BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum

Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond => Heath Ledger Remembrance Forum => Topic started by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 03:35:49 am

Title: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 03:35:49 am

I found these by searching thinkexist.com:


“I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away.”

“I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.”

“It transcends a label. It's a story of two human beings that are in love; get over the fact that it's two men — that's the point.”

“It's not a disease. It's not contagious. They should understand that it's a story of pure love. They don't have to be a hero. They don't have to be brave like us. I guess a little bit of maturity is being asked for because society has been immature in the past. That's about it.”

“I take a lot of photos of people.”

“We had a good sense of humor about it, because we knew what we were holding on to and how it was going to exceed expectations and [labels]. We weren't running around naked in chaps swinging pink guns in the air. We knew that, and we found it funny that no one else did.”

“Aren't we at the stage these days when it just doesn't ... matter? It's 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.”

“I'm still a kid. I'm like six years old. But it's just a matter of wanting to get up, it's just a big journey. I felt like when I left home that I was on a journey, and I still am.”

“If you just be safe about the choices you make, you don't grow.”

“It was pretty clear that this story hadn't been put to screen. It's not very often that you come across a story that hasn't been made.”

“The movie's already exceeded any expectations I had. I think pleasing Annie Proulx, the writer, and getting her nod of approval was the biggest success for me, for us.”
 
“[Banning it] is hilarious and very immature of a society. If two people are loving ... I think we should be more concerned if two people express anger in love, than love.”
 
“We certainly weren't going out of our way to make a change in the world. We didn't make the film for any kind of political movement. We never expected to change people's minds; but if it does affect people's hearts, if perceptions can get altered, that's a good thing.”

“Bronte is scaring me at the moment. I feel like the paparazzi are going to kick me out of that city.”
 
“Personally, I don't think the movie is (controversial), but I think maybe the Mormons in Utah do. I think it's hilarious and very immature of a society.”

“I had a dear friend of mine, who's my uncle. He's a big guy. He goes to bare-knuckle fighting out in the Nevada desert, and he's gay.”

“I still find it personally disappointing that people kind of go out of their way to voice their disgust or their opinions against the ways in which two people choose to love one another. I think that's really unfortunate.”

“It was an opportunity to tell a story that hadn't been put on the screen. The character is so tragic. I really enjoyed how little words he had to express his battle and express his inability to love.”

“It was one of about 60 television interviews I completed in that sitting and it sounds like you landed the dud,”
 
 “Thousands of women were falling in love with him all the time. So when he finally finds a woman who isn't attracted to any of that, that's what really devastates him, and interests him.”

“We've been incredibly successful this year by meeting little Matilda. That's it.”

“It was an opportunity not to take acting too seriously. We obviously weren't taking Casanova too seriously. Essentially we were borrowing his name and his legend and just having fun with it.”

“Since my profession had wound me up, I needed something in my profession to wind me down. I couldn't just go home; I would have gone mad. So I went to Venice, floated around the city, drank wine, ate pasta. I needed to just breathe, relax . . . and got paid for it.”

“I felt this was such a refreshing story of love. For me, our characters were also complex, and to...really investigate this form of humanity and expression of love was an opportunity that I hadn't had.”

 “I wasn't prepared to expose stories about something so special and wonderfully private that is happening in my life. I guess a part of me wishes that I'd never have to and that maybe I could protect this special time. I was dreaming.”

“I have kind of been living out of bags for the past 13 years. I will just stick to that,”

“I'm sorry you were asking me these questions so early and I hadn't figured out a way to speak of it in public, ... I apologize for my terrible interview skills.”

Please use this thread to add other quotes of Heath's...

Title: Re: Heath in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 04:18:26 am

"It's always awkward doing love scenes - whether it be with a man or a woman."

"We had to choreograph, it was definitely like walking on the moon for the first time. But it wasn't... the butt of a mule: I was kissing a human being with a soul. And part of the magic of acting is, you harness the infinite power of belief."

"It was the most kind of complex and internal character I've been offered to play and it would take a very mature performance out of me to complete this character. It was a perfect script and involves a story that hadn't been told which is hard to find in this industry and in general. I think the story of love is just getting recycled and stale and this just hadn't been put to screen. I thought I'd be crazy to turn it down."

"I'm very expressive and have investigated love and you know, love is love. It's never been a problem. I could have taught Ennis a thing or two, but I couldn't. I was never shocked by the idea that men could fall in love with each other. I always knew and respected that."

"Everyone asks you know 'what was the most difficult thing for you,' or 'physically what was the hardest thing,' expecting me to say, 'oh, making out with Jake Gyllenhaal. and it's a really obvious thing to say, but at the end of the day after the first take (pause, makes kissing motion) it was like, ok let's get on with the day. Let's get through it. And all the mystery had been taken away. It really wasn't such a big deal. And yeah, he's a good kisser."

'I'm always gonna pull myself apart and dissect it. I mean, there's no such thing as perfection in what we do. Pornos are more perfect than we are, because they're actually f__king.''

'' No one else around you, except your mum, is going to tell you that, you suck. She straight-up told me. 'There are other things to do in life.'''

''I started to feel like a bottle of Coke,'' he says. ''And there was a whole marketing scheme to turn me into a very popular bottle. And, you know, Coke tastes like shit. But there's posters everywhere so people will buy it. So I felt like I tasted like shit, and I was being bought for no reason.''

''I'd been concentrating on how to act,'...not how to... be a salesman. Agents, publicists — they all say, 'Go out and create a character!' I don't want to create a fucking character, but on the same hand I don't want to give myself, I either. When you don't go on Letterman and say, 'Hey! I've got a joke!' — when you sit there honest and nervous and like a normal human being, you get written down as boring and ungrateful.''

''I wanted to take the blond out of my career, kill the direction it was going. I wanted to be bad, I wanted to be good. I was like, 'Well, now, how am I gonna make this a career I would like to have?''' If no audiences came, ''Good. That's gonna help me out.''

''I'd finally — whether consciously or unconsciously — I perfectly sabotaged any studio interest in working with me.''

'You know when you see the preachers down South? And they grab a believer and they go, 'Bwoom! I touch you with the hand of God!' And they believe so strongly, they're on the ground shaking and spitting. And fuck's sake, that's the power of belief.'' (He shakes his head). ''Now, I don't believe in Jesus, but I believe in my performance. And if you can understand that the power of belief is one of the great tools of our time and that a lot of acting comes from it, you can do anything.''

Title: Re: Heath in his own Words
Post by: Katie77 on January 30, 2008, 05:08:38 am

These are great.....a real insight into Heath......as you say, "In his own words".

Title: Re: Heath in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 05:13:03 am

"I actually thought it was a gift not to have words to play with. It definitely restricts what you can express. You are stuck with what's on page. In a sense, I had the freedom to say what I really wanted. In fact, I can make my own decisions and come to conclusions about this character from the physical point of view. First of all, I had to go in and discover what was causing this inability to express and to love. What was the culprit in that? I figured that it was some sort of a battle, and the conclusion I came to was that he was battling himself and battling his genetic structure; he was battling his father and his father's father's opinion and traditions and fears that have been passed down and deeply imbedded in him. So, once I had that and a few other things, I wanted to physicalize it cause that was all I was really left with. I wanted it to be hard for him to express and I think any form of expression had to be painful. I wanted him to be a clenched fist; and therefore my mouth became clenched too. A lot of the physicalization was lack of posture, but with the lack of posture in his mouth; in the words, it escapes his mouth."

"...I have a very good friend of mine, who's actually an uncle of mine. I didn't base this character off him, but he's gay. He's always struggled with his sexuality. He's like 60 now but back when he was younger, his dad kicked him of the Perth and said to him, "Go to the hospital and get fixed or you're not coming back to the family." My uncle said, "I can't get fixed" and his dad said to don't come back and he left and hasn't been back since then, but he's also the most masculine person I know. He's the head of arm wrestling federation and he goes to cage fighting. So that was definitely a good example of the level of masculinity, the range of masculinity; there relationships that occur with him. It's purely masculine and it was important for Ennis to be that. "

"Ned Kelly was extremely expressive; physically, violently. He dictates this incredibly expressive manner about his cause and he was very in touch with what he was fighting against; whereas Ennis was very unaware about the battle within him. I knew the battle within so I tried to do the investigation and I chose to ask the questions about him but he has never asked these questions and that's part of his problem. He's unaware of this battle within him and so essentially as an actor, once I gathered all this information about him, I had to then perform as Ennis and forget the information I learned and essentially think less. "

"...I think most of the emotions or love within Ennis is purely potential. It's within him and he never really expresses. That's the tragedy of this story and that's the tragedy of each one of those love affairs. I think the only time you get to see this potential or slither of how he could express is when he's with his children; because his children are the one area where he feels safe and allowed to love the way he naturally feels he can love them. With his wife, his love is slightly manufactured. It's more traditional and it's him conforming, but it's not true love. His love for Jack is true in a passionate love, but he hates the way he loves and it's forbidden. Essentially, he's like a homophobic male in love with another man. He's very fixed in his ways and he's left lingering in between the role. "

"The way we looked it and the way it is is that there are not actually love scenes for the sake of doing a love scene. There are actually stories within each of those moments. The first moment for Ennis was very poignant because it had to be rough; it had to be fighting. He was almost ready to punch him. Once that all settled it had to be this innate passionate adrenaline. It just takes over him. There's another moment in the tent where it was really important to show a glimpse of Ennis in a vulnerable state. It is true intimate love they have for each other. It has to set up the tragedy for the story. It set up the freedom of Brokeback Mountain. "

"I think it's a great honor to be in a movie that's been well received. .... Michelle and I definitely don't really sit around worried about it. It's also a little surreal; kind of a strange concept to me that one performance or one movie can be compared or competed against another and that's what this strange little season does. Each performance and each movie is running a different race. It's a different sport. We all train for different sports and we all start from different points. There is no one finished line at the end. It's an award season of opinions, so it's full of false sense of success and failure."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on January 30, 2008, 05:31:53 am

Thanks, Bruce, I'm reading avidly.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:02:49 am

A Knight's Tale:

"I've been riding horses since I was a kid so the only thing I had to get used to was the lance. Jousting is tame by comparison with Aussie sports"  "I found the dancing scenes in the film much harder to do. I'm not one of nature's most gifted dancers."


"The past year has just been mad for me." "I haven't really had a chance to let the fame thing sink in or ask questions about it all."

"I felt a bit of pressure when I first saw my face on the poster for The Patriot, you can't help but be intimidated by that."

"I miss Australia, I miss my family, I miss being a big brother."

"All this has been strange for my family but interesting as well because they've been experiencing similar little changes like people calling them up who they haven't seen in 20 years and the press calling them, so they're having to deal with that. It's been a little bit of a shock to them, but they are proud and happy and they are getting used to it."

"If anything you wish that if one place wasn't to change it would be your home town but I was back there recently and they were documenting every meal I had every day." It was in the paper that I ate fettucini on Tuesday, still that's front page news in Perth."
 
"I tend to detach myself and realise that my life is my five best friends and my 20 friends beyond that and my family. All of a sudden over the past few months there are these people around you, these associates and beyond that there's the whole world. It's curious."

"What I have to keep reminding myself is that no matter what they talk about or what they say about you or the pressures, that life in here," (touching his chest) "is what I originally had and what I still have and still cherish. As long as I can keep my head there I'm fine, it's not really a hard thing for me to do."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:13:26 am

"Why do I act? We need to work to eat. I don't live to work, I work to live. This happens to be something that I love to do. I get a million things out of it, but money is about the most important one."

"I don’t have that much forward planning about what I want to do in the future. But I guess once I find something, like if I’m doing Lords of Dogtown, I really like to flip the scale on the next job I’m doing. It’s almost like you are a switchboard in a sound booth and on one job you use one side and by the end of the job you are kind of exhausted by it, but you didn’t use any of the other side over here so you have to find something that will mean you using this half of your brain, energy wise, and that’s how Brokeback Mountain and Casanova complimented each other. Brokeback was excruciating and Casanova was drinking wine and eating pasta, it was like a holiday. But I’ve got no future plans, I don’t know what I’m going to do next as along as it scares me, as long as it’s something new, as long as I get to scare other people. As long as it’s an opportunity to evolve and grow as an actor and a person and challenge myself."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:17:08 am

“You want to know the truth? The short story, [“Brokeback Mountain”) was published in 1997. It was optioned to become a movie in 1998. My first American movie was ’10 Things I Hate About You’ in 1999. There were so many actors during the past seven years who have been attached to ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ yet who have been convinced by their managers, agents, publicists, or all three combined, not to do it, because it would ruin their career. I was approached to make the movie, maybe because I was the last on the list, in early 2004 and didn’t think twice about it. The same can be said about Jake (Gyllenhaal). Neither of us needed to have ‘permission’ from our agents to make this movie. It was our decision alone. To be honest, nobody advised me to not do the movie. Fear is manufactured by the studios putting up money. Focus (the studio releasing “Brokeback Mountain) has had a track record with quality hard-to-market films, including ‘Far From Heaven,’ which also just happened to be a film with gay undertones."



“The challenge wasn’t the gay aspect of the movie. In fact, in this year, 2005, I can’t understand why anyone, agent, manager, publicist, would even question any actor taking any gay role. But, back to the challenge of the movie. I age twenty years. That was a huge challenge. As was getting the accent of my character just right, since, as he gets older, his voice gets deeper."


Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:30:35 am

"...once I read it I understood what type of Casanova they wanted to make. And so I thought it would be a lot of fun, an opportunity to take what I do not too seriously and I understood that Brokeback Mountain was going to be really hard so that this would be a great way to relax in Venice for five months "(laughs).

"I mean obviously Brokeback Mountain was an obstacle I felt I could never climb, I could never defeat, that it was too tough but ultimately decided to do it. And with that I came out with a real sense of accomplishment which was something that I lacked in the movies that I’ve done before, I’d never felt that I’m accomplished anything. But then in both Brothers Grimm and Casanova there was a lot to enjoy. Brothers Grimm was the first time I’ve been let loose and use my kind of frantic energy and twitching and nervousness and clumsiness and Terry Gilliam is very good at allowing you to do that. He sets you free and creates an environment where you can feel safe enough to be bad – he lets you be bad and he lets you be big, which is fun. And with Lasse on Casanova he created such a lovely atmosphere on the set, with such a great group of people, cast and crew, that it really helped the film."

"I did do quite a bit of research and I already knew little bits of information about (Cassanova), all the obvious kind of things. But I was curious to know more and got hold of all his journals and read a couple of them and flicked through the rest. But there was no real point in tying myself down to historical correctness because the movie wasn’t and the story wasn’t. But particularly after coming off of Brokeback which was so serious and lonely and at times tortuous and I went from that to Casanova and I really wanted to not take acting seriously, not take movies seriously, I just wanted to have fun. And I wanted to come home smiling after work and so by throwing away all the history it allowed me to do that. And it gave me a clean slate so I just kind of created my own character."


"It was a vacation really. I’ve never spent this much time in Venice and it ended up being a four and a half month guided tour of Venice. Every day we ended up being taken to the most beautiful parts of Venice to shoot so essentially it was like filming a movie inside a museum which was really cool. And you know, working with great people, great crew. It was a lovely experience."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:33:34 am

Q: You have a tattoo on your right arm which reads ‘Old Man River’ What does that mean?


Heath Ledger: It’s got a few meanings, they all have many meanings, and I usually get tattoos when I need to be reminded of something but the answer I’ll give you (laughs) is that it has nothing to do with the song, I just felt there was something eternal about the phrase and I feel that I’m at a stage in my life now where life is just about to really speed up and flash by and so I feel like I am on old man river paddling on a little row boat. That’s my answer for today (laughs). This one (points to left forearm) Is my sisters and my mum, Cate, Ashley, Olvia and Sally – yes ‘chaos’ or Sony when it’s upside down which I discovered when it was too late (laughs). and thought ‘oh great..’

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 08:36:48 am

"I was obsessed with Monty Python films, The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail. My god, I so desperately wanted to be in that movie, I used to run around pretending I was one of the knights. And whilst shooting we were constantly quoting from his movies. But even since then I have loved his films; Baron Munchausen, Fear and Loathing, Fischer King and of course Brazil. He has been on the top of my list of directors I wanted to work with."

"Q; Which directors would you like to work with?


Heath Ledger: (laughs). I knew you would ask me that! Look, I couldn’t give you a list because it’s a really long list and half of them are dead."

"Q: You said earlier that you had this sense of your life speeding up. Did you mean professionally or because you are about to become a father?

Heath Ledger: I feel like with impending fatherhood life is going to speed up. I feel like from the day that happens it will go a lot faster. That’s why I’ve reminded myself to appreciate it (points to ‘old man river tattoo..’)."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: MaineWriter on January 30, 2008, 08:42:37 am

This quote was in the very first post of Bruce's:

(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h243/lnicoll/11029.jpg)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 09:07:48 am

"I've thrown an egg. Not at (the paparazzi) just kind of next to them so it splatters up against them."

"That's how pathetic it is. That's what we're reduced to. You can't actually stand up and slap them. When they kind of spy in on you and you're trying to like bathe out in the sun, and you're with your girlfriend and your friends and your family - it actually feels like you're getting a slap across the face.

"And we can't physically stand up and hit them back, of course - it would be rude and against the law. So you just get an egg."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 10:40:01 am

"I never went to acting school; I never had acting classes or lessons. And so for that reason, I’ve never had a dark room and a black pair of pajamas to walk around in and be creative and make mistakes in a dark room where no one can see you. All my mistakes are on film -- my growing process and learning process is documented. [Alonso laughs] And it always will be -- I want to keep on evolving from here. But yeah, I guess I did somewhat stumble into it. Before I got into the movies, I couldn’t care less about films; I’d barely seen any films. My curiosity about movies and making films kind of came upon making my first film, when I started making actual movies. That’s when the curiosity came. It certainly wasn’t before then -- my parents didn’t raise me on watching movies."

"Sydney is considered the gay capital of the world. But as you said too, we have a prime minister that’s… I don’t even want to go into it, but he’s definitely George Bush’s buddy. Unfortunately. So yeah, it is confusing. I think it’s like the red states in America, so to speak -- there’s definitely issues that they have, which I think are just issues that they have with themselves, obviously. I think it still exists in Australia too -- it’s just disguised better. It’s more passive, I think. It’s hard to answer for a nation."

"...it’s still a shame that you’re forced into studying accents, but there’s very few Australian parts. Actually, recently I just finished a movie in Australia called Candy, and it’s a love story between two Australian junkies, and that was the first time I could use my own accent in almost eight years. It was really liberating to just…I’d forgotten how free you are to just roam about with your voice and improvise and breathe in your actions and not be conscious of the words that are coming from your mouth. So that was fucking brilliant -- I really, really loved it. I’m gonna go back and do more for that reason; it was just so freeing."

"Having played Ennis, on the off chance that your child comes to you with the “Dad, I’m gay” speech, do you think you’re ready to hear it now?

Oh, it wouldn’t have bothered me beforehand. I don’t have a further appreciation for people who are gay; I always have. It’s never been an issue for me. Of course, if my child came to me and said that, I’d love them even more for being honest with me."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 10:58:36 am

Promoting "I'm not There"

“I feel the same way about everything I do. The day I say, ‘It’s good’ is the day I should start doing something else.”

“I think it’s one of those films that you have to kind of accept and invite instead of trying to challenge and solve."  “Bob Dylan himself defies description, and I think Todd was aiming to represent him. He was not trying to sum him up or define him.”

“Some people find their shtick." “I’ve never figured out who ‘Heath Ledger’ is on film: ‘This is what you expect when you hire me, and it will be recognizable.’”

“People always feel compelled to sum you up, to presume that they have you and can describe you. That’s fine. But there are many stories inside of me and a lot I want to achieve outside of one flat note.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 01:11:31 pm

From IMDb:


"I prefer to date older women because they don't try to act older like younger girls but because they try to act younger."

"It's a little uncomfortable doing love scenes in armor, but, you know, when the heat's on, the heat's on." - Access Hollywood, August 2000

[about the paparazzi] "Most of the time you don't even know they're there. Now, that's the scary thing. It's really strange and invading, but I'm still working it all out. I try to not let it bother me. I really try and find the humour in all of it. And if I want to swim naked in my pool, I'm still going to do it. I certainly don't want to feel that I have to change everything in my life that I do to cater to them. I just won't let it happen." - National Post, May 2001

"I don't have a technique. I've never been a believer in having one set technique on how to act. There are no rules and there is no rulebook. At the end of the day, it all comes down to my instincts. That's the one thing that guides me through every decision professionally. Socially, also. That's my technique. Yeah, you read through the script 100 times. I guess I have little characteristics about myself. Sometimes, most often than not, once we start shooting I won't look at the script at all until we finished shooting. It's kind of like it's been imprinted in my head during rehearsals. You just let it go." - Reel.com, May 2001

"I'm the worst auditioner, really, really bad. I mean, you're being judged and I'm just so aware of it that it consumes me. I can't relax, I'm tied in knots, so the voice is very taut and tense. You're so aware that you're acting 'cause you're sitting across from this lady with a piece of paper who's going, ''I'm. Going. To. Shoot. You. If. You. Don't. Blah, blah, blah,'' in this emotionless voice. It's foul. I hate it." - EW.com, May 2001

People just love to bash LA. People say it's so pretentious, so arrogant, so this and that. But it's truly a wonderful place. You don't have to go to the places where that stuff goes on. You don't have to go to Beverly Hills, you don't have to go to the parties. You can live up in the Lower Canyon and live such a perfectly healthy, beautiful, fun life with all your friends. You can drive two hours one way and be at the Joshua Tree desert, two hours one way you're skiing at Big Bear. Sure, it can get full-on and that's why it's good to get out. But it's too easy just to say, "Nup, I hate it. I'm not living there anymore. - NW Magazine, March 2000

[about growing up with his mom and his sisters] I learned respect for women, and patience. You grow up with all those women around you...you learn to wait your turn. - Cosmopolitan, June 1998

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mariez on January 30, 2008, 01:55:04 pm

Bruce, thank you so much for the wonderful compilation of quotes and pictures. 

I love listening to Heath's own voice. 

What an absolutely beautiful man - and I'm not talking about his looks  (although they are beautiful, too  ;) )
 
Marie

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 02:52:55 pm

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580237/20080124/story.jhtml?rsspartner=rssColdFusion

Jan 24 2008 3:16 PM EST

Heath Ledger's Recent Voice Mail To Hometown Paper Reflected Stressful Life: Report

Actor thanked Australian publication for 'giving me space and respecting my privacy.'
By Conor Bezane

A recently revealed voice mail that Heath Ledger left late last month for an Australian-newspaper film editor is offering a fresh glimpse into the recently deceased actor's personal life. In the message, the Oscar-nominated actor graciously thanked the media for allowing him privacy, alluded to his "Dark Knight" plans for 2008 and spoke of his adoration for his hometown of Perth, where he reportedly spent Christmas. But he also hinted at his stressful life.

The West Australian, a Perth-based newspaper, posted the text of Ledger's voice mail in an article that appeared earlier this week; it was also referenced in a story in the Thursday (January 24) edition of The Sydney Morning Herald. The original article was written by Katie Hampson (the Katie Ledger reportedly mentioned in the message is his sister), based on a message left with West Australian film editor Mark Naglazas on December 30. Naglazas was not available for comment and is on vacation, according to his voice mail; Hampson and editors at The West Australian could not be reached for comment at press time.

Here is a transcript of the voice mail:

"Hey Mark, it's Heath again, Katie's brother.

"Yes, listen, if I don't catch you, 'cause I leave soon, basically I don't have anyone else to call, and I thought, as I've spoken to you before, I thought I'd ring up and just send some thanks out there to the peeps at The West Australian and The Sunday Times and everyone in Perth in general.

"I don't know whether it's a conscious thing or an unconscious thing, giving me space and respecting my privacy. It's just been awesome, and I've had the most beautiful time back here and being able to see all my friends and family, let alone the press and the people within the community of Perth, it's been so lovely.

"It's really enabled me to be a boy again from home and feel like I'd never left. Like I said, I'm not sure whether it's a conscious decision on the paper's part or not to kind of give me this space, but they have, and I truly, truly thank them for it, and it makes my life a life when I come back here.

"I know you're probably not the man to print this, but you can certainly pass this on to your compatriots, and that's really it, just sending my love and thanks to the city of Perth because it's truly been an incredibly therapeutic and a much-needed trip home, and just that little touch has made it all that more special to me.

"So feel free to use this message as my interview as such, and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and certainly a Happy New Year.

"If I don't speak to you before I leave, I will no doubt be talking to you probably next year when Batman comes out — and Batman goes down in fact.

"Thanks for listening to my longwinded message — like I said, feel free to use it and pass it on to someone who can type it out, and thanks again.

"OK, bye bye."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 03:30:51 pm

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=90305

HEATH LEDGER TALKS JOKER
by Daniel Robert Epstein

I recently got the chance to talk with Heath Ledger at a press roundtable for the movie Candy. While on the hot seat I got the chance to grill Ledger about his upcoming role of The Joker in The Dark Knight.

Daniel Robert Epstein: Have you started to think about how you will play The Joker?

Heath Ledger: Yeah. I’ve been trying to delay my commitment to the preparation process on that because I’m trying to extend my holiday time. I definitely have an image in my head. I definitely have something up my sleeve. I want to be very sinister. It’s so early that I’m trying to be open at this point. I don’t want to be glued down to anyone.

DRE: Have you read many Batman comics?

HL: No and I think that’s kind of helping me a little bit. I was never really a fan of comic books or comic book movies. I never despised them but I was never one to read them. I never sought out the films but I would sit down and enjoy them. So because of that I really feel that I’m not carrying much pressure.

DRE: Have they given or asked you to read certain comics?

HL: The Killing Joke was the one that was handed to me. I think it’s going to be the beginning of The Joker. I guess that book explains a little bit of where he’s from but not too much. From what I’ve gathered, there isn’t a lot of information about The Joker and it’s left that way.

DRE: Is doing the role of The Joker scary after Jack Nicholson did it so well?

HL: I’m not going for the same thing he went for. That would be stupid. It is also two very different directors with different styles. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing nitty gritty handheld realism. I love what [Jack] did and that is part of why I want to do that role. I remember seeing it and thinking how much fun it would be to put on that mask and attempt to do something along those lines. But it would obviously be murder if I tried to imitate what he did.

DRE: They’re talking about bringing in the co-creator of The Joker, Jerry Robinson, as a consultant on The Dark Knight. I don’t know if it would be more of an honorary title.

HL: It probably is [laughs].

DRE: Have you ever wanted to do superhero movies before?

HL: Not really. With the tights and undies and the boots, I would just feel stupid and silly. I couldn’t pull it off and there are other people who can perfectly. But I just couldn’t take myself seriously. I feel like this is an opportunity to be in one and not do that. I just gravitated towards the villain role because I felt I had something to give to it. I instantly had an idea.

DRE: Have you done screen tests with The Joker makeup yet?

HL: No, but I did do 3-D image scanning. I don’t know what they’re doing with it. This Bat truck turned up at my place in L.A.. It had these gadgets and cameras that zoom around you and up and down you. It instantly projects a three dimensional image of you. I’ve never used anything that high tech before in a film. I felt like I was in the truck from Knight Rider.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on January 30, 2008, 03:44:36 pm

Thanks very, very much Bruce! This helps greatly to remember him!

Heath did not settle for a shell!! He did what he wanted, which is wonderful!!

Love it. Endearing words, he speaks.

His instincts are some too for all of us, with ours instincts to try to make the world better for ourselves and others!!

Like him, I loved living in Los Angeles!!

Again thanks Bruce and keep on please adding such great words of his!!

We learn value of respect from you dear, cher, Heath, for oneselves and for others - thanks forever!!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Penthesilea on January 30, 2008, 05:06:12 pm

I have only one to add, but I love it. It's from the Logo special about BBM ("them" refers to the audience, to us):

"I hope it sticks to them. I hope it gets them thinking. I hope it presents more questions than answers."

Definitely, Heath, definitely.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 05:13:48 pm

I think there were interviews in GQ and VLife with Heath that I do not have access to.  I am hoping someone will check out their memorabilia collections and maybe find some more quotes to contribute...

"Heath, I swear..."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on January 30, 2008, 06:03:09 pm

Bruce, how would you feel about us including aural and visual Heath quotes?  Actual videos or audio tapes?  Or would you prefer a separate thread for that?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 30, 2008, 06:07:20 pm

I think adding audio and video is a great great idea!

(I'd need some help with that...)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on January 30, 2008, 06:11:46 pm

Heath accepts the Santa Barbara Film Festival Award (2:49)


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdaWA2OBALI[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Brown Eyes on January 30, 2008, 10:06:38 pm

{{{{Bruce}}}}  This is the best idea for a thread!!!!  What an absolutely wonderful archive of quotations this is becoming.  Reading all of these is just so interesting.  I can imagine this being a really valuable resource long into the future. 

I copied one from way back at the beginning of this thread that I loved. "It transcends a label. It's a story of two human beings that are in love; get over the fact that it's two men — that's the point.”

They're all just so great!

Thank you for all your work compiling these.
:)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: delalluvia on January 30, 2008, 10:12:48 pm

Thanks everyone for all these.  Part of my grieving process would be to go out, buy a lovely blank book, stick my favorite pictures of Heath in it and handwrite all of these quotes down in it.

Lovely.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on January 31, 2008, 03:05:45 am

Hey True,
This is a great topic for a thread. Finally a compilation of Heath's thoughts on Brokeback all in one place.
I'm still sore 'bout that so-called "Special Edition DVD". It doesn't even have the original trailer for the film on there!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 04:44:48 am

Regarding Batman:

HL: No, but I did do 3-D image scanning. I don’t know what they’re doing with it. This Bat truck turned up at my place in L.A.. It had these gadgets and cameras that zoom around you and up and down you. It instantly projects a three dimensional image of you. I’ve never used anything that high tech before in a film. I felt like I was in the truck from Knight Rider.

Ironically, this might be the key to finishing up "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus".

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 08:34:07 am

"Monster's Ball" was the first time I felt like I had to do something about it; and what I had to do was essentially nothing. At the time, I just boiled it down, take off the shine, and destroy it a little bit.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 08:39:39 am

For one, it was something I remembered about Australian ranch-hands; they always liked talking like this. (Changes his voice) But I think it in Australia, it's just to keep flies out of your mouth, but it was something very clenched about it. When I found this accent, I had to find a regional accent and my mouth was moving everywhere when I got it, but that was part of physicalizing his battle and it was an extension of what was within him. I just tried to that and as many as those aspects as possible.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 08:49:42 am

“Meat Pies still taste the same [here in Australia], the weather’s still great… I mean it’s a little bit different right now, with the film coming out and all, but other than that, it’s just nice to be back, to see all my mates.

“My Family is coming down on Friday from Perth [for the Ned Kelly premiere] and I’m really looking forward to seeing them. The whole ‘star’ thing is not a big issue with them and that’s what I love about them.”

“My agency helps control scripts, and I feel like I’ve got control over it because I’ve got my choice of 10 scripts, but the truth is these are like 10 of 100 that have been selected for me,”

“Lately, I’ve felt I’d like to get a body of work together, and it was a pretty easy choice to do this movie [Ned Kelly] – I’d be crazy not to. I was also really excited about working with Gregs [Director Gregor Jordan] again.”

“I understood there was pressure, but if I’d taken notice of that pressure I’d be a pretty self-conscious performer. I wanted to just find the character, stick to it, and give a consistent performance.”

“You see all this heart, passion and how he protects his family and so on, and by adding some lighter moments – like the romance – it adds another dimension to him. You get to see him as a normal 20 year old kid.”

“I did read quite a few books and, at the end of the day, the only piece of literature that rang true for me was the Jerilderie letter because it was his voice and I really felt his heart and how passionate he was.

“That was really the only instrumental piece, other than a portrait of him. He held a lot of dignity and pride in his eyes in that portrait, think that was enough also just having that. The rest of it was just guessing. But we certainly did enough research to the point where we didn’t have to figure it all out on the day.”

“They’re really good actors – they certainly don’t need any coaching from me. If anything they were schooling my accent.

“But when you’re doing a movie and the movie is based around a gang of people you end up becoming somewhat usually like a gang off screen.”

“I was really lucky because every role in this film is completely covered right down to the smallest little part.”

“I used to study dance and have a bit of dance history, which I did to make me comfortable with body movement. I love dancing, it’s a great form of expression, and tap-dancing is fantastic. If the right one [film] came along I’d definitely consider it.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 08:56:17 am

"It has taken a long time for me--I've had to really carve a course out and make mistakes and learn and evolve. Every movie has kind of led up to now, to today, and it'll continue to grow. So I'm a little hesitant to give [Brokeback Mountain] the sole credit for my career. It's definitely given me probably the most wonderful opportunity of today in terms of the character and how intricate he is, and kind of textured and tragic. So it was definitely the best opportunity to sort of bite into something and spit it out."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 08:58:09 am

"I don't have to hide in front of a mask to go out and observe life. I'm amongst life. I'm participating in life. But I think that I feel like a lot of Hollywood celebrities’ performances get stale when you spend too much time working and too much time in Hollywood because they start to kind of imitate themselves and actors around them. So you've kind of got to not work and go out and breathe and feel normal."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 09:01:16 am

"I got called back [for The Patriot] and I went in and I was reading for Roland Emmerich the director and then I just stopped halfway through the reading and I apologized. I said, 'I'm wasting your time. I'm wasting my time. This is silly.' I stood up and I shook their hands and walked out. Then I got the job. I couldn't believe it … I did it every time after that, too, to see if it worked. It must work."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 09:03:52 am

"I never have great expectations of my performance or the film. I try not to think about the outcome. I think that if you look that far ahead, it sort of taints your choices as an actor. I kind of try as hard as I can to believe that no one is ever going to see it and that it's not even a movie, and then you can allow yourself to bare more."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 09:05:53 am

"It's hard to really explain to you why or how you chose a role. You just read it and you either get it or you don't. There are things inside of you that can understand or observe and you feel like you have something to give to that story or that character or you don't. It's very easy to sort of sit here and intellectualize it, but it's really kind of left up to the Gods. It just feels right or it doesn't. That's probably the best way I can describe it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 09:08:08 am

So I apologize for the bad discoveries made along the way, but I do stand by the theory that in order to evolve and further yourself as an actor you have to be fearless enough to allow yourself room for error. Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover how to whisper. I thank all of these beautiful minds and these wonderful crews around them in the past years for putting up with my screams and I thank everyone for their patience in waiting for me to find the whisper within the words. And here's to making more mistakes."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 31, 2008, 09:12:16 am

"You know, I didn’t really like where I was heading. And I didn’t, I hadn’t, I didn’t really have a choice of that in the beginning. So it was either follow it or follow someone else’s dream, or stop it and follow your own. And it’s hard, it’s tough but it’s worth it, it really is. And it’s paid off."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: j.U.d.E. on January 31, 2008, 06:14:45 pm

BRUCE, this thread is wonderful! Thank you!

"..follow your own [dream]..."!

j.U.d.E.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 05:20:29 am

On what he liked about Ennis Del Mar:

"I don’t know, his potential, he had great potential to love. I think the one time you really see the potential is with his kids, his children, because that’s the one form of love he’s really allowed to express, it’s not dangerous to him. And with his wife it just wasn’t really love, it was just what he thought should be love, and it was a routine that he slipped into because it was conventional. It was traditional, and obviously his love for Jack was forbidden and he hated himself for it, he punished himself for it. Essentially he was a homophobic man in love with another man. So that, I guess, I I always had faith in the love within him a lot more than he did. I think that’s what all the characters found in him too, was the potential within this masculine figure to be kind of vulnerable."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 05:24:49 am

Ledger on becoming a father and whether it scares him:

"I wouldn’t say it’s as scary as the last five roles. I mean, it’s definitely more exciting and a lot more beautiful, and it’s definitely my greatest achievement. I now feel kind of connected to something a lot bigger than me. It’s beautiful, there’s something cosmic about it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: AngelaNicole on February 01, 2008, 05:33:03 am

This thread is really wonderful guys! I love seeing all the quotes and pictures. He was a very special man and will never be forgotten! RIP Heath.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 10:41:54 am

On the media:

"I don't read anything. I've only seen a couple of photos. Most of the time you don't even know the photographers are there -- and that's the scary thing. It's really strange and invading. But I don't let it bother me. I just try to find humor in it. I understand people's interest in our relationship. It's part of the game, I expect it." On dealing with public interest in his relationship with Heather Graham, Ian Spelling, April 30, 2001

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 10:45:26 am

"We are a specific breed. We are actually replicas...there are actually factories for actors in Australia and we are preprogrammed." On the supposed "new wave of Australian actors" hitting Hollywood, People.com, May 2, 2001

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 10:50:10 am

"I'm on a walkabout. It's about collecting wisdom of emotions and heart and self and understanding. Being absolutely comfortable with your body and life and the earth, sun, and moon being the only truths. That's what my success is, getting underneath that." - Heath in Entertainment Weekly

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: memento on February 01, 2008, 11:17:31 am

Thank you for compiling this wonderful thread. It is very helpful in the grieving process to hear Heath's voice.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 11:27:56 am

"Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz, in just that little blue cotton dress." - Heath when asked "Who was your first celebrity crush?". (Moviefone)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 11:33:34 am

"I've got a strange mug. I photograph strangely." - Heath (USA Today)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 11:35:44 am

"I'm Shy. People get confused. They think, as an actor you can get up and be confident on the screen. ‘Why aren't you like this in normal life? Why can't you act in your social life?' Because I can't!" - Heath, Liz Smith Interview, NY Post (May, 2001)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 11:39:15 am

"I always have bed head. I don't do anything with my hair. I don't know what to do with it." - Heath in Teen People (Sept. 2001)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Sandy on February 01, 2008, 01:38:44 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to do this Bruce

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 01:53:17 pm

"For me, acting is a form of expression. I discovered this curiosity about human nature and how people work. I love what I do--the time between action and cut is precious." (Premiere Magazine, March 2002)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 01:56:11 pm

"Number one, I have to be inspired by a director, and I have to really trust them, respect them and feel at ease with them, and secondly, I have to have a feel for the material, because I never really know what I'm going to do next. I'm not someone who wants to plan my next piece.

I don't like to sit down and say, 'OK, now it's time that I should go for this kind of character because this is what I now need in my career.' If you start thinking that way, it tends to narrow your vision, and you can block out other options. I'm never after any one particular part." Heath on how he chooses his films.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 02:01:08 pm

"No amount of money changes what I do between 'action' and 'cut.'" Toronto Sun, May, 2001

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 02:11:57 pm

I jumped off the cliff in "Brokeback Mountain" completely nude. That was a 45-foot drop into freezing cold glacier water.

You didn't use a stuntman?

No, that was me. And a stuntman. Jake [Gyllenhaal] chose to sit it out. I love jumping off things. I was chomping at the bit to get up there.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mariez on February 01, 2008, 02:19:06 pm

I just wanted to thank you again for this thread, Bruce.  It's priceless. 

Marie

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: louisev on February 01, 2008, 02:24:45 pm

I love it too!

"I love jumping off things" - that seems like an Aussie trait.  Hugh Jackman said something very similar about a stunt he did cliff jumping into surf from when he was a teen.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Dagi on February 01, 2008, 03:11:02 pm

Thanks for this precious thread, Bruce!! These pictures are heartbreakingly beautiful I could look at them for hours.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 01, 2008, 04:20:16 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 01:53:17 pm

"For me, acting is a form of expression. I discovered this curiosity about human nature and how people work. I love what I do--the time between action and cut is precious." (Premiere Magazine, March 2002)

I love that picture of Heath. He looks so fucken' cute!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: belbbmfan on February 01, 2008, 04:37:35 pm

This thread is a treasure. Thank you Bruce!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 05:10:58 pm

To all of you who have expressed their thanks for this thread--

Rather than dwell in mourning, I choose to celebrate the life that was Heath Ledger. 

I thank you all for sharing in this celebration with me.

He was among us too briefly, but from the very first time I saw him on screen, I saw something real and raw, beautiful and sad, rich and complex -- and it moved me deeply. 

Our lives were richer for knowing you Heath, and the world seems emptier without you. 

Peace be with you all,

Bruce

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mariez on February 01, 2008, 05:33:15 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 05:10:58 pm

To all of you who have expressed their thanks for this thread--

Rather than dwell in mourning, I choose to celebrate the life that was Heath Ledger. 

I thank you all for sharing in this celebration with me.

He was among us too briefly, but from the very first time I saw him on screen, I saw something real and raw, beautiful and sad, rich and complex -- and it moved me deeply. 

Our lives were richer for knowing you Heath, and the world seems emptier without you. 

Peace be with you all,

Bruce

Amen.  And Peace be with you, too.

Marie

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 01, 2008, 09:20:55 pm

Here is Heath on Ellen talking about Brokeback Mountain:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkOpJsdjrEU[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 02:39:39 am

"... (We) wanted to tell a story of someone who transcends the label of straight or gay; he's a soul that falls in love with another soul within the vessel of a man."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 04:25:31 am

MTV: I hear you play a lot of chess in Washington Square Park.

Heath Ledger: Yeah. I've played since I was a kid. I play at least one game a day.

MTV: That's dedication.

Ledger: Yeah, or obsession.

MTV: Smoking and chess?

Ledger: Yeah, they go hand in hand.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 04:30:03 am

"I would have fun making [action movies], I just wouldn't want anyone to see them. If I could work out a deal like that where I could make the movies, run around, jump off things, shoot guns - OK, that would be fun." — to the Canadian Press, September 2006

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:02:21 am

(on playing the Joker in the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight") He's just out of control. He has no empathy. He's a sociopath, psychotic, mass-murdering clown. And I'm just thoroughly, thoroughly enjoying it

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:04:29 am

 I'm the worst auditioner; really, really bad. I mean, you're being judged and I'm just so aware of it that it consumes me. I can't relax, I'm tied in knots, so the voice is very taut and tense.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on February 02, 2008, 05:06:11 am

        Thank you for showing us Heath as a real live person.  Not a trumped up flash point on a tv screen
or a movie.  A brilliant, funny, warm, charming, and caring man.        Thank you       janice

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:06:54 am

I don't have a technique. I've never been a believer in having one set technique on how to act. There are no rules and there is no rulebook. At the end of the day, it all comes down to my instincts. That's the one thing that guides me through every decision professionally. Socially, also. That's my technique. Yeah, you read through the script 100 times. I guess I have little characteristics about myself. Sometimes, most often than not, once we start shooting I won't look at the script at all until we finished shooting. It's kind of like it's been imprinted in my head during rehearsals. You just let it go.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:11:15 am

The challenge was to capture the stillness of him. I have kind of semi-frantic, nervous energy. Harnassing that was something I thought I'd have to work out. Shooting in the wilderness, the stillness became like this innate quality." -on his character "Ennis" in Brokeback Mountain.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:14:24 am

"Brooklyn seems to me the closest thing in America to Europe. The neighbors and locals are beautiful people. It's like a village."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 05:24:06 am

"I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 06:50:50 am

"I get books. I meditate on it. I need a space like this where I can just sit and think and find a voice for the character and visualise it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 06:51:18 am

For Ennis, I figured he was battling genetic structure, what had been passed down, his fears, what his father had shown him - a murdered old gay ranchhand. But I still see holes in him.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 06:51:34 am

I never want to feel like I've achieved my goal. It's like Chinese farmers. They never admit that it's a good season. They feel like they'll be punished."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 08:18:38 am

bbc.co.uk

What appealed to you about Brokeback Mountain?

Firstly, I thought the script was beautiful. I feel like most of the scripts for movies or books I've read concerning love are recycled and a little stale, and I thought this was a very fresh and complex version of a story of love. Also, the character of Ennis really struck a chord with me. His battle with his genetic make up, what had been passed down to him from his father and his father's father, and their beliefs and their traditions, he was fighting against all that; he was a homophobic man who loved women and men, and I found his contradictions really interesting.

In order to survive his environment he has had to really assert his masculinity, hasn't he?

Yeah, he's the most macho character I have played. That was the point: love transcends all of that.

In America especially, a lot of straight actors seem afraid to play gay characters, fearful of the impact it could have on their image. Did you worry?

Well I don't have an image, and I didn't then. But it was a very difficult decision because it scared the hell out of me. And I didn't want to kiss Jake Gyllenhaal, you know? [Laughs] 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.

How did you and Jake work out the more intimate moments? Did you just go for it? Presumably there was a lot of trust involved.

Yeah, but that wasn't an issue. We obviously trusted each other and we most definitely didn't just go for it [laughs]. It was highly choreographed and thought out. It had to be. I mean, what do you do? I wouldn't want to just go for it, if that's what you're saying. But my reservations towards actually going through with it, and my nerves, actually worked for the film, because Ennis was very reserved and nervous about doing it. So it was lucky.

It also presumably takes a lot of self confidence and knowing who you are to do a role like this.

That's not the statement I'm making but yeah, I'm definitely confident in who I am.

Do you take advice when considering something like this?

Advice on what?

Whether the subject matter is what you should be tackling, because this is risky material?

That's just a matter of opinion. I don't feel like I have anything to lose, so I don't really understand what I'm putting at risk. No, I didn't really take advice. Most of the people around me were really encouraging about it.

You recently shot a low-budget love story about two junkies, Candy, in Australia. How was that?

Performing in it was a lot of fun because it was the first time I had used my own accent in a film in eight years. I had forgotten how free a thing can be and how liberating it is to not be weighed down by an accent. It was f****** fantastic! You allow yourself to breathe in your accent, you allow yourself to mumble, and improvising is, like, at the tips of your fingers. So it was really enjoyable for that reason. But it was just gruelling subject matter and some of the most gruelling scenes ever.

Do you have any plans about the kinds of parts you'd like to play? How carefully do you think about it?

I don't have that much forward planning about what I want to do next, or in the future. I guess if I'm doing something like, say, Lords Of Dogtown, then I really like to flip the scale on the next job. That's how Brokeback and Casanova really complemented each other, because Brokeback was really intense and excruciating, and Casanova was all drinking wine and eating pasta. It was like a holiday. So I've got no future plans. As long as it scares me, as long as it's something new, as long as I get to scare other people... I don't know, as long as I get to evolve and grow as an actor and as a person, that's the stuff I'm after.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 02, 2008, 08:50:18 am

This one is in its entirety.  Ostensibly about The Brothers Grimm, the interviewer gets around to talking about Brokeback Mountain which hadn't been released yet.  Matt Damon takes the lead in the interview (he was the bigger star.)  The interaction between Damon and Ledger is amusing, and we find out the name of someone who turned down a chance to star in Brokeback.  I've added commentary toward the end in red.

Interview: Matt Damon and Heath Ledger
A talk with the Brothers Grimm.
by Jeff Otto

August 22, 2005 - Although Terry Gilliam's work has crossed over into mainstream success a few times with films like The Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys, the majority of his work has been anything but readily accessible to the general public. Sprawling epic productions such as Time Bandits and Brazil have become the stuff of legend. Before shooting his latest, Brothers Grimm, Gilliam spent years desperately clinging to his dream project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which was to star Johnny Depp. Everything that could go wrong did, and the disastrous production was left unfinished, with only the documentary Lost in La Mancha remaining as a keepsake.

Gilliam is known as an actors' director and his wildly original visions are highly sought after amongst true thespians, regardless of their financial gain. Gilliam admits that he originally chose Johnny Depp to play the role Matt Damon ultimately filled in Brothers Grimm. Ironically, at the time, Depp was not considered enough of a box office draw. Damon wasn't offended at being Gilliam's second choice and lept at the chance to work with the storied director. Heath Ledger was chosen as Will, and then Gilliam (in true Gilliam style) decided to flip flop the roles and have Matt play Will and Heath play Jake. You following me?

As Miramax slowly crumbled in the midst of a Disney fallout with the Weinstein Brothers, Grimm sat on the shelf for a bit. It's now set for release as one of the Weinstein's last hurrahs for the company they built.

Q: What was the draw to this? Gilliam?

MATT DAMON: Working with Terry. For both of us, I think. Just the chance to be in one of his movies.

Q: Did he live up to expectations?

HEATH LEDGER: He gave us the opportunity to switch roles and create these characters that we hadn't been given the opportunity to do in the past. You know, for whatever reason, people hadn't entrusted these characters on us before… Once we got there, his energy, his enthusiasm just kind of bled into our performances.

DAMON: The role that he offered me was Jacob and we both kind of felt like we'd done those roles. So we asked him, I mean look, we were in no matter what. Each role is great and it's a Terry Gilliam movie, but yeah. And then he said, for 12 Monkeys, he actually switched Bruce and Brad… At that time, Bruce was known as the kind of crazy [one] – so he kind of flipped them. And he said he liked it, because it kind of made work more fun every day because it was more challenging.

The reality was, for me, I was the last one. Heath was already in and Terry was already doing it. By the time it came to me, I just couldn't believe it. This role in a Terry Gilliam movie is available? How does that even happen? So my first meeting with him was at Chuck Roven's house and I went up there. Terry stays with Chuck when he's in town, and we went and met in Chuck's guest house and it was the three of us. The first thing I said to Terry was, 'Why isn't Johnny Depp doing this movie?' And, you know, Chuck instantly went, 'No, no, no! We want you!' But I was just like looking at Terry. Because, if it were like Gus Van Sant or some director that I'd worked with a bunch of times, you know, you always try to just keep working together. So Chuck's going, 'No, no, we want you, we want you!' And Terry just, without missing a beat, goes, 'The studio wouldn't let me do it with Johnny.' And I went, 'Oh, okay.' And he said, 'But you're my second choice.' All right cool, all right. And then, of course, half way through production, Pirates of the Caribbean came out, so I'm sure Bob Weinstein was like, 'F**k! We could have had Depp!' They're still kicking themselves. But that was kind of how, I thought Terry and I really got off on the right foot, because we were operating from a position of total honesty. And the whole experience with him was like that, it was just really great.

He was really good at communicating exactly what he needs, because he needs every single department to be functioning in order for each shot to work. He shoots on only like 14mm, 17mm lenses. I mean, you can see everything. And so, he kind of oversees every decision from production design, art direction, wardrobe and the wig I had and the muttonchops. The whole movie almost blew up because of the fake nose. I don't know if you guys read that story. I mean, there was a nose, he wanted me to have a nose that looked like it had been broken a bunch of times. And it was really cool looking, but I think Bob Weinstein's position was, 'We're not hiring this guy and then making him unrecognizable.' You know, paying him and then making him unrecognizable. 'I'll hire a guy with a broken nose and save some money.'

Q: Owen Wilson.

DAMON: Well right, yeah. (Laughs) But at any rate, they kind of butted heads on that and Terry was like, 'F**k you. I'll walk off the movie,' and then eventually Bob actually, I think, gave us a little more money for the budget. So we ended up looking at this nose that's like that big. And we're like, 'That's a couple million dollars in budget right there.' It was really that absurd, like at the end of it. So Terry ended up called it the most expensive nose job in history.

Q: How hard is it to maintain your focus with Belucci?

DAMON: I'd say impossible. There was that scene, and I almost kissed her. The line was, I would say, 'You are the fairest of them all,' and then we were supposed to consummate it with a kiss, and then Jacob breaks the mirror. So the shot was, I'd say, 'You are the fairest of them all' and it was so close and then crash and then she'd turn and she'd scream. So we did it like nine times, and finally I'm just going like, 'You are the fairest of them all. Don't break that f***ing mirror.' And he had to get his cue right.

Q: Heath?

LEDGER: Oh, look, it became difficult just looking out of my glasses. They were like fogging up she's so beautiful. She was actually nibbling on my ear. I got contact. (Laughs) Yeah, she's amazing and such an incredible presence when she turned up on set. She was like so regal and her beauty and was so down to Earth.

Q: Studios try to pigeonhole you as leading me, but you both seem to go with character roles if you had your way. Could you talk about trying to impose that onto bigger movies?

DAMON: I think we both approach the business in a pretty eyes open kind of way, where it's cyclical and there's an ebb and flow to it and it's gonna go away and so the question is, what do you do when you have a bit of juice? When you're having your kind of s**t at the table, like what do you do? For us, we'd rather make, if you're gonna make a big movie, make a big Terry Gilliam movie that's really different from anything else that's out there. Because it's gonna go away anyway, so you kind of take your shots and make stuff that you can be proud of, that you can kind of look back and say, 'Yeah, that was an amazing experience, I learned a lot. I took a big swing, you know?' I think that's kind of the healthiest way. I think when you see people trying to like, that look at their careers like, they get some success and then they protect it like a beachhead. They just sit there, 'Don't take this away from me!' And they make really safe, boring choices. And eventually it goes away anyway. Scared money never wins.

LEDGER: Go down swinging.

Q: How long ago was this filmed?

DAMON: About 18 years ago. No, it was '03, from June to November of '03…

LEDGER: 110 days or so.

DAMON: Yeah, it was a really long shoot. We got there in May, we got there a month early and, you know, had that whole month of rehearsal and horseback riding and working on the script and trying to figure out those accents and all that. So, but my guess of why it took so long to come out was, this is my theory – I just think, they kind of had bigger fish to fry, between Harvey and Bob, like, starting this new company. There's, I'm sure, a fight over the library. I'm sure the contract negotiations were pretty – no one knows I guess. It had to be pretty severe as they extricated themselves from Disney. And they're releasing like 11 movies in this last quarter, that's they're under contract there, so whatever they had done, they put a freeze on everything and worked out what they were working out. Because I'll guarantee you, just knowing Bob and Harvey, they wouldn't sit on an $80 million investment and let it collect dust, I mean they would get it out in some form as fast as they could, so something was going on at a level that's kind of above what we do.

Q: Can you tell us about Syriana, Matt?

DAMON: Yeah, it's basically… The best way to describe it is like Traffic, because [traffic screenwriter] Steve Gaghan wrote and directed. It's like four storylines that are converging around one topic. But it's oil instead of drugs. Amanda Peet and I have a child who dies… I kind of trade on that, on the death of my son – kind of become closer to this kind of performer sprints and end up being kind of an economic advisor to him.

Q: Have you seen it yet?

DAMON: Yeah. It's really good and they've moved it to December because I think they're pretty excited about it.

Q: What about another Bourne movie?

DAMON: Yeah, off in the middle distance somewhere. I keep doing movies like with Terry Gilliam, I just wrapped one with Scorsese, I'm going to do this run of movies and then, if I flame out in all of them, I'll do another Bourne movie [and] buy myself a few more years. (Laughs)

Q: Is that the trade off with doing those movies?

DAMON: No, I love the Bourne movies. Paul's doing it, Paul Greengrass, is gonna do it again, which is huge. We had a great thing and I really love working with him. And so no, I'm excited. There's no reason the third one shouldn't be the best of all of them. That would be the only way to kind of come back and do it is not just to milk the cash cow, but to make it a proper kind of trilogy and finish it on a great note so that people look back and say, 'you know what, that was a f***ing kick ass three-movie trilogy there.' It's not something I would want to do forever, you know. [in old man voice]: 'I'm Jason Bourne! Get off my land.' (Laughs)

Q: Heath, what is Candy about?

LEDGER: It's a love story between two junkies. It was a pretty intense film. I got a scar on my face here, and that was from knocking myself out. I gave myself a black eye. We really took it like this in the shower. It gave a black eye. We're both like stillborn babies. It was a trip. We took it to another level.

Q: So it's a studio film?

LEDGER: Yeah, straight down the line. (Laughs) Abbie Cornish, she was in Somersault. She's a brilliant actress.

Q: Can you talk about Casanova?

LEDGER: Sure. I mean look, it's certainly not Fellini's Cassanova. It's Lasse Hallstrom's/Walt Disney. It's a straight up romp, it's a comedy, and it's really entertaining hopefully. It's funny, hopefully. And that's it. I'm really, it has Oliver Platt and Jeremy Irons. It's a real ensemble piece, you know? The weight's certainly not on my shoulders.

DAMON: Oh yes it is.

Q: How was your experience on Brokeback Mountain?

LEDGER: I mean, look, it was kinda like signing up for boot camp for I don't even know how many weeks I was out there, 15 weeks or something, but it was tough. It was a lonely experience, but it was definitely a real sense of accomplishment once I finished. It scared me s**tless. I was absolutely – I had so much fear for the project and the story and, you know, had to be brave. I definitely came out thinking, 'F**k, I can do anything' you know? It was a beautiful story, a beautiful script.

Q: Can you elaborate on what scared you? (Careful there Heath... It's a tricky question.)

LEDGER: You know, the idea I had to make out with Jake Gyllenhaal for one, which, just wasn't the easiest thing to do.

(Ooops.  Bad, bad answer!  This leads to places you don't really want to go...)

DAMON: You found making out with me pretty easy though. (Damon to the rescue!)

LEDGER: It was dark and I was drunk. (Laughs) This was daytime and there was a lot of lights. (Laughs) You know, so that, it was just I had to do some things I've never done before. It was also like the aging process, I had to age from 18 to 40 and do that subtly. And there's not a lot of change between the age of 18 and 40 really. So I decided to do it in my accent. I staged my accent in pitches, so it was higher when I was younger and deeper when I was older and I tried to make it subtle. I've seen the film and I think it's, I'm not sure whether it's the most brilliant film I've seen or just the worst film I've seen. I've just come to terms with the fact now that I cannot transport myself when I watch myself in movies any more. I just think I'm crap in anything I do.

(Heath, Heath, Heath...  Where's your self-confidence?)

DAMON: I heard the sex scenes are really good though. (Laughs)  ((Damon to the rescue a second time!)

Q: How many sex scenes are in it?

LEDGER: I mean, look, there's enough. You'll be pleased I think, hopefully. We're not dry humping each other in every scene. It's a beautiful love story, it really is, and we've definitely pushed the envelope.

Q: Is that what draws you to a project?

LEDGER: Dry humping. (Laughs) Yeah, absolutely. I think I would get bored if I was doing the same thing over and over again.

DAMON: That's a beautiful script, Brokeback. I read it years ago. In fact, I was gonna do it years ago. Gus read it and wanted to do it after Good Will Hunting and I read it and I loved it. But I was going off to do Ripley and then All the Pretty Horses. So I said, 'Gus, I'm going to do a movie about, quite frankly, a guy who's gay, and then I'm going to do a movie about a cowboy. I shouldn't then just do a gay cowboy movie.' (Laughs) But I loved that script, I loved it. Larry McMurtry [wrote it].

(Nice turnaround Matt!  Nice respect for the writers too.  In interviews after this, Heath seems better prepared for those kind of questions.)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 02, 2008, 01:04:17 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 02:01:08 pm

"No amount of money changes what I do between 'action' and 'cut.'" Toronto Sun, May, 2001

That's a classic one! Fantastic!  8) :-*

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: delalluvia on February 02, 2008, 02:01:21 pm

Quote

This one is in its entirety.  Ostensibly about The Brothers Grimm, the interviewer gets around to talking about Brokeback Mountain which hadn't been released yet.  Matt Damon takes the lead in the interview (he was the bigger star.)  The interaction between Damon and Ledger is amusing, and we find out the name of someone who turned down a chance to star in Brokeback.  I've added commentary toward the end in red.

Thanks for posting this one Bruce.  Heath seems to have made a friend in Matt Damon who - like Jake - also 'ran block' for him whenever he needed help in interviews.  Heath seems to have brought out the protectiveness in his friends and colleagues.  You go, Matt.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 01:02:39 am

Bob Dylan "I'm Not There" comments:  Heath and others

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie"value="

&rel=1&border=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="

&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 02:02:37 am

'I enjoyed working with Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball, in the scene where he smacks me around in the bathroom."

''I enjoyed that, because he really hit me, you know? I like when people take it to that point. I remember it being an adrenaline rush.''  EW Sept 29, 2006

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 02:32:36 am

On the film "Brokeback Mountain":

"I feel like I've never been in a film that people have liked before."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: ptannen on February 03, 2008, 02:36:29 am

Wonderful thread!  thanks for all you work, Bruce.   :)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:15:49 am

"I'm lucky in a sense because I have a job where I get to scream and cry."  "I get to purge myself in ways that don't really affect me personally."  Chicago Sun-Times,  Nov 18, 2007

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:22:55 am

"There’s two sides to Ang’s direction - there’s the pre-production, which is incredibly thorough and private, and then there’s the shooting side, when he just doesn’t say anything at all. Nothing. If you haven’t done your homework - too bad. It was clear that the shooting time was his time to create."

"He’s also very set in his ways. He prepares you so much that he doesn’t cloud you with direction. There are not many instructions; it’s always just crisp and clear. He also doesn’t patronise you by slapping you on the back after every scene and saying ‘that was great, that was great… let’s try one more.’

"In fact, he never compliments you at all. Yet, it makes you try harder - and you do end up doing better."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:25:23 am

"I wouldn’t have cast me as [Jack]. I personally, enjoyed the complexity of Ennis, the lack of words he had to express himself, his inability to love. I liked how masculine he was going to be. I liked that he was a homophobic guy that falls in love with another man. I just don’t think I could’ve played Jack."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:26:34 am

"Because he was so clenched as a person, I wanted my mouth to be clenched. Whenever words came out - they had to be punching their way out."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:28:43 am

"You can’t think that far ahead when you’re making something. You’ve no idea how something is going to be perceived way down the line. If you think like that - your performance will be more manufactured. You have to pretend nobody is ever going to see it in order to really bare you soul."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:31:13 am

"I really like to look into the physical acting characteristics of my character, because it helps me to transform"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:32:09 am

Heath Ledger on DANIEL DAY-LEWIS in My Left Foot (1989):

"It's a remarkable transformation-probably the most remarkable I can think of."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 03:32:50 am

Heath Ledger on PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN in Capote (2005):

"It's less in the way he walks and more in the way he can mold himself."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 03, 2008, 04:01:45 am

Heath Ledger on GARY OLDMAN in Sid and Nancy (1986):

"Wow, that is an amazing performance. I mean so dirty. He really hits bottom."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: sel on February 03, 2008, 04:56:27 am

Bruce,

Thank you very, very much for this thread, for your hard work in putting all the information together. The photos are beautiful too. An excellent tribute to Heath, a celebration of his life. This is the thread I was looking for.

sel
(sel365 at IMDb)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 03, 2008, 05:38:38 am

Quote from: sel on February 03, 2008, 04:56:27 am

Bruce,

Thank you very, very much for this thread, for your hard work in putting all the information together. The photos are beautiful too. An excellent tribute to Heath, a celebration of his life. This is the thread I was looking for.

sel
(sel365 at IMDb)

Welcome to Bettermost, Sel!  :)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: rnmina on February 03, 2008, 09:54:55 am

Thanks for this wonderful post. It helps.
xoxoxo

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 03:26:00 am

On for his self-described “teacup hand” position while introducing the film "Brokeback Mountain" at the SAG awards, for which he was accused by some of making light of BbM's gay subject matter:

“I’m nervous under any circumstances in front of crowds."

"I am not a public speaker and never will be. I was so nervous before the DGA Awards backstage (that award was a couple of days previous to the SAGs) that my jaw was jittering and I could not get the words out. I’m just not one of those naturally funny relaxed actors who enjoy the spotlight and are so good at it. And this was really weird because we were basically introducing ourselves, like here’s this brilliant cast and guess what, it’s us.”  “How can you say all that stuff (about your own performances) — 'two brave cowboys' — with a straight face? It was just so surreal.”

“I’ve stood like that since I was a kid. You can ask me mum. It's nerves I guess. I’m a very fidgety person, always moving, never able to sit or stand still.”

"I am so sorry and I apologize for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Berit on February 04, 2008, 03:38:00 am

Thank you for this beatiful thread,

It really feels like I get to know the wonderful person Heath really was.

You area true blessing, TOoP/Bruce

Berit

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 04, 2008, 05:29:46 am

Quote

"I apologize for my nervousness."

Oh it just breaks my heart to read that, makes me just want to hug him....  :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 07:46:47 am

"I like to do something I fear"

"I like to be afraid of the project … There's a huge amount of anxiety that drowns out any excitement I have toward the project."

Los Angeles Times - 2005.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 07:50:27 am

In its entirety:

Water Pistol Attack Left Ledger in Tears
By WENN | Thursday, June 08, 2006

HOLLYWOOD - Heath Ledger burst into tears after paparazzi attacked him with water pistols at the Australian premiere of Brokeback Mountain in Sydney earlier this year, according to his father.

The actor's relationship with the Australian press during filming for new movie Candy Down Under, and the paparazzi decided to have the last word at the January premiere of his Oscar-nominated film.

Ledger's father Kim tells the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper his heart was broken when his son called just hours after the run-in, saying he wanted to sell his waterfront home in Sydney and move to the U.S. permanently.

He says, "Heath had to go into the cinema and introduce that film soaking wet. He cried all night.

"He rang me and said, 'Dad, that's it--sell the house.'"

Ledger's father urged his son to think it over for 48 hours before making a final decision.

He says, "Two days later he rang me back and said, 'Dad, it's been 47 hours and 57 minutes--sell the house.'"

The luxury property was sold for AUS $7 million ($5 million) in March after Ledger relocated to Brooklyn, New York, with his partner Michelle Williams and their daughter Matilda.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 08:25:41 am

''I started to feel like a bottle of Coke.'' ''And there was a whole marketing scheme to turn me into a very popular bottle. And, you know, Coke tastes like shit. But there's posters everywhere so people will buy it. So I felt like I tasted like shit, and I was being bought for no reason.''

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 09:20:26 am

"I don't think Ennis could be labeled as gay. Without Jack Twist, I don't know that he ever would have come out. I think the whole point was that it was two souls that fell in love with each other."

"I don't think it's that black-and-white, and I think because we label it so harshly, there's just a lot of confused people running around thinking, Oh, f___, which side am I on?"

On why BbM might make straight guys uncomfortable:

"I suspect it's a fear that they are going to enjoy it. They don't understand that you are not going to become sexually attracted to men by recognizing the beauty of a love story between two men."



'Heath Ledger not a Label Queen' - 11/21/2005 - 'Towleroad, a site with homosexual tendencies'

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 10:52:32 am

Knight's Tale, A : Interview With Heath Ledger

Here, Heath talks about making the film, cheap beer in Prague, the pressures of fame, and learning from Mel Gibson.


Was making this film as much fun as it looked?

More. It was wonderful, and the friendship was the stronghold of the movie. Brian brought us all into Prague a month early so we could rehearse, and we just spent a month drinking together. So rehearsals were just drinking and getting to know each other.

Weren't you supposed to learn horseriding and jousting?

Yeah, we were meant to, and we did. But ultimately Brian just wanted us to get there and become friends and create something that glued us all together on screen - and we did, instantly. We all bonded and hopefully it comes over on screen.

So was there a lot of carousing?

You bet. We hit all the bars. I think the cheapest beer we found was about 25 cents for a big flag on so a lot of fun was had by all.

After Patriot, the (2000) you were called the new hot young star. Has all the attention been overwhelming?

Yeah, it's all overwhelming. But I haven't lived with it that long and I've been working pretty hard for the last 18 months straight, so it's all new. I don't know yet what it's like to live like that completely. To tell you the truth I don't think about it and I don't dwell on it. I just show up for work and live my normal life.

What did you learn from Mel Gibson?

I learned a lot socially, and professionally about the industry and the way he tackles it. I guess I also learned a lot about just relaxing and relaxing on set, and not over preparing, not over thinking. But he's also just such a gentleman, such a lovely, lovely guy, and that pleasantly surprised me. I do know that it's not everyone in his position is as friendly as he is. He's a blockbuster, he's a superhero amongst the industry. He's really just levelheaded, truly, he walked to the beat of life in such a wonderful way. I was honored to be part of that and part of him. I was very excited to work with him, and extremely nervous. God, when I first turned up on set I was literally shaking in my boots, but he just put me at ease straightaway.

Are you worried you might fall into the teenybopper role?

I was, but I'm not any longer.

You seranaded Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and you sing again here.

(Laughs) Yeah, but it's not like I come on board to the script and say, 'I want to have a scene where I sing.' It just happened and it was in the film. But I do like to sing. It's a part of me.

Did you do any of your own jousting?

I would do it, and we did as much of it as we could, but I'm really not willing to ride a horse towards another rider at full speed and hit them with a stick - or get hit myself. It was just way too f***king dangerous. Stunt guys were getting injured badly. One guy had his jaw ripped back, and had 15 stitches and was back on the horse two weeks later - and it happened again. They were really hitting each other. Unbelievable! So I'd like to have given it a shot, but. .. (laughs).

It seems like all the new action heroes are Australian. Why is that?

Maybe it's a fashion thing. We're all in fashion now. Maybe we present new flavors and spices people haven't seen much before.

Is it true you might do the next 'Mad Max' film?

Unfortunately it's not true. I'd love to do it. It'd be great. I know they're talking about it, and I certainly hope they get Mel to do it again. And I think he would. He should.

You're really the star of this film. How did you feel having to carry most of the weight?

I wasn't that intimidated. I was more intimidated after I'd made the movie and saw my mug on the poster. I know it was a big budget film, but between 'action' and 'cut' there's very little difference between a $50 million film and a $3 million one. I just go out there and do the job, and I had a great ensemble cast there to support me, so it never felt like it was just me running the show. And in terms of the pressure of being the lead role, I just looked at it as having more time to arc my character.

Are you still based in Australia?

No. I guess I'm sort of semi-based here in L. A. I bought a house here. But if I'm not needed here I go back home.

So what's the real you like?

I don't know if i can describe myself. It's too hard.

What did you inherit from your mother?

Sensitivity and acceptance. She's a very warm, caring woman.

What about your dad?

I don't know. I guess I. .. . I don't know.

What have you spent your money on so far?

I bought the house in LA and before that I bought a 1970 Mustang muscle car with 450 horsepower. It's been in and out of hospital. It's cursed.

Have you seen your new house much?

Not really. I bought it ten months ago and I've lived in it for a total of about two months. But half of Australia has been there as all my mates have been over and stayed there while I was away, and I have a friend staying there right now who looks after things while I'm gone.

So is your life living out of suitcases?

It was. (laughs) It still is, I guess. An actor's a bit like a gypsy and I like that. It's been in my nature from an early age. My parents were divorced when I was about 10, and from that point on I spent two weeks with my mum, two weeks with my dad, for the next four years. So I was just going back and forth, back and forth, packing and unpacking. Then it got to the point where I was like, 'I gotta get out of Perth,' and bang - I moved out of Perth and just kept moving. And I've still kept moving up till now, and I do still enjoy it. I haven't found any one particular place as my one and only home.

Was it devastating when your parents divorced?

No, I was really cool with it. I was kind of happy about it, actually. I had two houses, two sets of rules. It was wacky. I'd go to one place and when I was sick of that and needed a break I'd go to the other. It didn't bother me.

You were born in Perth and grew up there?

Yeah, till I was sixteen. Then I jumped in a car and drove to Sydney.

Did you go to Sydney by yourself?

No, with my best mate, Trevor. It's a long drive and it's one straight road with nothing between.

Is he also an actor?

No, he's not an actor. I've known him since I was three, and we haven't spent two months apart. And he's like my brother. He works as my PA.

Were you done with school at that point?

Yeah, I did my final year mark a year early and I just left. Yeah, that train of life was flying by and I had to jump on it, I had to get out of there. I had sixty-nine cents in my bank account and a bit of cash that my folks gave me.

That's the other thing, I'm so amazed and respectful of the fact that my parents are so lenient in the way of letting me follow my dreams and find my dream parts.

They were never ones who pressured opinions on me or pressured me on ways of living life. They were completely open for me to discover that myself. They warned me, they said, 'If you go out and touch the fire you'll burn yourself,' and I went, 'Yeah, yeah. ' I went out and I touched it and I'd come back with scars and say, 'Yeah, you're right.' But I have a wonderful relationship with them, and they're like best friends of mine.

My dad is in the engineering industry in Perth, he designed a crusher, which crushes rocks and iron ore and gold and all the stuff in iron mines. My mom, she just works, she has a day job, she and her husband live elsewhere.

You're only 21 but you seem very self-possessed. Where does that come from?

I guess it stems from my parents and my family. They're big fans of keeping a good spirit and not breaking it. They have 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.

Can you imagine being anything but an actor?

No. I couldn't. If I didn't do this I don't know what I'd do. I don't think I could do a regular 9 to 5 job. The only thing I've ever done professionally is acting. Maybe I'd do something close to a beach (laughs). Other than that I'd probably take photos. I'd probably have to draw on something I could do, and that's photography, but I'd hate to ever think I'd have to turn a passion into a profession.

What sort of photography do you do?

I hate to try and analyze it but it's more documentary. I'm documenting life. It doesn't really have a style or shape. It's very open to suggestion and just capturing the moment, and I love doing it.

What drives you mad?

Control freaks, power-hungry people and dishonesty.

But isn't that a pretty good description of Hollywood?

(Laughs) Yeah, and it just drives me mad.

Do you like to read?

Yes, but I haven't had much time to in the past year. The last book I read was 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior' by Daniel Mellman. It's a true story about his life and how this old man becomes his mentor. Most books I read I forget but this one stuck with me.

Where do you like to travel to?

I really want to go to the Caribbean. I've never been there before and I want to explore all the islands. I want warm water and to go surfing. I also want to go to Indonesia. But there's plenty of surf in Australia - and sharks.

Does all the current attention you're getting drive you nuts?

Yeah, but only because I'm so fucking sick of work. 18 months, long f***king hours with no days off, and I really need a rest.

Do you like music?

I love it and I take great pride in my music collection. A lot of it is Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Jim Morrison, The Cure, U2, Beck and Radiohead. I travel with 'the big pouch' - I've gotta have 'em all. And I love to go to live shows.

If you had to do without either music or sex, what would you give up?

Music. It's hard to live without music, but it'd be harder to live without sex. (Laughs)

Who were your idols growing up?

U2 and Bono were big for me. They were the first really influential band for me. But no actors.

Do you ever worry that you're still so young with a long way to go in the business, and that maybe things are moving too fast?

Yes, but I don't know why I'm worried. If it all goes well, then fine. It'll be great. But it is overwhelming and I haven't been dealing with the fame and celebrity because I've just been working my arse off.

Do you get stopped in the street a lot?

Kind of, but they don't really bug you. You're just aware of it and you feel like you're in everyone's peripheral vision all the time. So you don't get bugged. It's just that and feeling self-conscious. And I don't take it all too seriously. I don't believe anything that anyone says about my career or myself - good or bad.

Are you worried about losing your privacy now?

Yeah, you can't help but be worried. But it's all so new for me I don't quite know how I'm going to deal with all that. I do find the comedy in it and have a good laugh, and I think that's probably the only way you can deal with it.

Is the Australian press worse to deal with?

It is, and I'll find out just how bad it is next week when I go back there.

What's next?

Nothing. I'm going to take 6 months off. I've been working 18 months straight so I've got to balance it out a bit. I want to travel and just live.

Author : FeatsPress

cinema.com

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 10:57:28 am

Heather Graham:

The word thong means flip flop in Australia, and when people talk about Christmas they're talking about Summer. So he was getting in trouble when he was talking to American acting agents. "They'd ask him what he does in Australia at Christmas, and he'd answer,

'Well, you know, we just all sit around in our thongs and take it easy.'

He didn't realise they thought he was sitting in his g-string." (SVD/WN/NFA)

Source: WENN

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 11:05:22 am

"I do miss Australia. I miss the weather, the sense of humour, and of course, the vegemite! Ever since PATRIOT, The (2000) I haven't stopped working, until now. I haven't really had a chance to think about it, or let it sink in.

I really detach myself from it all. I have my life, my five best friends, my family, and then all of a sudden I have these 'associates' from the last few months, and beyond that the world - which is curious. I have to keep reminding myself that no matter what people say about me that life in here is what I still have and what I cherish. "

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 04, 2008, 11:07:35 am

On not making public statements about relationships:

"It has to do with work. A relationship isn't a professional thing. I've tried to keep it private. I am still not telling people about it. I'm promoting a movie, not my personal life nor myself. "

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 02:24:56 am

From 10 Things you didn't know about Heath Ledger:

Ledger wasn't afraid to play gay. And not just because he was dreaming of Oscar glory. Long before "Brokeback," one of the actor's first parts came in 1996 via an Australian TV series called "Sweat." Ledger was offered a choice of roles on the show, and he picked the character of Steve "Snowy" Bowles, a gay bicyclist. Later he reasoned that very few gay parts were being portrayed on Aussie television, and by taking the part he was more likely to be noticed.

VH1.com

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 02:39:52 am

Interview promoting The Four Feathers:

"Insurance-wise we're not allowed to ride a bicycle let alone jump on a galloping horse. But basically Shekhar [Kapur, the director] came up to me and asked me whether or not I wanted to jump onto a galloping horse. I said, "What the hell" - I thought it would be pretty cool if I could."

nev pierce interview, bbc, 17 July 2003

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:23:30 am

"I don't really like conventional love stories. Can you tell?"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: souxi on February 05, 2008, 08:27:01 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:23:30 am

"I don't really like conventional love stories. Can you tell?"

Now that did make me laugh. :laugh:

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 05, 2008, 08:28:07 am

God, how I love that picture...

 :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:28:30 am

"It's kind of like comparing watching television and reading a book. Watching TV just makes you go kind of numb, and reading a book you grow, you expand. I like to look for roles that are like books, that I have to study and expand upon."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:41:08 am

On making Brokeback Mountain:

"In Brokeback, you go home and switch off and have a glass of wine and relax, you know, but the second you lie down to go to sleep and close your eyes, I'm going through what happened the whole day all over again. Every take, every single thing: I recollect everything. You don't stop thinking about it, don't stop carrying it around, and that is pretty hard."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:48:11 am

"Once you hear the accent, you start to hear the character and start to feel the character, so it has become a really big part of it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mariez on February 05, 2008, 09:11:35 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 08:28:30 am

"It's kind of like comparing watching television and reading a book. Watching TV just makes you go kind of numb, and reading a book you grow, you expand. I like to look for roles that are like books, that I have to study and expand upon."

Ahh...I love that, especially. 

Thanks so much Bruce, again.

Marie

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 05, 2008, 09:38:09 am

Quote from: mariez on February 05, 2008, 09:11:35 am

Ahh...I love that, especially. 

Thanks so much Bruce, again.

Marie

I love that one too. It's exactly how I feel when I need to choose between watching TV or reading a book/writing. I always choose the latter.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 01:33:11 pm

"You don't learn how to act looking in mirrors, you can tell actors who've done that. It's dangerous, because acting is not about what your face is doing. If you act face first then you've worked out your face, but not the true thoughts inside. I work from inside out - thoughts and emotions first, and then the face follows."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 02:00:14 pm

"Having a child changes every aspect of your life - for the better, of course. The sacrifices are large but what you get in return is even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel in a sense ready to die because you are living on in your child."

=====

"You're forced into, kind of, respecting yourself more. You learn more about yourself through your child, I guess. I think you also look at death differently. It's like a catch 22: I feel good about dying now because I feel like I'm alive in her, you know, but at the same hand, you don't want to die because you want to be around for the rest of her life."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 05, 2008, 03:05:23 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 05, 2008, 02:00:14 pm

"Having a child changes every aspect of your life - for the better, of course. The sacrifices are large but what you get in return is even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel in a sense ready to die because you are living on in your child."

Oh Heath...  :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: souxi on February 05, 2008, 03:42:02 pm

Quote from: Snavel del Snork Snater Snuit on February 05, 2008, 03:05:23 pm

Oh Heath...  :'(

((((((((((((((((Mel))))))))))))) :'( :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Penthesilea on February 05, 2008, 03:49:58 pm

Thank you Bruce for this thread. All the quotes and pictures are such a wonderful tribute.
 :) :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: sel on February 06, 2008, 05:10:43 am

I really appreciate this Bruce.
This is the thread that I find more comforting, where I can hear Heath's words.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:10:59 am

"My agent told me, 'You're perfect for this one.'"

"If anything, if there was a risk involved, it excited me. I like causing trouble."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:16:43 am

"There's a lot of angry, stupid people out there, who are so busy worrying about this gay marriage crap."

"Those people may have a problem with this. But I say, 'Good.'"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:18:12 am

"I'd like to make my own mistakes. I don't like people making them for me. That's not that hard to understand, right?"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mariez on February 08, 2008, 03:12:18 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:10:59 am

"My agent told me, 'You're perfect for this one.'"

"If anything, if there was a risk involved, it excited me. I like causing trouble."

Love that!!!!! 

Bruce, I know I'm repeating myself, but "thank you!" 

This thread is a safe harbor for me - a much-need peaceful and positive place to be.   :)

Marie

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 04:32:40 pm

Heath Ledger on "Two Hands":

"I play Jimmy -- he’s a young guy who's basically grown up his whole life in the Cross."

"His mum maybe was a prostitute, say his father’s dead maybe, and ... he’s in a world where he believes this is his only path in life, you know.  He’s been given this life and this is what he has to do."

"I suppose that's one of those situations everyone in life kind of …comes upon at an early age.  And it s not until he’s blind, you can say, until he can see."

"When he meets a lovely young lady, Alex, and she opens his eyes and lets him see that there’s another light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s interesting …he never really notices this until he gets into the deep end and he ends up having to rob a bank anyway, and get the money back to the bad guys before he can get on with his new life."

"It’s an Australian gangster comedy. It’s a very funny film, but then on the other hand, it equally balances itself out, it counterbalances with ... it’s like shock value comedy. And there’s a lot of drama, it’s sad, and it’s happy.  And it resolves itself in the end. It makes you feel like you have seen the end of a movie.   It hasn’t just cut you short."

"I think the energy and the feel of the whole thing, and how where its shot in King’s Cross, and the lights -- as I said before its something we haven’t really seen. Is the gangster side of Sydney."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 05:16:31 pm

Quote from: mariez on February 08, 2008, 03:12:18 pm

Love that!!!!! 

Bruce, I know I'm repeating myself, but "thank you!" 

This thread is a safe harbor for me - a much-need peaceful and positive place to be.   :)

Marie

My deepest appreciation to all who have expressed thanks for this thread!

And thank you, Heath.  We miss you!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on February 08, 2008, 05:26:54 pm

      That is an awesome picture of Heath Bruce.  It is like a moving emotion of thoughts.
I guess that is what made him so great.  He could look sad and curious, happy and soulful,
tired and lustful all at once.  This is a wonderful example of not being able to pin down the
exact emotion on it.  You have to interpret it by your own minds decision. 

             What an awesome thread this is.  You have outdone yourself here.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 07:11:58 pm

"For you or anyone sitting here to really know me you'd have to sit here for a year, it would take that much time for me to explain it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Berit on February 08, 2008, 07:23:25 pm

Yes indeed, Bruce, you are so rigth......

Thank you Heath! Without you our lifes had been so much poorer....  :-*

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 07:34:53 pm

About his teen years:

"I had a problem with authority."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 07:39:00 pm

About his performances:

"I always want to pull myself apart and dissect it."

"I always go through the process of hating it, hating myself, thinking I've fooled them, I can’t actually do this."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 07:42:34 pm

"Performance comes from absolutely believing what you're doing."
 
"You convince yourself, and believe in the story with all your heart."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:27:00 pm

"I like to do something I fear. I like to set up obstacles and defeat them. I like to be afraid of the project. I always am. When I get cast in something, I always believe I shouldn't have been cast. I fooled them again. I can't do it. I don't know how to do it."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 09:58:42 pm

On Brokeback Mountain:

"I heard a while ago that West Virginia was going to ban it. But that's a state that was lynching people only 25 years ago, so that's to be expected."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Delmardeb on February 08, 2008, 11:33:59 pm

Quote from: Snavel del Snork Snater Snuit on February 05, 2008, 08:28:07 am

God, how I love that picture...

 :'(
Me too Mel  :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 11:36:54 pm

On how Heath and Jake began to fatigue of promoting Brokeback Mountain:

“I didn’t really expect anyone would be shocked by the movie. I didn’t expect such prejudice or ignorance, and we had to go through a full year of the movie winning, and losing, awards – sitting there.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 11:39:27 pm

“I was down to starving when I auditioned for 'The Patriot."

“If I didn’t get the part, I was going back to Australia.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 11:49:38 pm

“I never dreamed I’d have anywhere near the money I have now."

“It’s not that I don’t care, but I never had money early on, and I was very happy without it. When I die my money’s not gonna come with me. My movies will live on – for people to judge what I was as a person. I just want to stay curious.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Delmardeb on February 08, 2008, 11:55:45 pm

Thank you so much Bruce for "Heath's own words." I have read every post in this thread and will continue to read them. As someone else said- reading his words make you feel closer to him.

And Bruce, I read that your birthday is tomorrow. Try to make it a happy one.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Bruce}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 08, 2008, 11:56:47 pm

“I know how to love a woman. It’s no mystery.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 12:00:49 am

While promoting "A Knight's Tale":

“I went back home to Perth (Australia) and everything was different. People were calling my father and asking if I was there – people we never knew. And I couldn’t go to the old places. And most of those people never go to the movies and haven’t seen me in anything. They’ve just heard I’m supposed to be somebody.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 12:02:53 am

“Finding a balance is difficult,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking in a sense. The inconsistency of your social life, clocking in and checking in with your friends  and getting back a routine with your family. Then that just being chopped off with three weeks going to London, work through Christmas, go to Vancouver. Then work through to March. Then take off to Austin, Texas, to work there for three months. You are away from everyone, and everything, for seven months. You come back and try to rekindle it again, only to have it taken away a year later. It can be really tiring. It can be really lonely. It can be all these things, but we still do it. It’s what we love.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 12:09:51 am

“It's a beautiful love story."

“There's not a lot of mystery to love stories anymore, and this obviously is a little bit more dynamic than the usual love story.”

“It spans over twenty years and it's Ang Lee, who I can truly believe and entrust this story in his hands."

“At the same time, it scares the shit out of me. I'm frightened of it and so, for that reason, I should confront my fears; I think that you are rewarded for being brave in more ways than one.”

“I’m not ‘frightened’ like I won't let myself out of my house. The fear is in the level of performance and what I have to portray and what I have to feel and the level of the workload, and the pressure of having to perform for such a wonderful director. That's something that inspires you to perform.”

“It brings a level of importance to what you're doing because you're afraid of it, and so, you give it a lot of your time and you give it a lot of your effort to make it good.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 12:46:44 am

On singer Nick Drake:

“I was obsessed with his story and his music and I pursued it for a while and still have hopes to kind of tell his story one day.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 12:55:25 am

On "10 Things I Hate about You":

"I was a young kid from Australia, and that was the only movie someone was willing to put me in, so what do you do?"

"You've got to start somewhere. I just didn't want to stay there."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 01:03:49 am

On getting closer to his co-star Michelle Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain:

"On the 5th take, Michelle and I [are] tobogganing down the hill...  And Michelle...twisted her knee – she was pretty much on crutches for the rest of the shoot. And I felt I always had to look after her after that."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 01:16:55 am

On having a child with Michelle Williams:

"We just fell very deeply into one another's arms, our bodies made those decisions for us."

"When you're this happy everything seems to fall into place."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 01:22:20 am

"Matilda is adorable, and beautifully observant and wise. Michelle an I love her so much. Becoming a father exceeds all my expectations. It's the most remarkable experience I've ever had - it's marvelous."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 01:24:15 am

"Don't want to be away too long. I've gotta keep the house clean, my girls fed. I've got duties."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 01:24:48 am

"I had a jousting background ... We grew up jousting mainly on sheep and cattle." — on "The Daily Show," May 2001

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:38:35 am

"My sister did amateur theatre and did a couple of little guest appearances on TV shows."

"And then her agent picked me up.

I was doing high school theatre, stuff like that, and then suddenly I got a TV role and that was it. Doors started opening."

"But before my first job, I had no interest in movies. I'd never watched them, nor did I really care about them. My curiosity for film is something that has grown over the years while making them. I never woke up as a kid thinking I was going to be an actor."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:40:09 am

 "I don't want to settle at one style of acting or film. If I were doing the same thing I wouldn't find any reason to continue. But it helps me to evolve. Every time I do something new, it helps me to mature as a performer and a person."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:43:59 am

On preparing for Casanova:

"I threw it all out of the window."

"It's a romp, a comedy. I feel I should have sent him up more; I really wanted to go to town and I feel like I missed that boat."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:48:52 am

"When it's true love, it feels like something you're rekindling."

"As if you've met the person before."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:53:30 am

"I've been the biggest fan of [Terry Gilliam] all my life."

"He's been on the top of my list of directors to work with and he's brilliant. I feel like the world is a better place with Terry in it. Working with him, his energy and passion to create is astounding and he really creates a safe environment for you to leap out of yourself.

He dares you to be bad. He wants you to be bad.

He allows you to scream and shout and make a fool of yourself."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 06:55:22 am

On making "The Brothers Grimm":

"I actually ate three bars of chocolate every day to get as hyperactive as Jacob could be, just to get up all that frantic energy. It was six months, including 115 days in Prague, and every one of those days I woke up and went out to have the time of my life."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 07:07:50 am

"I've always been picky in my choices."

"But nowadays, I'm a lot more so."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 09, 2008, 08:39:52 am

PAUL BETTANY: Hello, mate. How are you?

HEATH LEDGER: Hey, Paul. How are you? Where are you?

PB: I am in Canada.

HL: How is that?

PB: Big and white. Jennifer [Connelly, Bettany's wife] is making a film [Dark Water] in Toronto with Walter Salles, and I am "set bitch."

HL: Sorry? You're what?

PB: I'm set bitch [Ledger laughs], which is a position I find myself strangely comfortable with.

HL: Do you just stay in the trailer all day, naked?

PB: That's right, yeah. Though with Stellan [Bettany and Connelly's baby] here, it's a bit weird. Now, in the time-honored journalistic tradition, I've just poured myself a large drink, and I was thinking of wearing one of those little sun visors that journalists seem to wear in films. If you want a moment to pour your own drink, please go right ahead.

HL: I might make something a bit later.

PB: Okay, then. Well, I've just seen Ned Kelly. You do a really lovely job in it.

HL: Oh, thanks, Paul.

PB: It's nice to see a young actor taking on a physical transformation because that seems to be out of vogue at the moment, you know? You really transformed yourself, just in the way you held yourself--

HL:--I got that from the only physical insight I had into him. There was, of course, the famous Jerilderie Letter, which Ned Kelly wrote to a newspaper editor by dictating it to [his gang member] Joe Byrne. It was key to understanding his voice because it was, like, 56 pages long, and very passionate and quite humorous at times. But there were only two portraits of him, taken in the days before the government hanged him. One was a close-up of his face, where he had the full ZZ Top beard [Bettany laughs] and thick Irish hair with the big curl coil on the top of his head. And the other photograph was a full-body shot, and that's where I got his physicality and his posture. The thing about this photograph is that he couldn't actually stand--he was kind of sitting on a metal pole--because by the time they caught him, he had 29 lead bullets embedded in his body. That was all I had, really. The rest was guesswork.

PB: I had a look at the Jerilderie Letter last night. I pulled it off the Internet so I could have some sort of notion of who Ned Kelly was. As an Australian, is his image very much in your consciousness in the way that I, as an Englishman, have my own images of Robin Hood?

HL: Definitely. Though the public image of him in Australia is divided fifty-fifty. Half the country believes he was a robber and a cop killer who should have been strung up, and the other half believes he was a hero.

PB: Right. We have in England, from our dreadful colonial heritage, an image of Ned Kelly too. And my image of him, of course, was this man dressed in--

HL:--Metal.

PB: Yes, exactly. That thick metal suit of armor he wore on robberies, and which was a big part of the making of his legend. So is there any truth to the affair between your character and Naomi Watts's character?

HL: Offscreen. [both laugh] No, there isn't, actually. The movie was based on a book called Our Sunshine [by Robert Draws], and the love affair is a bit of license taken by the author. But without the love story there would have been no opportunity to see the human side of Ned in the movie. There would have been no opportunity to see him smile or laugh, because he's always on his cause, being chased by cops, and there was no opportunity to create a person out of that.

FS: Well, I am massively impressed by what you did. You know, since we worked together in A Knight's Tale, I've thought a lot about how tough all of this fame must have been for you. I mean, I spent my twenties waking up in gardens drunk. and no one was watching, you know? As well as being quite blessed, the past number of years must have been a really difficult time for you.

HL: Yeah, it really was, Paul. Particularly after we worked together, because it was a time when I had not really chosen my career path--it had been chosen for me. I didn't audition for A Knight's Tale; I was given it. And then the studio put my face on a poster and wrote "He Will Rock You," and if I didn't, my career would have been over. That was the first lead I'd had in anything, and there were all these new pressures, which freaked me out. I felt like my career was out of my hands. I wasn't making any decisions; they were being made for me. And so to a certain degree, I had to go out and destroy my career somewhat in order to rebuild it.

PB: You know what? I think it was a really wise thing to do.

HL: I do too. And believe me, at the time, I had studios telling me I was crazy. I had agents on my back, publicists, family members, everyone saying, "What are you doing? You should be this. You should be that. You should follow the dollar. Follow the gloss."

PB: Well, I was worried about you. I spoke to you about it at the time, and you sounded--as I imagine anybody going through that needed to be--entirely confident that it wasn't going to get to you. I'm just so pleased you kept your shit together and on track.

HL: Thanks. My life is together, both professionally and socially. But it's been a big learning process, and there is no Yoda--there's no one who points you in the right direction. You've got to figure that out by yourself.

PB: I'd say you have, mate. So now you've gone and just made this Terry Gilliam movie with Matt Damon.

HL: The Brothers Grimm. It was extraordinary working with Terry, but I'll tell you, it was also a lot of hard work. We were in Prague [shooting] for 112 days, but turning up every day was an absolute pleasure because he's this eccentric, mad scientist who feeds you energy. You want to perform for him. You want to make it big. The humor in this film was somewhat [Monty] Pythonesque, and the thing about performing that way is that you really have to trust the director. You have to be able to let go and feel brave enough to do anything and know he's going to pick the right moments. And because Matt and I had that confidence in Terry, we felt like we had license to play around. It was like a big playground, and it was brilliant.

PB: You just took a holiday in Australia. Is there any anonymity for you over there? Is there any way you can not be Heath Ledger Incorporated?

HL: I think there would be if I were living there full-time, because then people would get sick of seeing me. I guess it's a bit of a novelty when you come back into town if it doesn't happen all that often. To tell you the truth, it's a bit of a hassle when you can't go to the beach because you're so self-conscious of taking your shirt off to dip into the ocean because you're aware that [the paparazzi] are zooming in on your nipples or something. I think if you spend enough time in one place [the paparazzi] eventually begin to say, "Fuck it. We got this photo of him five times already. There's no story to tell anymore."

PB: The trick is to wear the same clothes every day because they can't keep repeating the same photo. [Ledger laughs] What's your next move?

HL: I'm doing a film with Ang Lee. I just got it the other day.

PB: Whoa! Is this the gay-cowboys movie?

HL: Yeah, man. Brokeback Mountain. I'm going to wrangle a wrangler.

PB: You bastard! Somebody called me and said, "There's an Ang Lee film with gay cowboys." I thought, Gay cowboys, that's me! [both laugh] Oh, fantastic. Congratulations. When are you doing that?

HL: We start in July. But listen, it's the strangest thing: I haven't met Ang Lee or even spoken to him on the phone yet. He's a shy man, apparently.

PB: He's terribly, terribly sweet.

HL: Yes, that's what I hear. I'm superexcited. I love his movies, and I can trust that story in his hands. I think. [laughs]

PB: That's brilliant. Well, that's all the questions I have for you, Mr. Heath Ledger. Take care of yourself, mate. And keep destroying your career just as much as you can.

HL: I will. Don't you worry.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 09, 2008, 03:37:09 pm

I had to post this magnificent video for the song, "Morning Yearning" by Ben Harper and directed by Heath Ledger.

[youtube=425,350]http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbcV39Sq1o&feature=related[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 09, 2008, 03:45:10 pm

Here's an interview discussing his work as the Joker.

It's still very difficult to imagine that Heath is not with us any longer. He is so cute, vibrant and energetic in this clip:

[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=uKa-aDga1fE[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 10, 2008, 10:59:29 am

24 March 2003

Heath Ledger on Andrew Denton's show "Enough Rope" promoting his movie "Ned Kelly"

Andrew Denton:  My good friend and golfing buddy Sir Ralph Richardson once said that "acting is merely the art of stopping a large group of people from coughing," which means that our next guest could probably cure the common cold. Please welcome a fine stamp of a man on the rise, Mr Heath Ledger.

Andrew Denton: Shouldn't you be in LA tonight, pressing the flesh, kissing the ring, as it were?

Heath Ledger: Uh…(Laughs) Whose ring?

Andrew Denton: Well, that is the question, isn't it? How come you aren't at the Oscars?

Heath Ledger: I wasn't invited.

Andrew Denton: No! No! Do you need a fake nose [reference to Nicole Kidman in "The Hours"] to be invited to the Oscars? Seriously! But you've never been, have you?

Heath Ledger: No.

Andrew Denton: Surely you've been invited in the past?

Heath Ledger: To the Oscar parties and stuff like that, but, no, never to the event.

Andrew Denton: Are you sorry?

Heath Ledger: Not really. No. I'd like to go. Yeah, it would be fun.

Andrew Denton: You'll get invited. I'm sure you will. Look, I'll see to it.

Heath Ledger: Thanks.

Andrew Denton: I'll make a call. I'll give you my invitation next time. Uh, Nicole, of course, won tonight.

Heath Ledger: I know. That's fantastic.

Andrew Denton: Yeah. Are you going to…is it that sort of thing where you've got her number and you give her a call?

Heath Ledger: No, no, I don't.

Andrew Denton: You've never been invited to visit Nicole either?

Heath Ledger: No. It's…

Andrew Denton: this is a very sad and lonely picture. It seems to me, though, I mean, she's got an Oscar with a fake nose. You've put on a whole fake beard and a helmet. You are a shoe-in there for the big one.

Heath Ledger: Yeah.

Andrew Denton: Look, I certainly… We'll get back to 'Ned Kelly' in a minute. How do you know when you're hot in Hollywood?

Heath Ledger: You usually start to perspire and… No, God, I don't know.

Andrew Denton: Well, seriously, you'd be A list now, wouldn't you?

Heath Ledger: No.

Andrew Denton: No? What list are you?

Heath Ledger: Uh, 'B'. (Laughs) I don't know.

Andrew Denton: But people talk about this stuff all the time in the industry.

Heath Ledger: Yeah. I don't know. I really don't know what list I'm on. I'm obviously not on the Oscar list.

Andrew Denton: Maybe you're A-plus, maybe you're too special.

Heath Ledger: Yeah, A-minus, or something.

Andrew Denton: Well, for instance, if I were an LA exec coming up to Heath Ledger right now, how would I be talking to you? What would the patter be?

Heath Ledger: Um…oh, God, I don't know. I try not to talk to those kind of people if I can.

Andrew Denton: Is there a lot of — and I really don't want to, you know, go too far here — but is there a lot of smoke blown up the anal fundament?

Heath Ledger: Yeah, there is. Um, I don't know. I tend to try to disattach myself from that as much as possible. And I don't find it that hard. I live a fairly normal life outside of this. It's hard to believe, but I do.

Andrew Denton: You just dag around?

Heath Ledger: Yeah, I really do. I've been spending the last eight months on my arse, raising two puppies, learning how to cook lasagne, and doing my washing, and keeping my house clean, and loving it.

Andrew Denton: Can I just say that over eight months, that's not a lot of work! I mean…

Heath Ledger: I know.

Andrew Denton: Far be it from me to call you a lazy bastard.

Heath Ledger: I am a lazy bastard.

Andrew Denton: What sort of puppies are we talking about?

Heath Ledger: I got a little cocker spaniel named Ed.

Andrew Denton: Ohh.

Heath Ledger: Ohh. And a little Yorkshire terrier named Bob.

Andrew Denton: Bob? How did he get the name Bob?

Heath Ledger: I don't know. It just…it just rolled off the tongue.

Andrew Denton: And now, the lasagne is the lasagne for the puppies? I'm sorry to go into deep domestic detail here, but I'm trying to unpeel your last eight months.

Heath Ledger: Yeah, I don't know. I had so much time on my hands, I just started cooking. And it's so great — you can just go on the Internet, go to Google and just put in 'lasagne' and all of a sudden you've got 100,000 different recipes for a lasagne. And…I don't know. That's how bored I've been over the last eight months.

Andrew Denton: I'm interested in…in dance in your life. 'Cause you choreographed your…your school…

Heath Ledger: YOUR school.

Andrew Denton: My old school. Our old school. You choreographed… Someone very kindly asked the other day, "What was Heath like at school?" Like, yeah, right, he's only 20 years younger than me! He was about that big! No, but you choreographed your school dance. Now, this was an all-boys school. I'm guessing that's not an easy thing to do.

Heath Ledger: No, you couldn't imagine how hard it was to get 80, like, you know, farmers' kids to get up and dance. You know, they don't know who Gene Kelly is. I actually had to get up in front of them and dance, and it was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life — you know, having 80 kids laughing and screaming and pointing at me. But it was great, you know, 'cause it was good to see these kids overcome their fear of expression. All of a sudden, you had these farmers who thought dancing was like a nancy-pansy kind of thing and then all of a sudden, they're up there dancing in tights. And…and they won.

Andrew Denton: Really? What was the thing they did?

Heath Ledger: Oh, God, I can't remember. I think it was… We had to come up with a theme. I think it was based on fashion or something. But you had to do it all yourself, choreograph it and…

Andrew Denton: You said you got up and danced in front of them. Where did you learn?

Heath Ledger: I didn't. That was the embarrassing thing about it.

Andrew Denton: You just made it up?

Heath Ledger: Yeah. I mean, I did a little bit of, um… After that, actually, I did some dance courses. Mainly because when I started doing theatre I was really self-conscious of what my body was doing and where my hands were and what my feet were doing and it was sort of just… So I danced to get more control of my body. Look at me, I'm, like, out of control. I'm going, "It's just to get more control of my body so I don't have to worry about it." It didn't work.

Andrew Denton: He took an eye out in the interview. Arggh! (Laughs) Do you…would you like to do a dancing role on stage or in a movie?

Heath Ledger: I don't know. It kind of scares me. It really does.

Andrew Denton: That's good, isn't it?

Heath Ledger: Yeah, it is. I don't know. If it's the right piece, I guess, yeah.

Andrew Denton: You could do 'The Amazing Electrical Man.' Something like that. His own stunning jazz style of dancing. We've some photos of you here as a kid, and thanks for bringing them in. This is, first of all, baby Heath. Look at this. It looks a bit like me. There we go. Ohh! Were you playing 'Ned Kelly' even at that age? What is that? What are you in?

Heath Ledger: A potty. A brass potty.

Andrew Denton: Couldn't afford nappies?

Heath Ledger: No.

Andrew Denton: And then this one. This is a sweetie. This is you as, what, you were about three or four there, I guess? In the movie 'Ned Kelly', there's a lovely bit where Ned is remembering as a kid his father talking to him…

Heath Ledger: Red Kelly.

Andrew Denton: Red Kelly. Is there a moment from your childhood that you still carry with you? One of those defining moments?

Heath Ledger: Uh…oh, gawd, I have to come up with something for my parents now. But, um…oh, God. Yeah, a few, I guess. I have a lot of wonderful moments. I have a wonderful family and I'm very proud of them and I love them dearly. But, oh, God, nothing interesting I can tell you now.

Andrew Denton: It's a tough one. What about when you look back on your childhood years, what's the thing in your head?

Heath Ledger: The first memory I have, anyway, I guess — I think it was my second birthday and the cake came out with the candles and I was very excited and I was, like, "Oh! A cake!" and then my cousin blew out the candles. I was so disappointed. It just broke my heart. And so that's stamped in my brain.

Andrew Denton: And so, does every year your cousin get your birthday presents now?

Heath Ledger: He flies out, yeah.

Andrew Denton: 'Ned Kelly' was really good. And you'll forgive me for getting personal now, but… I thought you were stunning in the role, but I…I don't know how to put this. I should have had the role myself.

Heath Ledger: I know you should have.

Andrew Denton: I auditioned, and I'd like you to tell me what is wrong with my Ned Kelly. (Puts on helmet with spectacles) Stand and deliver! For I am Ned Kelly. And what's more, I can play the sexy roles too. Actually, yours is a stunning performance and I said that this evening privately, so I can say it publicly. It's very intense and intensely watchable. Here is a clip from 'Ned Kelly' with Heath.

Woman: Ned, Ned! Ned. Jesus, Ned, they've arrested Ma.

Ned: They what?

Woman: They've taken her to the cells. Charged her with attempted murder.

Ned: Attempted murder?

Man: And Fitzpatrick is saying you took a shot at him.

Ned: I wasn't even there.

Man: We know that. It's your word against his.

Ned: They'll take the word of a drunken liar and arrest an innocent woman. Is that right? I won't take this injustice. I'm going to kill him. I swear I'll scatter his blood and brains like grain.

man 2: Ned!

Man: Stop it, Ned!

Ned: Stand aside!

Man 2: Don't make it worse for Ma!

Woman: Stop it, Ned!

Andrew Denton: It's powerful. It's great. Absolutely. The bit in the film — Ned's always chewing. What's that? Where did that come from?

Heath Ledger: It's his jaw. He's just angry.

Andrew Denton: That's just anger, is it?

Heath Ledger: Mmm. Well, that's what I was doing, anyway. It was the chewing gum I had in my mouth.

Andrew Denton: It's the merchandising. What about the Irish accent? 'Cause there's some conjecture as to whether or not Ned spoke Australian or Irish. Yeah, we did talk about it, but obviously…but at the end of the day, we don't really know what they sounded like and if anything it was probably a hybrid between Irish and Australian accent. But we figured, you know, it's an Australian…it's an Irish story in an Irish community in Australia, so we figured, you know, keep it Irish. And I had an incredible dialect coach, who's named Gerry Grennell, and he just made it easy. He really did. I owe it all to him.

Andrew Denton: Could you go to Ireland now and pass yourself off as…?

Heath Ledger: No.

Andrew Denton: You owe a little bit to him, in that case.

Heath Ledger: Dead right.

Andrew Denton: I read that you…look, that you booked a room overlooking the old Melbourne jail as part of your research. Is that true?

Heath Ledger: No, actually, I had no idea where the Melbourne jail was.

Andrew Denton: It sounded like bullshit to me.

Heath Ledger: It was bullshit. No, but I did have a room overlooking it. It's just I didn't know it was the jail until a week later. I know, it's sad.

Andrew Denton: Did you stand there just looking at it, going, "Yes."

Heath Ledger: "That's an interesting old building." No, it was the guy who played my brother, Laurence Kinlan, actually pointed it out to me and it was kind of surprising. But, yeah, from my apartment I could see his final walk and the spot where he was hanged. It's kind of eerie actually.

Andrew Denton: Did you actually learn anything about Ned Kelly making this film that you didn't know? Because we all grew up with the legend.

Heath Ledger: Yeah, I did. I guess what was surprising is how young they were, for starters. I mean, he was hanged when he was 25. But I guess, just how much of a victim of circumstance he was. And so, you know… But I obviously have a really biased point of view of him because I had to play him and I had to believe him and his story. But, yeah, it was tough times and just the extent of how tough it was was kind of surprising. Like, the cops back then in the Irish community used to get kids and put them in barrels — beer barrels with spikes in them — and roll them down hills.

Andrew Denton: Seriously?

Heath Ledger: Yeah. Well, no, I made that up.

Andrew Denton: That would be a reality TV show today.

Heath Ledger: Yeah, exactly! 'Fear Factor' or something.

Andrew Denton: I have for you some 'Ned Kelly' merchandise. Because I've noticed with the film there tend to be a lot of opportunities. First of all, there's the Ned Kelly beer mug, which I think is really going to work. You just put a bit of the old brown ale in there and…it's a tremendous thing. (Spills ale through mug) People will, uh, obviously… OK, you might not like that. But what we have here… This is the Ned Kelly…the full Ned Kelly doll set for kids. We've got your trooper and we've got Ned Kelly. And this thing is, you see here, if you pull the string at the back…

Heath Ledger: Funny horse, isn't it?

Andrew Denton: Well, obviously we're a little bit cheap on the show. If you pull the string, though, you get the full Glenrowan siege. Listen to this. (Sounds of battle) Sorry, oh, sorry. Just to give it the full authenticity. But this is the one I think, Heath, is going to work. This is the Ned Kelly toaster. You plug it in, you put in your ordinary toast, like so, and about two minutes later… A toast to Ned Kelly!

Heath Ledger: That was cheesy.

Andrew Denton: They're turning ugly, aren't they? Did you manage to watch any of the Academy Awards?

Heath Ledger: No, I was working all day.

Andrew Denton: Of course, Michael Moore…I have a transcript of the speech Michael Moore made.

Heath Ledger: It's fantastic.

Andrew Denton: Fantastic speech. I'll read the last little bit. He got pretty much booed off the stage. He said, "We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the fiction of orange alerts, we are against this war, Mr Bush. Shame on you, and any time you've got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up." You were in Melbourne the other day, leading the march. I saw you on TV last week, after a bit of thought referring to our Prime Minister as 'a dick'.

Heath Ledger: Yeah.

Andrew Denton: You stand by that?

Heath Ledger: Well…yes, I do stand by that, absolutely.

Andrew Denton: There are those…and they've written over the weekend to suggest that you've been duped, that you're grandstanding.

Heath Ledger: Well, you know what? It's like… Screw it, man, everyone has their right to their opinion and that's mine. And, look, I'm not alone, am I?

Audience: No.

Andrew Denton: And to those who'd say, "Get your hand off it, Ledger, what do you know?"

Heath Ledger: Yeah, look, I do… I mean…yeah, the unfortunate truth is none of us know enough and we will never know enough. But, screw it. Our country…we've never… This is the first time in the history of our country that we're an aggressor, and we're not an aggressive nation or people. I'm certainly not, and I'm very proud of my country and I'm the very proud of the people here. We shouldn't be a part of this. It's not a fight for humanity. It's a fight for oil. And screw it and screw them. I think we should all pull out and live a peaceful existence down here.

Andrew Denton: Do… Are there people around you saying, "Just pull back, Heath. Don't say this, don't blow it?"

Heath Ledger: Yeah, but at the end of the day, what am I going to blow? My career? At the end of the day, my career is so insignificant in this…this war. It just is, and I'm willing to lose a few jobs over it. God. Yeah. I'll start to cry soon.

Andrew Denton: No, it's a man of passion. I like that.

Heath Ledger: Well, we need more of it and I think it's only going to get…we're only going to get more and more support. I don't know how much effect it will have on it, but hopefully we can stop this thing before it's too late. Unfortunately, you know, within the human kind of instinct, we don't… It's like, I could tell you, Andrew, "Don't touch the fire because if you touch it you'll burn yourself," and you'll go, "OK." But then when I'm looking that way, you'll go over and you'll touch it and burn yourself and then you'll learn. I just hope we don't take it that far. I hope we learn before something disastrous happens.

Andrew Denton: Sadly, I think the fire has begun.

Heath Ledger: It has.

Andrew Denton: Let's end on a cheerier note, shall we? We've discovered your dancing.

Heath Ledger: Yes.

Andrew Denton: I'd like to reveal your other talent tonight. Thank you very much, Angelo. Something perhaps not known about you. The didge. You play the didge. [a wind instrument used by some Australian aboriginal people]

Heath Ledger: Yeah.

Andrew Denton: Can you give us a blast?

Heath Ledger: Alright.

Andrew Denton: Ladies and gentlemen, first time, Heath Ledger on the didge.

Andrew Denton: Thank you for coming in.

Heath Ledger: Thank you very much.

Andrew Denton: You may keep that.

Heath Ledger: Oh, really and truly? That's nice.

Andrew Denton: And I believe we have a huge bottle to make a giant bong with as well. What a man. A man of passion. Let's hear it for Heath Ledger.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 10, 2008, 11:39:12 am

That's the weirdest interview I have ever read!  :D

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on February 11, 2008, 05:36:12 am

The Paul Bettany and Andrew Denton conversations were great, Bruce.  Isn't it wonderful to find more to love about Heath?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 11, 2008, 08:20:12 am

mtv.com

John Norris: I want to ask you first about the different paths that Ennis and Jack take in sort of dealing with this situation. It strikes me that Ennis is really the tragic figure in this film. Even though Jack pays the ultimate price, at least he has moments in his life where he sort of realizes who he is. Do you agree?

Heath Ledger: That's true. I think that's part of Ennis' problem — that he has no self-realization. I, as the actor playing him, took the time to investigate him and to discover what exactly his battles were. What was preventing him to express and to love? And one of the conclusions I came to was that he's battling himself. Like he's battling his genetic structure, if you will, and all the beliefs, fears and traditions that were passed down from his father, and so on. And that was so deeply embedded and installed in him.

So then I wanted to physicalize it in his walk and into his speech. ... Ennis, he wasn't as self-aware as to ask himself these questions, so he didn't really know what I knew about him. Essentially, as an actor, I had to go in front of the camera and think ... less.

Norris: Certainly when most gay Americans, and probably a lot of straight Americans, hear the word "Wyoming," one of the first things that comes to mind is Matthew Shepard and what happened to Matthew. ... Was the name Matthew Shepard something you guys even talked about in shooting this film?

Ledger: We certainly, um, were aware of it. But we were definitely trying not to mimic or portray any story outside of the short story of Annie Proulx's [on which Brokeback was based] and the script that we'd been given. And we certainly didn't want to be making any political statements. We kept ourselves on a fairly strict budget of the information we were given in pre-production and just tried to create something from that.

Norris: Yours, as is everyone's, is an incredible performance. ... When you hear people say ... "Who knew this was in Heath Ledger?," is that flattering? How do you feel about that?

Ledger: I don't know. I just hope I get to continue to do that. I mature as an actor as I mature as a person, and ... I'm hoping to continue to evolve in both areas.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on February 11, 2008, 04:01:11 pm

I've been meaning to say this for a few days -

Reading Heath in his own words, I notice how often he uses the words "express" and "expression."  It sounds like he was very aware of how powerful and driving a motivation that was for himself.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 12, 2008, 12:46:35 am

Quote from: Ellemeno on February 11, 2008, 04:01:11 pm

I've been meaning to say this for a few days -

Reading Heath in his own words, I notice how often he uses the words "express" and "expression."  It sounds like he was very aware of how powerful and driving a motivation that was for himself.

I have also come to appreciate through pulling these things together how much importance he placed on physically embodying a character, and not just relying on his face and voice to play the part.  He has a dancer's sense of physicality in using his body as an instrument for the performance. 

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 12, 2008, 01:14:07 am

Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Brothers Grimm Interview
 
Friday, 19 August 2005 
 
Transcribed from VHS by HeathHEATHENS.com
 
Conan O'Brien:  My first guest has starred in such films as Monster’s Ball & The Patriot. His new movie, The Brothers Grimm, opens August 26th. Please welcome Heath Ledger.

Heath bounds out from backstage, wearing his dark pin-striped suit jacket, button with the middle button, over a white t-shirt. He has on the lapel pin ribbon that he wore to the Brothers Grimm premiere, and rust/red leather (my guess is hand-sewn) lace-up boots. He’s full of exuberance and energy.
 
Conan:  Thanks for comin’.
 
Heath:   Thanks for havin’ me.
 
C:   Ya gotta little bit of Conan energy there!
 
H:   Yeah! Rawr! I was watching you before, and I’m a little keyed up.
 
C:   Apparently you’ve had a lot of sugar, yeah!
 
H:    I have.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
C:    No, Thanks for comin’; first of all . . . uh, those are cool!
       (points to Heath’s new boots.)
                                                                                           
H:    Yeah, they’re all right, huh?
 
C:    Look at that!
 
H:    I got a-attacked by a cat on the way here. They weren’t supposed
        to be red. . .
 
C:   Yeah, that would frighten any animal, yeah . . . that’s cool, though.
       Now, I wanna ask you something first of all, you are originally
       from Australia, but I don’t know where in Australia . . .
 
H:    Ah, Perth, Western Australia
 
C:    Perth. Never been to Perth, but . . . absolutely beautiful place Australia.
 
H:    It is; It is beautiful, yeah.
 
C:   Fantastic, but now you live in Brooklyn.
 
H:   Yup. (audience cheers and Heath gives the thumbs up)
 
C:   And I was thinking, like, . . .   Uh-oh, they’re gonna be waiting for me when I leave (referring to audience) "What’dya sayin  bout  Brooklyn".   
       No, Brooklyn’s great, but I can’t imagine a place that would be more opposite
 
H:    Yeah
 
C:    than Australia, right? I mean it’s just gotta be completely different.
 
H:    It is, and that’s kinda what I love about it at this point. I was after some . . . a change, you know? Um . . . It’s just so quiet;  it’s real living,   ya know, and I’m lugging my laundry down to the laundrymat, uh, you know my duties right now are just keeping the house clean, my  girlfriend happy, . . . um . . .
 
C:   Right, . . . I love that you just say, like yah, I had to get outa Australia so I could lug some laundry around, ya know?
Transcribed by HeathHEATHENS.com
H:    (Laughs - Audience laughs) That’s good.
 
C:    But but you also, ya get hounded a bit in Australia, you’re . . . you know, a big star anywhere, but in Australia the paparazzi kinda  gives  you a hard time?
 
H:    Yeah, I guess so; I mean . . . look, (pfeww) they’re bored, I think.   You know.   They don’t get many people going down to  Australia,   and  so it’s uh . . . you know.
 
C:    They’ve got all the photos of Crocodile Dundee they would ever want . . .
 
H:    ( laughs)
 
C:    They’re like, "We’ve gotta get Heath now."
 
H:    Yeah
 
C:    So you come to Brooklyn, and the paparazzi, they don’t really want to go into Brooklyn to badly, right?
 
H:    Nah, couldn’t care less; it’s great,
 
Audience member: Yeah.
 
H:    Yeh.
 
C:    (to audience member) You settle down, sir, or I’ll come up there.   We’ll let Mr. T take care of that guy.
 
(Heath Laughs)
 
C:    But uh . . . so you’re having a good time, and I know that, sometimes in Australia when you’ve had a hard time with the  paparazzi, um .  . . and it’s common among stars, they tend to lose it, once in a while . . .
 
H:     (under his breath) slap’em around?
 
C:    You’ve actually thrown, you throw stuff at them?
 
H:    (Pause) Yeh . . . (uncomfortable giggle)
 
(Audience laughs at Heath’s fidgeting)

C:    I think people are behind you on that; I don’t think anyone’s complaining, but what do you throw?
 
H:    I’ve thrown an egg . . . or two, yeh . . . not at them just kinda next to them, so it splatters up against them. . . (uncomfortable laugh)
 
C:    You’ve put a lotta thought into it . . .
 
H:    But that’s how pathetic it is; like that’s what we were reduced to, you know, like ya can’t . . . ya can’t actually stand up and slap them; I  mean, when they kinda spy in on you, and ya trying to like bathe out in the sun, and ya, you're with ya girlfriend and your friends & your family, and they’re spying in on you, it actually feels like you're getting a slap across the face . . .
 
C:    Right, right.
 
H:    And we can’t physically stand up and hit them back, of course . . . it’d be rude, and  against the law (heh), um . . . so you  just, you  get an egg an . . . (makes lobbing motion)
 
C:    That’s a good idea. Do you carry eggs with you?  Do you have an egg dispenser . . .
 
H:    Yeh . . . (laughs)
 
C:     . . . strapped to your chest at all times.
 
H:     (makes gunslinging sounds as he whips imaginary eggs from holsters and lobs them at imaginary paparazzi)
 
C:     Very nice. That’s a cool sound, by the way.
 
H:     Thanks a lot; I got more . . .
 
C:     This guy provides his own sound effects.
 
H:     sound effects (laughs)
 
C:     Now, um, correct me if I’m wrong; I’m an idiot, but Australia now is having, . . . we’re in the summer, but it’s the winter for Australia, is that right?
 
H:      Yeh
 
C :    Does that mean like, snow and people cooking at the chimney and uh . . . what does it mean when it’s winter in Australia.
 
H:     Umm. . . what does it mean? Uh . . .
 
C:     I mean, does it get really cold, are the kangaroos wearing mittens ? . . .
 
H:     Not really. I mean, it was quite confusing growing up, I mean . . . for example, I mean . . . Christmas time in Australia, I  grew up . .  . uh  you know . . . around the bar-b-que, kinda cooking sausages n steaks, in 40 degree heat, sweating, in  flip-flops and shorts, and  singlets, singing (Heath sings) Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, o’er the fields we go . . .
 
C:     Yeah right, it’s not the same experience that you’ve seen . . . yeah . . . you’re getting a sunburn, and ah, it sounds kinda cool, though. .  . It sounds like it’d be a good time.
 
H:      It is; it’s beautiful, yeah.
 
C:     Now I wanna ask you, one of the things that’s famous in Australia is there’s an aboriginal instrument . . .
Transcribed by HeathHEATHENS.com
H:     Mmm-hmmm
 
C:     that’s well-known, which is called the didgeri. . .
 
H:     Didgeridoo
 
C :    Didgeridoo
 
H:     Yeh . . .
 
C:     and I’ve seen it in certain movies, and I’m sure everyone here has heard it.   It’s that kinda (makes didgeridoo sounds  with  hands and lips)
 
H:     Yeah, that’s really good . . .
 
C:      I’m not done . . .
 
Heath & audience laughs
 
C:     Sorry. Uh . . . But ah, it’s such a cool instrument, and it turns out, I’ve heard that you play the didgeridoo.
 
H:     I can play the didgeridoo, yeh . . .
 
C:     Really?
 
H:     Real . . . yeah.
 
C:     Cuz we happen to have a didgeridoo right here . . . (reaches behind chair)
 
H:     (laughs uncomfortably and wipes his forehead)
 
C:     You know what’s amazing?  I’ve had this didgeridoo back here for 12 years . . .
 
H:     Hah! . . .
 
C:    And I’m always like . . . "Al Roker?" And he’s like, "No!" (shakes head no)   Desperate Housewives? No . . . But if you could give us a demonstration, is that all right?
 
H:     O.k., sure . . .
 
C:    Am I even holding this right? I don’t know which is the right end . . .
 
H:    (Heath takes didge) Do you know how they, they, make these, they find these . . . the aboriginals will walk through the uh . . . in the outback, and they walk up to trees, n this (running hand down the didge) is like the trunk of a tree, and they tap it like this.
        (Makes tapping sound on didge).
        And they listen to it . . . and listen to the sound, whether or not it’s hollow; it’s actually termites that kinda bite their way through, and clear it out . . .
 
C:    So they find a piece of wood that’s been hollowed out already by a termite?
 
H:    That’s right. Then they cut the tree down and turn it into this.
        All right . . . (stretches & shifts into playing position)
 
C:    All right, let’s give it a shot. And are the termites out by now? Do you have to . . . ?
 
H:    Yeh. . . no.
 
C:    O.k.
 
H:    So ya gotta be really really quiet . . .
 
C:    K, here we go.
     
( Heath gives a quick blow,  as a joke,  the way he did on Ellen in 2004.  Audience laughs.)
 
H:    Thank you very much!
       (Heath now really plays several seconds on the didge, this time adding an  interesting thumping sound to his repertoire at the end.. )
 
Audience applauds and Heath smiles.
 
C:     That is cool, actually! That’s a cool sound!
 
H:     (handing didge back to Conan) Put it back there for another 20  years . . . (laughing)
 
C:     That’s a cool sound.
 
H:     D’ya wanna give it a shot?
 
C:     How would I?  What d’ya do ta do it?  I don’t even know.
 
H:     Give it a go.
 
(Conan makes the same screeching sounds that Ellen did. Be glad you can’t hear it! LOL)
(Yells into didge mouth) "This isn’t working for me!"
 
Heath laughs.
 
C:     I think I just threw up into it. I’m sorry. I got tense, it has something to do with the lips, though, probably.
 
H:     That was good. That was pretty close, yeah.
 
C:     It’s a very eerie, sort of ominous sound . . .
 
H:     Yeh . . . It’s hypnotic almost, isn’t it?  Trancelike.
 
C:     Yeah, yeah . . . I will do your bidding now.
 
(Heath laughs)
 
C:     Can you solo on it?    You ever bang out, . . . can you do like a Hendrix solo?
 
H:     Oh, I’d love to; I’d love to. . . I should’ve at least an album or something like that. (Laughs)
 
C:     Alright, I thank you very much for doing that, we . . . let’s talk about The Brothers Grimm.
 
H:     Yeah.
 
C:     Ahhh. . . actual . . . we’ve all heard of the brothers Grimm. These are actual people from the 19th century that I guess,. . .   uh . . .  well, you tell it. You’ll tell it better than I will.
 
H:     Sure, well, the actual people were, ya know, um. . . highly respected scholars. You know, in Germany, and they collected  folk lores, folk tales, and ya know . . .um. . . actually, in actual fact, Jacob, my character, went on to become a politician.
         Uhh . . . they wrote half the German dictionary, la-dadada-da . . . (that’s Heath’s version of Yada yada yada.  LOL) . . .  then there’s our film . . .  and uh, . . . our film’s, I dunno if you’ve seen it or not, but it’s a Terry Gilliam version of this, so  it’s a fairy tale. Um . . . and uh . . . it’s a beautiful film. It’s uh. . . very eccentric; Terry Gilliam’s one of my favorite directors;  he’s done incredible films, going back to  like, Monty Python era and stuff . . . I adore him.
        And so basically, in this film, Matt Damon is my brother, and the two of us kinda go from town to town bilking these villagers for  their kinda hard-earned . . . um dollar. Um . . .and we set up these little scams where we pretend to vanquish their towns of these kinda mill-witches, and uh you know, bridge trolls, when in actual fact, we’re setting em up . . . setting up little scenarios with  actors . . .
 
C:    You’re scamming them a little bit.
 
H:    Scamming them, that’s right. And then we encounter a real enchanted forest, and that’s the story . . .
 
C:    It’s sorta the uh . . . historical meets. . . sort of the fantasy element here. . .
 
H:    Yeah, that’s right.
 
C:    We have a clip here. Is there anything we need to know specifically for this?
 
H:    Uh, no. Go for it.
 
C:    Oh, alright. (Everyone laughs) How refreshing. Let’s take a look at this clip from The Brothers Grimm . . .

Clip shows . . . (It’s the "he’s my daughter" . . . "and a fine wife he’ll make some man, someday" . . . clip)  Audience applauds . . .
 
C:     The Brothers Grimm opens August 26th. Hey Heath, thanks so much for comin’ by, yeah.
(Shakes Heath’s hand.)
 
H:    Thanks so much for having me, yeah.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: LuvJackNasty on February 16, 2008, 12:45:23 am

Hi. I've been registered for quite a while but never posted- I hang out over at EJ. I'm making my own little tribute book for Heath and am including this and I don't feel right "taking" without saying thanks. Thanks for putting this together here- it brought smiles and of course, the tears. Thanks again~Michelle.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 18, 2008, 01:33:25 pm

Quote from: LuvJackNasty on February 16, 2008, 12:45:23 am

Hi. I've been registered for quite a while but never posted- I hang out over at EJ. I'm making my own little tribute book for Heath and am including this and I don't feel right "taking" without saying thanks. Thanks for putting this together here- it brought smiles and of course, the tears. Thanks again~Michelle.

Hey Michelle, nice of you to stop by! Will you show us all the end result here on bettermost?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 04:43:31 pm

Quote from: susiebk on February 18, 2008, 04:39:47 pm

Here is a Heath quote I really like.  It was taken from Kevin Sessums: Remembering Heath Ledger at http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/01/kevin-sessums-r.html (http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/01/kevin-sessums-r.html).  Heath and Kevin were sitting outside near the Vltava River in Prague.

Kevin Sessums wrote Vanity Fair's August 2000 cover story about Heath Ledger.


“I look up at those stars and go, ‘There’s no explanation for us to be here.’ When anything is blocking my head or there’s worry in my life, I just—whoosh—go sit on Mars or something and look back here at Earth. All you can see is this tiny speck. You don’t see the fear. You don’t see the pain. You don’t see the movie industry. You don’t see this interview. You don’t see thought. It’s just one solid speck. Then nothing really matters. It just doesn’t.”

Welcome to Bettermost, Susiebk!

That's a beautiful quote!  Thank-you for providing it!

Bruce

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 06:19:37 pm

“My dad loves being a father. He has to be a father, which I love and hate. I guess it started when I left home, but our relationship went from being in each other’s face to being best friends. I guess that comes from understanding him as an adult now that I’m an adult. It’s amazing when you come to accept each other’s mistakes and let each other make them.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 06:37:50 pm

On being compared to other Australian actors, Chud.com, April 25, 2001:

"It is a media thing. When people ask that, you're forced to make things up to please them. I have no answers to that. It's all constructed by the media."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 06:42:39 pm

Heath at the premiere of 'A Knight's Tale" in Westwood.

"I'd rather be at the Lakers game. It's playoff time, but a guy's got responsibilities."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 06:59:07 pm

“I don’t have a method to my madness.… For me, acting is more about self-exploration. I’ve learned a lot about myself in order to learn about the craft. How many kings can you find to play a king? You can’t find them. When I act, I look at it as if I’m a mixing board in a sound studio. The pattern on the board is me. When I play a character, I go, ‘I’ll turn these knobs down and these ones up.’ But in order to do that I have to know myself. I have to know myself like an instrument. I’m just a saxophone,”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 07:03:55 pm

“I’ve always been very big on self-exploration and answering my own questions. For so many, it’s hell growing up. But I guess I’m blessed. I’ve really enjoyed it. I don’t let a lot get to me. I really don’t. As I keep saying, I break everything down. Everything."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 07:11:00 pm

“It’s odd, that’s why I don’t like telling people I played field hockey. It’s real big in Australia for guys. But I say I played in America, and everybody goes, ‘Oh, you girl!’ ”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: oilgun on February 18, 2008, 08:35:27 pm

Quote from: Toycoon on February 09, 2008, 03:37:09 pm

I had to post this magnificent video for the song, "Morning Yearning" by Ben Harper and directed by Heath Ledger.

[youtube=425,350]http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbcV39Sq1o&feature=related[/youtube]

Thanks Toycoon, what a great song!  I'm not familiar with Ben Harper's music but this song reminded me so much of David Usher I went through his CDs thinking for sure it was one of his songs!  Wonderful video as well.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 18, 2008, 11:44:48 pm

Hey there Mr. Oilgun,
I'm glad you like it. I first discovered it after I saw the movie, "Candy". I'd heard that Heath had directed a video and I needed to know about it so I looked it up and there it was. It really is a hypnotic song and mesmerizing video, isn't it?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 18, 2008, 11:46:40 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 18, 2008, 07:03:55 pm

“I’ve always been very big on self-exploration and answering my own questions. For so many, it’s hell growing up. But I guess I’m blessed. I’ve really enjoyed it. I don’t let a lot get to me. I really don’t. As I keep saying, I break everything down. Everything."

Heath looks so sexy in that top picture. Thanks, True.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on February 18, 2008, 11:55:18 pm

Did you find something about Heath NOT wanting to do the BM movie in the FIRST place??

Maybe you know that?

Hugs! Love your work, please keep on placing Heath in his own words!!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 19, 2008, 06:32:49 am

Quote from: Toycoon on February 18, 2008, 11:46:40 pm

Heath looks so sexy in that top picture. Thanks, True.

I agree, what a beautiful man...  :'( :'( :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: souxi on February 19, 2008, 06:43:23 am

Quote from: Snavel on February 19, 2008, 06:32:49 am

I agree, what a beautiful man...  :'( :'( :'(

Ditto.  :'( :'( :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 19, 2008, 03:08:54 pm

Quote from: souxi on February 19, 2008, 06:43:23 am

Ditto.  :'( :'( :'(

I feel so angry about his passing today, I feel I could kick something or scream at somebody...  :'( >:(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on February 19, 2008, 03:30:11 pm

May is ask again:

Quote

  Did you find something about Heath NOT wanting to do the BM movie in the FIRST place??

Maybe you know that?

Hugs! Love your work, please keep on placing Heath in his own words!! 

If you or anyone find out...

please.

Hugs!!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on February 19, 2008, 03:31:39 pm

Quote from: Snavel on February 19, 2008, 03:08:54 pm

I feel so angry about his passing today, I feel I could kick something or scream at somebody...  :'( >:(

Snavel, don't be angry. No matter what, we'll always have Brokeback. And we'll always have the memebrs of BetterMost, the best family a person could have. Think of all of the wonderful friends we've all made and all of the beautiful experiences we've had as a result of this incredible film. This is a time to be grateful for everything it's brought. I can't be mad for that reason alone.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: mvansand76 on February 19, 2008, 03:34:26 pm

Quote from: Toycoon on February 19, 2008, 03:31:39 pm

Snavel, don't be angry. No matter what, we'll always have Brokeback. And we'll always have the memebrs of BetterMost, the best family a person could have. Think of all of the wonderful friends we've all made and all of the beautiful experiences we've had as a result of this incredible film. This is a time to be grateful for everything it's brought. I can't be mad for that reason alone.

I know, but it's phases I am going through all throughout the week and today I am just plain angry and so sad.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: souxi on February 19, 2008, 03:49:22 pm

Quote from: Snavel on February 19, 2008, 03:08:54 pm

I feel so angry about his passing today, I feel I could kick something or scream at somebody...  :'( >:(

I know what you mean hun. I often look at his picture, (this will sound crazy) and tell him off!! I say to him....."why didn,t you look after yourself you silly bugger?"  "why did you have to die and leave us?" Then I watch a clip of him and smile and I can,t be mad at him any more. It,s that killer smile of his, it does me right in every time. Then I feel sad, really really sad. Why did he have to die? ffs, it,s just so bloody awful and it,s not fair.  :'( :'( :'( :'(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Delmardeb on February 21, 2008, 12:47:55 am

{{{{{{{{{{{{Snavel}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

{{{{{{{{{{{{Souxi}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

{{{{{{{{{{{Toycoon}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

{{{{{{{{{Brokies and Heathens}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

 :'(  :'(  :'(  :'(

I am still sad and angry and wish that Heath was still here!!! I do agree with you Toycoon about this incredible movie and Heath and Jake (incredible actors) bringing us all together. Heath's legacy will continue to live on and on. Snavel- if you have to scream, just do it. If it'll make you feel better, do what you have to do. I feel your pain. :(

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 21, 2008, 02:57:13 pm

Quote

Toycoon:  I had to post this magnificent video for the song, "Morning Yearning" by Ben Harper and directed by Heath Ledger.

Thank you for posting the Ben Harper video!  It's a nice addition to this thread!  (And yes, what a beautiful man Heath was...)

Quote

Artiste:  Did you find something about Heath NOT wanting to do the BM movie in the FIRST place??

Maybe you know that?

Hugs! Love your work, please keep on placing Heath in his own words!!

There is a story out there somewhere that Heath was going to take a pass on BbM, but that Naomi Watts (Heath girlfriend at the time) convinced him he should do it.  I do not recall that the story mentioned why Heath was going to pass on it, but actors pass on many projects for many reasons (both personal and professional) and no one should read too much into it.  I don't ever recall seeing a direct quote from Heath about it.

Quote

Snavel:  I feel so angry about his passing today, I feel I could kick something or scream at somebody... 

I understand.  It's all part of the process of dealing with grief.  Some of us are just at different stages.  Although Heath's death did have a profound impact on me, I have tried to find ways to deal with it by choosing positive ways to deal with the loss.  In starting this thread, I am making a choice to try to celebrate his life, rather than dwelling on his loss.   It is a necessary step for me in order to assimilate what he meant to me, and incorporate it into my own life.  In that way, we are all interconnected, and we live on through the lives of others.  You are not wrong to feel what you feel, and the feelings you have are real. 

I am not a religious person.  I have no great faith in an afterlife.  I believe that we come from nothing, and we return to nothing.  It is the way for all of us, though I think  it wrong to obsess on it.  To me, that makes life very precious indeed.  I celebrate life, because we don't get second chances.  I hope you can get to a place where you can let the anger go, and embrace and celebrate that which the absence of  has hurt you.  To appreciate someone who has gone too early, it helps for me to try to find a way to help to part of that person's life journey continue even without them. 

That is why I started this thread...

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: ptannen on February 22, 2008, 12:27:23 am

http://ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=film&article=465 (http://ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=film&article=465)

Behind the mask of masculinity
Two-day tribute to Heath Ledger at the Castro Theatre
by David Lamble

Our cinema church is in session for two days as the Castro hosts six screenings of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (Feb. 24, 25) while fans of the film grieve the inexplicable demise of its Oscar-nominated lead actor, Heath Ledger.

Perth-born, a man of the West (Western Australia), the lanky one-time teen idol (10 Things I Hate About You) would publicly disavow any serious trajectory to a career that began with a puppy-dog cute 17-year-old crossing the Outback to test the waters of Sydney TV. An early job popped up in the Olympic tryouts series Sweat. Interestingly, Ledger opted to play a gay cyclist, figuring that the role might catch the eye of American casting agents.

Ledger courted critical dismissal with performances that seemed to skate across the surface of his talent, hiding his depth of commitment to his art. The producer of the Revolutionary War epic The Patriot cited his graceful depiction of a young soldier's harrowing transition from adolescence to adulthood: "There's a natural nobility about him, standing toe-to-toe with Mel Gibson."

After Ledger's brief but memorable turn as the suicidal son from a family of racist Southern prison guards in Marc Forster's Monster's Ball, co-star Billy Bob Thornton noted, "Heath and I seem to have exactly the same sadness." In a brilliant touch, father and son are shown, in different scenes, fucking the same female prostitute, from the same camera angle, and in the same sleazy Louisiana motel. In just under a half-hour of screen time, Ledger's scarred loner passes through similarly perilous dramatic beats as his emblematic Brokeback character.

Repeated viewings of Ledger's beautifully tortured Ennis Del Mar reveal a man who has no language to express feelings he doesn't know he possesses until saddle buddy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) makes the first move in their pup tent one cold night. Two years ago, during a phone chat from the Brooklyn flat he was sharing with girlfriend and fellow Brokeback cast member Michelle Williams, Ledger walked me through Ennis' head as he confronts an unspeakable passion.

"The first time Ennis and Jack get together in the tent, I wanted Ennis to be on the verge of just beating Jack up, because violence was pretty much the only form of expression Ennis had allowed himself. So the first time that Jack and Ennis confront each other, I wanted it to be somewhat explosive, when instincts and passions come into play. I wanted for it to be quick, over and done. Then there were more intimate moments where I wanted to flip the coin a little, to show a sliver of kindness, a small moment of Ennis being more vulnerable for the first time in his life, and actually allow himself to be guided deeper into love. It was important to show that for the tragedy of the story, but also to help portray this beautiful love."

"It was one of the most beautiful screenplays I've ever read. I was certainly drawn to Ennis as opposed to Jack. His silent complexities, there's a huge battle within him, and there were so little words to express this, so I knew there would have to be a thorough investigation into his character. There was a brilliant short story from Annie Proulx, incredibly descriptive, essentially it was a biopic. It was clear how we had to play it. It was going to be the most masculine person I'd played, telling a story which hadn't been told before."

"I think innate conservatism is a part of his genetic structure, the beliefs and fears of his father that have been passed on through him. I see this battle within him; the other half of his battle is that he hasn't recognized it as a battle. I had to capture it in his walk, or his inability to express love; I wanted his words to fight their way out; but while I'm playing Ennis in front of the camera, I had to pretend that I didn't know that this is occurring.

"Half the problem with today's society is that we like to label situations and people, and the term gay is just there to segregate a type of people. It has been overused and abused, and our point is that gay people, straight people: there are people at both ends of that title. Ennis and Jack are just two human beings who fall in love, so whether they're gay or not, I really couldn't care. The story is about two souls who connect."
02/21/2008 

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: white_angel on February 22, 2008, 06:18:28 am

This is a part of his speech at Santa Barbara..

Sometimes you must scream out loud to discover a whisper.


In my opinion this is the most beautiful acceptance speech I've ever heard.

In his speech you will read one of the most beautiful quotation and principle.

Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover a whisper.

Heath's speech at the Santa Barbara Film Festival:

"... Thank you very very much for this and it's extremely generous of the Santa Barbara International film festival to be honoring my work so far, and I really am sincerily touched by this gesture."

"I guess... where's my sheet of paper thing... I guess I'd like to take the shine away from myself for a minute and acknowledge the directors who have helped and continue to help me understand what it means to be an actor (and here he goes to mention all the directors that he'd worked with up till then). I truly feel that if anything, I should be honoring them tonight. I'm grateful that these directors have given me the opportunity to discover that to be an actor has nothing to do with the way you live your life and the choices you make while living, but rather the way you live and the choices you make in between "action" and "cut". And these directors gave me the opportunity to be bad, to make mistakes, and to study and learn from my mistakes. Fortunately or unfortunately I was never exposed to the safe environment of an acting school and a black pair of pyjamas, no I didn't have a black room to experiment in, to privately dance within my dances on the film. And these directors trusted me and offered me their film set and their friendship as the safe environment for me to study and make discoveries on. So I apologize for the bad discoveries made along the way, but I do stand by the theory that in order to evolve and further yourself as an actor, you have to be fearless enough to allow yourself room for error. Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover a whisper. So I thank all these beautiful minds and... (I missed a part here) for putting up with my screams, and I thank everyone for their patience in waiting for me to find the whisper within the words. And here's to making more mistakes."

Clear audio of Heath voice"

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173623,00.html

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on February 22, 2008, 06:26:35 am

A video of Heath's speech at the Santa Barbara Film Festival

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdaWA2OBALI[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 22, 2008, 06:28:15 am

Quote from: white_angel on February 22, 2008, 06:18:28 am

This is a part of his speech at Santa Barbara..

Sometimes you must scream out loud to discover a whisper.

Welcome white_angel!

That is one of my favorite quotes as well.  Thank you very much for highlighting it!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: white_angel on February 22, 2008, 06:52:50 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 22, 2008, 06:28:15 am

Welcome white_angel!

That is one of my favorite quotes as well.  Thank you very much for highlighting it!

 Thank you!

 It became my favorite quote when I read the speech.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on February 22, 2008, 12:51:41 pm

Thanks    very much!!

Quote

I mean obviously Brokeback Mountain was an obstacle I felt I could never climb, I could never defeat, that it was too tough but ultimately decided to do it.  

To that, may I say that it is said that Heath did NOT want to do Brokeback Mountain in the first place, but his then girlfriend encouraged him to do so!!

So I guess that that is what he is referring to?

More please...

hugs!!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: cmr107 on February 22, 2008, 02:16:09 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 01, 2008, 05:10:58 pm

To all of you who have expressed their thanks for this thread--

Rather than dwell in mourning, I choose to celebrate the life that was Heath Ledger. 

I thank you all for sharing in this celebration with me.

He was among us too briefly, but from the very first time I saw him on screen, I saw something real and raw, beautiful and sad, rich and complex -- and it moved me deeply. 

Our lives were richer for knowing you Heath, and the world seems emptier without you. 

Peace be with you all,

Bruce

I'm only about halfway through this thread, but I just wanted to stop in and add my thanks, Bruce.

The well-said quote above is how I feel also. I have been attempting to celebrate his life with pictures we may not have seen before in the HHH thread, but this is infinitely better. Again, heartfelt thanks.  :)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: tamarack on February 23, 2008, 10:42:45 am

Quote from: white_angel on February 22, 2008, 06:18:28 am

Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover a whisper.

Heath's speech at the Santa Barbara Film Festival:
. Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover a whisper. So I thank all these beautiful minds and... (I missed a part here) for putting up with my screams, and I thank everyone for their patience in waiting for me to find the whisper within the words. And here's to making more mistakes."

Clear audio of Heath voice"

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173623,00.html

This seems to be the missing part to the speech above:

"Sometimes you must scream out loud in order to discover how to whisper. I thank all of these beautiful minds and these wonderful crews around them in the past years for putting up with my screams and I thank everyone for their patience in waiting for me to find the whisper within the words. And here's to making more mistakes."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 23, 2008, 11:53:40 am

“I went to Guildford Grammar back in Perth. It was kind of like a military school. If you did cadets, you had to wear a uniform. But I didn’t want to fight. I thought it was strange that they were teaching kids to shoot automatic weapons at 16. If you didn’t do that, they made you play sports. So I played a lot of field hockey.… And cricket. And Australian-rules football. But I played them all just to get out of cadets. I mean, who wants to shoot an automatic rifle? What the fuck was I going to use that for?”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 23, 2008, 03:51:41 pm

Congratulations on becoming a father!  But we have to say we never imagined you as a dad.

Well, it’s definitely my greatest achievement.  I now feel connected to something a lot bigger than me.  And it’s beautiful.  I’m born to be a father, really!  I’ve been looking forward to this all my life.  And unlike my character in Brokeback, I’m very expressive, and in touch with love.  And my girls.

Yes, we hear you‘re spending a lot of time being a helpful hubby.

Yeah, happily!  What else am I gonna do?  After the birthing process, I realized how stupid and weak men are.  I might as well not have been in there, I was that useless!  So now I’m at home doing dishes.

You and Michelle play a couple that’s drifting apart in the movie, but you were falling in love in real life.  How strange was that?

If anything, it just made it all the more interesting.  I think it would have been boring if we were falling in love on screen.  It would have been easy and obvious.  We were working against the odds!  What happened between us was out of our control.  It was just something very beautiful and deep.

Although you marry Michelle’s character, I’s Jack (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who you really fall in love with. Jake said kissing you was a very ‘exfoliating’ experience.

Um… yeah.  I mean, it was certainly…. Rough!

Ang Lee said your concern about getting intimate with Jake made your performances more real.

Yeah.  He’s right.  I was a virgin to the situation, like my character was.  So I kind of just used that.  I was like, why hide it, when this is what it should be?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on February 23, 2008, 04:16:23 pm

(http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=16738.0;attach=17162;image)


I love this image. Two beautiful faces filled with light.
(And such a snazzy scarf! So Heathen.)

Thanks, Bruce.

 :)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 23, 2008, 05:30:38 pm

"I take great pride in my soul, and the consistency and longevity of my love."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 23, 2008, 06:52:06 pm

Quote from: jmmgallagher on February 23, 2008, 04:16:23 pm

(http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=16738.0;attach=17162;image)


I love this image. Two beautiful faces filled with light.
(And such a snazzy scarf! So Heathen.)

Thanks, Bruce.

 :)

And the colors of the scarf and the Dalai Lama's robes seem to match perfectly!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 25, 2008, 08:51:48 am

About the infamous "Sunrise" interview, after which Heath was accused of rudeness because he sat peeling an orange during entire interview:


"It was the worst thing I could have done. When it was aired they had people calling in asking, 'Who does he think he is? He's not he should get off his high horse.'

"Then the next day, they had oranges on the show and were chucking them around, saying I could stick an orange up my... you know what.

"So I wrote a letter of apology, explaining I was doing a lot of back-to-back TV interviews that day and just reached for some fruit. I had them read it out on air.

"I went from zero to hero. The audience reaction was, 'That nice Heath must have a good family, and he is well brought up. We love him - isn't he a great actor?'

"Australians are the world's greatest at cutting you down to size, and I'd better not forget it. I just have to remember not to take myself too seriously."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: belbbmfan on February 25, 2008, 10:57:12 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on February 25, 2008, 08:51:48 am

About the infamous "Sunrise" interview, after which Heath was accused of rudeness because he sat peeling an orange during entire interview:

I've never heard of this. I made me laugh though. Sounds very much like him.  :)

Or maybe he wanted to keep his hands busy while talking!  :D

Thanks for posting that Bruce.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 25, 2008, 11:14:48 am

The infamous "Sunrise" interview:

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie" value="

&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="

&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on February 26, 2008, 03:36:05 am

I love that he peeled that orange, and I love HOW he peeled that orange.  I would watch him peel an orange over most things.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 26, 2008, 04:37:44 pm

Heath Andrew Ledger playing the Didge on Ellen Degeneres's show:

I can't embed it, so here's the link:

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 02, 2008, 09:06:31 am

On turning down big Hollywood projects offered him:

"It wasn't a hard decision for me.

It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, 'You're crazy,' my parents were like, 'Come on, you have to eat."'

Associated Press 2001.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 06, 2008, 03:28:03 am

1999
ON BEING THE NEXT MEL GIBSON:

‘‘Last time I was back in town Hugh Jackman was the next Mel Gibson. The time before that it was Guy Pearce. I think Russell Crowe has been the next Mel Gibson too. I just switch off.''

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 06, 2008, 03:31:35 am

2006
ON BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN:

‘‘I think it would be unfair to the gay community to say it's not a gay story. That gay relationship is not a virus. It's not a disease. It's that a soul within a vessel falls in love with another soul within another vessel, in this case in the form of a man.''

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: forsythia12 on March 07, 2008, 01:52:17 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on March 06, 2008, 03:31:35 am

2006
ON BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN:

‘‘I think it would be unfair to the gay community to say it's not a gay story. That gay relationship is not a virus. It's not a disease. It's that a soul within a vessel falls in love with another soul within another vessel, in this case in the form of a man.''

wow.  i loved what he said here.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: SFEnnisSF on March 08, 2008, 12:13:21 am

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on March 06, 2008, 03:31:35 am

2006
ON BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN:

‘‘I think it would be unfair to the gay community to say it's not a gay story. That gay relationship is not a virus. It's not a disease. It's that a soul within a vessel falls in love with another soul within another vessel, in this case in the form of a man.''

Exactly!  :)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Penthesilea on March 09, 2008, 08:41:17 am

On filming Brokeback Mountain.


It's rare to come upon a script so beautifully written. But that shoot was just torturous at times. It was a really tough, lonely shoot... Ennis has no confidence and he's lonely, so I wanted him to be slumped and uncomfortable and ... just very bleak. I wanted him to be a clenched fist; and therefore my mouth became clenched, too. It affects you quite a lot, you know? It really does. You go home, switch off, have a glass of wine and relax. But the second you lay down and go to sleep, you close your eyes and go through everything that happened the whole day. I feel like a sponge when I'm working. But I had a real sense of accomplishment once I'd finished."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on March 09, 2008, 11:14:54 pm

I love this thread so much, and also appreciate the care you all have chosen in selecting images to accompany the quotes.  :-*

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: cmr107 on March 09, 2008, 11:22:39 pm

Quote from: Ellemeno on March 09, 2008, 11:14:54 pm

I love this thread so much, and also appreciate the care you all have chosen in selecting images to accompany the quotes.  :-*

Ditto and ditto.  :-*

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: RouxB on March 11, 2008, 01:43:12 am

This one of the first threads I've ventured into but because I didn't cry today (not much) I felt as though I could manage it. So much for not crying today. Thank you thank you thank you for bringing Heath's number one fan closer to him. Really. Thank. You.  :-*

roux

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 11, 2008, 07:14:07 am

Heath to an unnamed director the day after Brokeback won three Academy Awards (but didn't earn Best Picture or any awards for its actors), in the context of the fatigue he experienced promoting the film:

"I may never make another good movie again."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 11, 2008, 04:48:10 pm

About making Brokeback Mountain:

"Well, I met Michelle, and that quite honestly is the most exciting thing about this movie for me is uh – I got a family out of it of my own."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 11, 2008, 04:52:23 pm

Heath introduces his Alaskan Eskimo dog while promoting "10 Things I Hate about You":

"Bint!"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 11, 2008, 05:01:36 pm

Quote from: enjaroux on March 11, 2008, 01:43:12 am

This one of the first threads I've ventured into but because I didn't cry today (not much) I felt as though I could manage it. So much for not crying today. Thank you thank you thank you for bringing Heath's number one fan closer to him. Really. Thank. You.  :-*

roux

((((roux))))

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 11, 2008, 05:06:10 pm

Quote from: susiebk on March 11, 2008, 04:55:54 pm

Awww, he was a dog person!

Yes he was...

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: optom3 on April 22, 2008, 08:42:52 pm

Bruce, This thanks is long overdue.I simply could not pluck up the courage to read all of this till today.

It is a truly lovely thread and I cannot imagine how much work it must have taken. It had me weeping even after all this time but a massive thankyou all the same.

I can't believe he really thought BBM was either the best or worst film he had made.So self effacing.What a terrible loss,enough said.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 30, 2008, 09:51:13 am

Heath Ledger in an interview with the BBC:

"What is it about wrangling Jake Gyllenhaal up in the mountains that frightens me? Just that! But it obviously doesn't scare me away because I'm doing it. Aren't we at the stage these days when it just doesn't ******* matter? It's 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 the fact that being brave is having to answer questions like that."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 30, 2008, 09:54:33 am

Quote from: optom3 on April 22, 2008, 08:42:52 pm

Bruce, This thanks is long overdue.I simply could not pluck up the courage to read all of this till today.

It is a truly lovely thread and I cannot imagine how much work it must have taken. It had me weeping even after all this time but a massive thankyou all the same.

Thank you...

Quote

I can't believe he really thought BBM was either the best or worst film he had made.So self effacing.What a terrible loss,enough said.

So very true...

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 30, 2008, 04:27:57 pm

Regarding getting BbM actually made:

"There was this kind of industry-manufactured fear and risk factor that was surrounding the script."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Brokeback_Dev on May 30, 2008, 09:14:57 pm

Awe this is a wonderful Thread.  Thank you so much for all the great quotes, great photos, the interviews anf the vid clips.  Heath was amamzing.  He will live in my heart forever.  What a sweet sweet sole.  Thank you.

                                                 {{{{TOoP/Bruce}}}}

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: optom3 on May 30, 2008, 11:06:06 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on May 30, 2008, 04:27:57 pm

Regarding getting BbM actually made:

"There was this kind of industry-manufactured fear and risk factor that was surrounding the script."

I remember him in one interview, and he was asked about being brave taking on the role.He just sort of scoffed and said it was acting,it was hardly being brave.I loved the fact that such an immensely talented person could be so self effacing. Usually it is the other way round,people with little or no talent are arrogant and become out of control divas,

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on September 16, 2008, 11:44:17 am

Heath (On growing up with his mom and his sisters):

I learned respect for women, and patience. You grow up with all those women around you... you learn to wait your turn.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: LauraGigs on September 16, 2008, 11:57:36 am

What a gift this thread is!

There are always new things to be learned, aren't there.  Great stuff!    :D

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on October 21, 2008, 10:30:40 pm

Heath participated as he said:
        I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away.”

                   

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on November 04, 2008, 06:48:49 pm

I wonder if Heath Ledger thought of this again:

          I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.”

                 

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 05:59:38 pm

Heath being interviewed...

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:02:11 pm

The "M&M" interview...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:03:58 pm

"John Howard is a ... dick"
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:06:17 pm

On Ray Martin Show - 2001
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:07:29 pm

On 60 Minutes (Australia) 2001...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:10:16 pm

Unusual video...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:13:36 pm

Candy interview...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:15:09 pm

Heath Ledger talks about "The Industry"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:16:55 pm

Heath Ledger promoting BbM...
[youtube=425,350]Heath Ledger interview for Brokeback Mountain[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:18:14 pm

Heath and Matt Damon promoting "The Brothers Grimm"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:19:25 pm

Heath promoting "I'm not There"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:22:07 pm

Heath promotes "A Knight's Tale"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:24:08 pm

Heath promotes "The Order"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:28:51 pm

December 2007, Heath Ledger radio interview pt 1...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
Heath Ledger radio interview pt 2...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
Heath Ledger radio interview pt 3...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:32:23 pm

Heath Ledger promoting Cassanova...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:33:36 pm

Heath Ledger at Belinale 2006 (on charity)...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:34:28 pm

Heath promoting "The Patriot"
[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:36:00 pm

Heath learns to fly a plane...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:42:18 pm

Red carpet interview...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:45:27 pm

Heath Ledger on "The Dark Knight"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:47:29 pm

Heath on Ellen...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

(In this clip, I learned that Heath could juggle...)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:51:07 pm

Heath Ledger with Diane Sawyer...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on December 16, 2008, 07:23:33 pm

Merci!

Heath looks like a kid!

Lost dreams...

But what does Heath say after he says: infinate power of ........... ? Which words/word ?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 07:30:22 pm

Quote from: Artiste on December 16, 2008, 07:23:33 pm

Merci!

Heath looks like a kid!

Lost dreams...

But what does Heath say after he says: infinate power of ........... ? Which words/word ?

Heath says "harnessing the infinite power of ... belief."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on December 16, 2008, 07:48:25 pm

Merci!

Belief ?

Why that word ?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 08:04:12 pm

Heath is referring to how he approaches the craft of acting.  To "harness the infinite power of belief" is not to "play" a character, but to focus and "become" a character, and feel that character's life "in the moment."  In that moment, you are that character, and you really feel the things your character feels.  Some actors refer to it as a "willing suspension of disbelief."

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: southendmd on December 16, 2008, 10:21:06 pm

Quote from: TOoP/Bruce on December 16, 2008, 06:10:16 pm

Unusual video...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Wow, that's a stunner.  Thanks, Bruce.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Artiste on December 16, 2008, 10:27:52 pm

If:
     Heath is referring to how he approaches the craft of acting.  To "harness the infinite power of belief" is not to "play" a character, but to focus and "become" a character, and feel that character's life "in the moment."  In that moment, you are that character, and you really feel the things your character feels.  Some actors refer to it as a "willing suspension of disbelief."
 
 
             

.............

so that does not mean that Heath had a belief in two men being in love together?

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: ifyoucantfixit on December 16, 2008, 11:03:33 pm

         That video is magical Bruce.  I have seen a couple others he has done, and they all
are so singularly unique.  They just display what a beautiful mind he had.   So brilliant.
We are never to know what all we have lost...

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Penthesilea on December 17, 2008, 04:10:03 am

Thank you Bruce.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on December 17, 2008, 01:13:47 pm

Heath on Graham Norton doing "The Life of Heath Ledger"...
[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="

&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on January 17, 2009, 12:44:57 am

On turning down "Spiderman":

"It's not for me. I would be taking someone else's dream away.'"

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on February 13, 2009, 06:29:16 pm

On the prospect of Brokeback Mountain being nominated for an Academy Award:

“Obviously it's an honor for the film to be in that category, but it's really strange for me that films and performances are compared as if we're all running the same race. We're all doing different ‘sports’ and we're all training differently, so you can't really compare them ever. They really are there for marketing reasons, but we can't help but get dragged into it. We're dragged into this false sense of success if they nominate you and then a false sense of failure when you don't win.”

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: sel on March 26, 2009, 05:53:18 am

TOoP/Bruce,

I have already watched some of these videos, but now that I finally have broadband at home I'll be watching  and "re-watching" many times all of them!
Thank you for this very special thread!

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Ellemeno on May 03, 2009, 03:03:16 am

Yes, Bruce, thank you so much for this pure treasure.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Toycoon on July 15, 2009, 10:25:51 am

Hey TOOP-
Have you picked up the latest issue of "Vanity Fair"? It features Heath right on the cover.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: optom3 on July 15, 2009, 10:48:37 am

Quote from: Toycoon on July 15, 2009, 10:25:51 am

Hey TOOP-
Have you picked up the latest issue of "Vanity Fair"? It features Heath right on the cover.

I have just splurged on Vanity Fair and there are some great pics, for sure, I am less enamoured by some of the text.

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Front-Ranger on July 15, 2009, 12:10:05 pm

I felt the same way you did, friend. But I did like this quote from Heath about "We definitely let our bodies make those decisions for us." (I'm paraphrasing from memory since I gave my copy to my friend Rodney.)

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 02:54:46 pm

Heath Ledger interviewed for "Two Hands"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vFyEOMgbKM[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 02:57:29 pm

Heath Ledger interview for "The Four Feathers"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMe1cjF_F8Y[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 02:58:40 pm

Heath Ledger interview for "Ned Kelly"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmjXFEzWfzg[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 02:59:35 pm

Heath Ledger for "Roar"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qkL0Eppbs[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 03:00:35 pm

Heath Ledger interview for "10 Things I Hate about You"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbitSqhNHww[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 03:02:27 pm

Heath Ledger interview "The Lords of Dogtown"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHvpPlmgoe0[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 03:31:07 pm

Heath Ledger interview for "I'm Not There"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwYXUOH_g5E[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 05:02:09 pm

Heath Ledger on "The Brothers Grimm"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c05jxD-As8[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 05:05:47 pm

Heath Ledger on "Cassanova"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzLCgzKn6bs[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 05:07:47 pm

Heath Ledger on "I'm Not There" (swearing and smoking)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oF3JwF6lAo[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 05:10:23 pm

Heath Ledger red carpet interview on Brokeback Mountain

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZFc6H9d4L8[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on May 12, 2014, 05:15:52 pm

Heath Ledger on "Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" and Terry Gilliam, and his plans to work with Terrence Malick to make "Tree of Life".

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Lhv7VdnpA[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 09, 2015, 02:28:23 pm

Found this on Youtube and wanted to share it....

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTOrXF-LGyI[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 09, 2015, 02:31:58 pm

Behind the scenes on Dr Parnassas''...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggW8C4Gq-Ao[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 09, 2015, 02:34:03 pm

Clip from interview for the film "I'm Not There."

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-kSUcMq47U[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: TOoP/Bruce on March 09, 2015, 02:35:38 pm

Interview at the 2005 Venice Film Festival, representing three films...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gA4e2T3Zyk[/youtube]

Title: Re: Heath Ledger in his own Words
Post by: Sason on March 12, 2015, 06:15:43 pm

I don't think I've seen them before.

Thanks for sharing!