Given the tight-lipped secrecy surrounding The Dark Knight, keeping the film's many secrets intact while talking to the press is a super human feat all on its own. For Aaron Eckhart, who takes on the villainous dual persona of Harvey Dent/Two Face in Christopher Nolan's long awaited follow up to Batman Begins, keeping his character under wraps while ensuring the fans go into The Dark Knight with as little information as possible has been at the forfront of his mind from the very beginning. With The Dark Knight about to cut into this year's cinematic super hero market, Eckhart sat down with journalists at the film's recent press junket in L.A. to share his thoughts on how he approached Harvey Dent, his research into the comic book character, his chemistry with Heath Ledger, and why he feels it's so important for the actors and crewmembers to not spoil the movie before it hits theaters.

Aaron Eckhart on Harvey Dent/Two-Face:

"Yeah, I love Harvey Dent. When I read the script, I was amazed at the trajectory and the transformation that Harvey has. And given the fact that The Joker is in the movie, and is the engine of the movie and propels the action, I was surprised at how much Harvey had to do and what a light he is in the movie. It’s interesting to get to know Harvey as a ultraistic leader of Gotham City, trying to clean up the crime and confronting the issues others won’t confront, and then to see his transformation into Two Face. I think that the audience is going to have a little more empathy and understanding for Two Face, because they got to know him as Harvey Dent. So it’s interesting to see the villains in this piece."

Eckhart on being familiar with Harvey Dent before signing on to The Dark Knight:

"I was familiar with Dent in as much I knew he was an iconic Batman character. I didn’t know the ins and outs of Dent. And when I got the part, Chris [Nolan] sent me the comic books and I started to do research and I met people. It’s funny, when people knew I was going to be Harvey Two Face, they came out of the woodwork. And the most unlikely people were coming up with facts. You know, it was baseball statistics from 1942 World Series third innings. It’s like, ‘How do you know this stuff?’, which I used. But we had such a beautiful and complete template in the script that we really didn’t have to do much, other than say our lines and have the emotional intensity. But I’m not an aficionado of Harvey Two Face and I’m sure the fans, once this movie comes out, will approach me and ask me if I know everything, and I won’t. But I do have a great love for him now."

On what the make-up process was like:

"You know, I’m reluctant to talk about that because I would really like the audience to come to the movie and have that revelation be really fresh and new to them and not have the baggage of information, for them not to be burdened by the technical information. I think just seeing it for the first time fresh is going to be a great experience for them."

On the secrecy surrounding the film while shooting:

"The secrecy issues involved with a movie like this are intense, and the whole time I’m between fear of the script getting leaked and having the responsibility and pressure of not being the one responsible for that leak. You have to do extraordinary things. I know that people obviously have seen what Batman looked like, but Heath and I had to wear hoods over our heads and go into public looking like Friars, and that was interesting. Then Heath’s picture, The Joker, got out but Two Face never did. So I was kind of happy about that and wanted that to go on as long as possible. But there are rumors and innuendos and maybe they won’t believe that’s the real one."

Aaron Eckhart on how much time he spent in the make-up chair:

"Again, I spent less than five years and more than a day. You know, I had to do time in and time out, which if someone offered me a movie where I had to completely wear make-up and a suit, I would think twice about it."

Eckhart on the chemistry between The Joker and Harvey Dent/Two Face:

"Well, that’s all Heath [Ledger]- such a brilliant job - it was a fun day of working for me. Heath and I hadn’t rehearsed that in character, so I didn’t really know what to expect that day. But I knew Heath was doing some great work. I had seen him a little bit, worked with him a little bit, but I knew through Chris that he was raising the bar and doing some exciting stuff. So I came in that day and Heath, just out of the box, was doing his thing and I was like, ‘Okay, here we go.’ And, as an actor, you can’t ask for anything more because that’s why we do what we do. For Heath to give completely of himself, to open himself up to be so vulnerable and to take such risks with the character just frees everybody in the room, from the crew to me to the director. So we really played a lot and most of it ended up on the screen and some of it didn’t. You know, the improvs and some of the other stuff . I felt like Heath was in such command of his character that I could say anything to him in character and he would come right back with something funnier, better, you know. So, at the end of that day, we were both tired and felt like we did an okay job and I remember saying to Heath - you know, pat him on the back - and I said, ‘That’s why we act.’

On the added responsibility to keep the character away from public eyes:

"It’s implicit when you take this - You know, you’ve gotten used to it by now that you’re reading the script with someone outside of your house and that kind of stuff, so it’s - you hear about other directors being very secretive. I think it’s more interesting for the people on the street who see these two-hooded figure gliding across the city square followed by a whole bunch of people giving them water and chewing gum and that sort of stuff, but they do. I mean, you think it’s unnecessary. But then when you see Chris’ face and you ask him if it’s necessary [laughs], you know he quickly - you just do it. It’s part of the gig. It’s fun for the audience, it’s fun for people, and it’s part of the mystery of Batman and big moviemaking these days.

"And the internet, it does suck when people reveal things. It really takes a lot of steam out of the director, who has spent so much time protecting the material. And for somebody to either give that material up, like a crewmember or something, it just - I can’t tell you how much it hurts in a sense of betrayal, because people on the set, really, they have to be a family. The people around Chris are a family. You know, Wally the DP had done four or five movies with Chris. I mean there’s a sense of trust I’ve never experienced on a film before. So you want to be able to trust the people you work with - If I were to say something right now about the process I shouldn’t, I would feel terrible. I would feel a personal responsibility to Chris and I would go to Chris and say, ‘I’m so sorry I revealed this. I didn’t mean to.’ But you’d be able to see it in Chris’ face because so much energy goes into protecting his baby. Really, you’re doing it out of your respect for Chris."

On how Batman sees Harvey Dent:

"Batman has an admiration for Harvey because Harvey is doing things Batman is not doing, things he cannot do. Maybe he doesn’t have the courage to do, which is to come out in his everyday clothes and say "I’m gonna do what I’m doing for Gotham City" in the open. That’s what Harvey’s doing, and he’s doing it at his own peril. It’s interesting, The Joker asks Batman to betray his one cardinal rule, but can Batman do that? So Harvey goes further than Batman and he does get on the level of The Joker. However - see, even right there I’m not sure I’m supposed to say that. If you notice who Harvey Two Face disposes of, it’s not random. It still has a sense of justice attached to it. So I think Harvey can’t get away from his own true nature. I do think that he despises Batman for reasons other than the fact that he’s a crime fighter. He has a more personal reason for his hatred and anger towards Batman."

Aaron Eckhart on whether we need heroes:

"I think we need leaders. And if someone wants to call a leader a hero, then that’s there choice. But I think that we need leaders that will lead and are less concerned about being heroes and having the title. But just going out there and doing what’s right for the people of this country and the people of the world, I think that would be most appreciated."