certainly there was this great anarchistic streak to it -- just getting dirtier than anybody's envisioned the Joker before. This character has power because he has no limitations -- absolutely nothing to lose."

On the subject of Heath's passing before the release of the movie he says, "Naturally it was something I wanted to share with him -- and expected to do so. And I can't do anything else but hope that it will be an absolutely appropriate celebration of his work."

Though he's starred in major blockbuster films, he doesn't make much of his celebrity status. "There are people that you would undeniably call famous, and I'm not," he explains. "You can go to many, many people and say 'Christian Bale' and they have no idea who the hell you're talking about. They might have seen a number of my movies, but they'll still have no idea who you're talking about. So I don't think I'm qualified to talk about fame."

In fact, he shares an anecdote about being mistaken for CHRISTIAN SLATER. When he revealed that he was in fact, Christian Bale, the casting director who had approached him in a hotel lobby quickly snatched back the script she'd given him! "I think that was the best one ever," he says.