Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant is known for his mental strength which allows him to easily surpass the physical challenges on the basketball court. He is rumored to go to extremes to improve his game, consulting the greats that came before him, hoping to harvest some tips.

Recently, it was revealed that he had dinner with Heath Ledger and sought him for tips on how to lock in mentally.

As reported by Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said that Bryant wanted him to hook up a dinner with the actor after seeing his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight:

“There was one time when Kobe, who I worked with for 18 years, was going back to play in Madison Square Garden. And he had just seen ‘The Dark Knight.’ Obviously, you guys saw that movie, and he’s like, ‘Hey, hook me up with dinner with Heath Ledger, because he got so locked in to that role. I want to know how he mentally went there.’ And so, he had dinner with Heath, and he talked about how he locks in for a role. And Kobe used some of that in his game against the Knicks in terms of mental preparation.”

Ledger, who passed away months before the release of the film, locked himself in a hotel room for months prior to filming. He kept a notebook where he jotted down notes as the Joker character. He also developed his voice, posture, and the subtle nuances that made the Joker — considered as one of the best performances of all time.