Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Heath Ledger Remembrance Forum
Express what you're feeling, at any length
ednbarby:
Welcome, Susie.
I'm still having trouble believing he is gone, too.
Just yesterday, my husband, son and I were in the midst of a long drive back from North Carolina to Florida, and a state trooper had a car pulled over on the side of the road. The driver of the car was actually out talking to the trooper, not the other way around, so, come to think of it, I think he was someone whose car had broken down and he had called for help (the trooper's lights weren't flashing or anything). He was the spitting image of Heath, in every way. The traffic slowed around where they were stopped, as it does in case of possible rubber-necking action (stupid people), so I got a good look at him as he turned from the trooper's driver-side window to return to his car at front. He was dressed exactly as one would imagine Heath would be dressed making a cross-country driving trip - very comfortably. And he had a couple of visible tattoos on his forearms. I was struck with a "What if..." thought. I know it's not possible, but it was a very comforting thought, just the same, if just for a moment. Then I was heartbroken all over again when the reality hit me.
Fran:
Welcome to BetterMost, susiebk!
--- Quote from: susiebk on February 19, 2008, 06:47:58 pm ---It is so hard to accept that he is truly gone. I can't even begin to imagine how his loved ones must feel.
--- End quote ---
My thoughts exactly. His poor family and close friends. It must be so hard for them now. As awful as we've felt about Heath's passing, their pain has to run deeper than ours. What a loss for them... and for us, too.
Fran:
--- Quote from: susiebk on February 20, 2008, 03:56:23 pm ---Thanks for the welcome. Glad to be here.
I think about the people who Heath left behind a lot. While we go on with our lives, they will be feeling the pain for a long time to come. I don't imagine a parent ever truly gets over losing a child. It is not the natural way of things. It is so sad for Matilda that she will not know her daddy, who clearly loved her so very much.
--- End quote ---
And it has to be especially hard for his sister Kate, with whom Heath seemed very close. She mentioned that he just to call her from wherever he happened to be in the world. I read somewhere where Heath was sad that he was on location -- I think for BBM -- because he couldn't be in Perth when his sister's twins were born. To me, that just seems so sweet that he wanted to be there. What a great brother he must have been!
ptannen:
I am in a Toastmasters' Club where we practice public speaking. In the last two years I have presented several speaches about Brokeback Mountain and my reaction to it. I gave the lastest one Wednesday. The purpose of this speech was to "Uplift the Spirit." I titled my speach "Live Life to the Fullest. It is about how I feel inspired by Heath Ledger to live my life to the fullest:
Victor Hugo once wrote:
“Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time.”
The actor Heath Ledger, who recently died at age 28, due to the accidental overdose of prescription drugs, lived life to the fullest and did not waste any time.
When he was only ten, he had his first acting experience, starring in a school production of Peter Pan. He was also an avid chess player and won a state junior chess championship that same year. At age 16 he left school to pursue an acting career. He drove across Australia with his best friend, from his home in Perth, to Sydney, with less than a dollar in his pocket. He never went to acting school and never had acting classes or lessons. The next year he returned to Perth to be in the TV series Sweat, which was his first regular role on a television show.
In his short 11 year career, he was in four TV shows and 20 movies. He received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Ennis del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. In all, he received 14 acting nominations and awards, including Golden Globes, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, and MTV.
I also try to make the most of my life and not waste any time, since I realize that I do not know how much time I will have. It may be less than I would like. . . . My father had a heart attack at age 53 and died the next day. My maternal grandmother never made it past 32. One of my nephews died in an auto crash when he was 19. . . . On the other hand, my mother and all of her siblings lived into their nineties. . . So I really don’t have a clue as to how long I will live! In reality, none of us do.
As part of living his life to the fullest, Heath Ledger took risks. As we all know, this can be very difficult. In an interview about the film Brokeback Mountain, he said:
“Playing Ennis was a very difficult decision because it scared the hell out of me. And I didn't want to kiss Jake Gyllenhaal. And then I just felt like that's probably why I should do it, because I feel like I further myself if I'm constantly testing myself.”
“Brokeback Mountain is a story of love and it's a story between two people. If people can't get over that and just accept it as a story, then that's their problem. I'm big enough and brave enough to do it.”
“In order to evolve as an actor, you have to be fearless enough to allow yourself room for error.”
Although Heath welcomed professional challenge, he did not seek fame. All he wanted was to act because he loved it, but didn't want to be a star. He rejected the trappings and attention of Hollywood and attempted to live an ordinary artist’s life. He told an interviewer that
“I don't think about the attention and I don't dwell on it. I just show up for work and live my normal life.”
Heath Ledger actually stood out in Hollywood for his lack of ego and pretension.
One interviewer said that Ledger seemed unusually impassioned as he spoke about life. He carried his roles off with commitment and true feeling.
He said that his
“parents had the attitude of letting their kids grow up and discover things for themselves and be happy with themselves. They really provided me with a comfortable environment for just being who you were, regardless, and not trying or wanting to be anything else. I guess that's how they pushed me out into the world, and from there I just did that, and found my own lifestyle and way of living.”
Ironically, the character Heath Ledger is most well known for, Brokeback Mountain’s Ennis del Mar was his exact opposite. Ennis’s was unable to live the life he truly wanted. He could only go off occasionally to spend time with his true love, Jack Twist. Jack’s reaction was
“Never enough time, never enough.”
So although his life was unexpectedly cut short, Heath Ledger can inspire us all not to waste time and to live life to the fullest.
Fran:
Thanks for posting your speech, Pete. I bet it was very well received.
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