In an Entertainment Weekly magazine tribute piece - marking the first anniversary of Ledger's death - Schamus and British filmmaker Terry Gilliam both recall how difficult the acclaimed film was for the Aussie, who played gay cowboy Ennis Del Mar.
Gilliam recalls his The Brothers Grimm star calling him from the set and revealing he was far from happy.
James Schamus, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams and Jake Gyllenhaal.And Schamus explains, "During casting, rehearsals, and pre-production, Ang (Lee) is like the warm, wise, cuddly daddy bear. The minute he yells 'Action' on the first shot, the actors become alienated props he kind of puts up with... It's tough on actors.
"He doesn't yell at people or humiliate them, but it's a very tough space. Heath had very difficult days. You could really feel the pain he was going through". Source: www.imdb.com
Catherine Hardwicke, director, The Lords of Dogtown:
"I heard Heath wanted to do Dogtown, and I was shocked. The real Skip was a pretty funky character. I thought I was going to get Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Heath came in to meet me and he was extremely shy. He had his cap pulled down and it was like, could this guy look any more like a homeless person? It's a survival mechanism, to become scruffy, to try to hide, to go against everyone's expectations. He talked to me about Australia and surfing and skateboarding, and I thought, I can't say no".Schamus: It was one of those ''where were you on the day Kennedy was shot'' moments. I called Jake and remember wailing. Source: www.ew.com
Read more testimonies of actors and directors who remember Heath Ledger.
4 comments :
This is a nice post Kendra, as usual. I look forward to reading the links, but I mist be off to work.
Work and first things, Gail!
But I hope when you are off duty you enjoy reading all these interesting opinions about Heath Ledger.
Awww poor Heath. I still have my EW with him on the cover after he died, sitting out. I will never forget that horrible day. I can't even imagine how it was for his loved ones. Thanks for this post. We will never forget him.
my pleasure, Katie!
I've always thought of Heath as a pioneer, one true actor who could see beyond prejudices and become the first official gay cowboy in the cinema, it had to be hard for him at many levels, I guess.
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