Heath Ledger on working with director Ang Lee:
"He created a lonely environ
ment for us, so it bled into our performances. He'd never patronise us with praise, never even say 'Good shot.' He'd just sigh and walk off for the day.
"Early one morning, I was doing a scene, it was extremely cold, my voice was croaky. I hadn't done my voice warm-ups which I usually do
religiously. I felt like my lips were frozen and I wasn't speaking properly, which is fine for Ennis because his mouth doesn't move, but I was feeling paranoid afterwards. I ran up to Ang and asked: 'Did it sound okay?' I was desperate for some nod of approval. Ang shuffled his feet, just said, 'Light was good,' and walked away.
"I'd go back to my trailer every night torturing myself, feeling like a failure. But I'd wake up the next morning wanting to defeat him and do better. Then you understand it's directorial manipulation to achieve what the film needs -- and you go with it."
Tale of an untrained homeboy=aside= PlayersI'll be away this weekend, but I'd like to suggest
that we do another "ment" round.