‘Vanity Fair’ Remembers The Life Of Heath Ledger
The late Heath Ledger is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine whose coverstory is all about Heath’s last days alive. The article compiles interviews with friends of Ledger and is meant as a tribute to the late actor’s memory. Here is the cover of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine:
Why was Heath Ledger so ambivalent about his own stardom, and what happened at the end of his life? Vanity Fair contributing editor Peter Biskind sheds new light on these difficult-to-answer questions as he writes about the actor’s remarkable talent and untimely death in the August cover story, “The Last of Heath.” In his article, Biskind explores Ledger’s final movie role, his uncertainty about Hollywood, his devotion to his young daughter, and what happened in the days and weeks leading up to his death as he battled chronic insomnia, pneumonia, and exhaustion. Here are some of the revelations contained in Biskind’s story.
How he cleaned up his act: Cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, who worked with Ledger on his last film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, says Ledger “used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis, like probably 50 percent of Americans.” But after it became an issue, Ledger “went clean as a whistle.” And vocal coach Gerry Grennell, who worked and lived with the actor during the filming of The Dark Knight, says Ledger even stopped drinking: “Heath would happily go to the bar, buy a round of drinks for friends, and come back and have a soda or juice, never once drinking alcohol.”
How chronic insomnia may have led to his death: Ledger’s use of sleeping medication to combat chronic insomnia at the end of his life was of more concern to Grennell. “I’d say, ‘If you can possibly bear it to stop taking the medications, do, because they don’t seem to be doing you any good.’ He agreed. It is very difficult for me to imagine how close he came to not taking them.” Ledger would typically spend night after night awake, diverting himself with time killers, Biskind reports, such as re-arranging the furniture in whatever space he happened to be living in at the moment. Grennell coached him in the Alexander Technique, which helped him to sleep for a few hours at a time, but he still struggled. “Everyone has a different view of how he passed away,” Grennell tells Biskind. “From my perspective, and knowing him as well as I did, and being around him as much as I was, it was a combination of exhaustion, sleeping medication … and perhaps the aftereffects of the flu. I guess his body just stopped breathing.”
How his relationship failed: Terry Gilliam—Ledger’s friend and mentor, and the director of Doctor Parnassus—agrees with Pecorini that the romance between Ledger and Williams began to unravel during the Oscar campaign for Brokeback Mountain. “The whole machinery started growing up around them,” Gilliam says. “That was the moment when it changed, when he realized, Uh-oh. We perceive the world differently. He didn’t care about things like those awards.” … As Ledger’s relationship with Williams unraveled, and the pair started dealing with lawyers and custody issues, according to Gilliam, Ledger fell apart. “The thing that really made Heath snap” was legal wrangling over his daughter, Matilda, Gilliam says. “He said, ‘Just fuck all of you! I’m not giving Michelle anything.’???” Recalls another source, when it came to Matilda’s care, “there were definitely heated conversations, and emotions were high.” (Ledger’s lawyer declined to comment on any aspect of the separation or custody dispute.)
Ledger’s apathy for stardom: Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind that Heath “was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices.” According to friends of Ledger’s, one of the reasons he agreed to do Dark Knight was that the unusually long shoot would give him an excuse to turn down other offers. Alexander tells Biskind that Ledger had a pay-or-play deal on The Dark Knight—meaning he’d get compensated no matter what—so he felt he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted as the Joker. According to Pecorini, Ledger hoped his performance would be so far-out he’d be fired, and thus become the beneficiary of a lengthy, paid vacation. “He was ready to bust out of the gate, but he didn’t want to step on the gas and become something that he didn’t want to become: a matinee idol,” says Alexander. “He was a private person, and he didn’t want to share his personal history with the press. It just wasn’t up for sale.
Altho we’ve been forced to deal with so much new death in just the past week (Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays) it is still very difficult to process that Heath Ledger has already been gone for more than a year now. The Dark Knight is currently playing on HBO on a daily basis and I cannot help but watch it over and over again … marveling at Heath’s amazing performance. He truly was an amazing actor. He is still very much missed. After the jump, check out a few photos of Heath that accompany this piece in Vanity Fair magazine …
It is really wonderful seeing him look so happy … so vibrant. I’m gonna make sure and pick up this issue of VF mag … if only to be reminded on what a gift we had when Heath Ledger still lived.
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Tags: Heath Ledger, Vanity Fair Magazine
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June 30th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
@Trent, thank you for posting this. While, I still have trouble processing that Heath has passed, it’s refreshing to not see this story plastered on the covers of US Weekly, Star, etc. as it was in the past. It’s wonderful to see a tribute when I look at this cover, as opposed to a scandal. I think that we would have seen much more wonderful things out of this beautiful man, but alas, he had more important things to do in Heaven.
Heath Ledger is sorely missed by the acting community, even high school drama students like myself.
June 30th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
omg i miss this guy like a lot!
im from malaysia and unfortunately its hard to find VF mag here =(
June 30th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I just saw theDark Night not too long ago on HBO. It was my first time seeing it. Honestly, his performance was so incredible I didn’t even think it was possible. I just thought it was all hype because of his death. I know for certain that even if he was still alive he would have won all of the awards that he did plus more because he was bound to have an amazing career. I wish he was around to do the next installment in Batman ):
June 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
i’ve been watching The Dark Knight on HBO a lot too, just about every time it comes on i tune in. Heath’s performance as the Joker is perfection – i don’t think anyone will ever live up to Heath’s version he made the character his own and clearly wasn’t afraid to put himself out there. his talent will never be duplicated, he was truly one of a kind.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Im not believing this Pecorini person. Everyone from that movie, the directors, actors, and Heath himself, said that he had the time of his life playing the Joker. But some cinematographer nobody knows about is the one he spilled this deep dark secret too? Theres a lot people will say for the attention when the other persons not around to counter it.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Thank you, Trent! I find myself saying that to you a lot, but I love what you do…
June 30th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
awwww I miss him too. I just thought about when I first saw him in 10 things I hate about you. That’s how I choose to remember him. Young, carefree, beautiful.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I miss him. His is the only celebrity death that really had any effect on me. It still does.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
@ NEPTUNE. agreed! The dark night performance was freaking amazing. chilled me to the bone.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Oh and P.S- @ TRENT, you = awesome.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:11 am
I still get really upset whenever I think about Heath. He just seemed like a truly genuine person and he loved that little girl so much. Not to mention that at least 2 of those pictures above were plastered on my wall in high school.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:22 am
Much like others here, I cannot believe that he is not going to make more movies….what a gift of an actor for all of us! I also have watched the Dark Knight almost every time I have seen it on lately – and I cannot look away when he is on the screen. He was magnificent.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:45 am
@Neptune, if you read that paragraph again he doesn’t say anything that wasn’t backed up by Heath’s agent, who I imagined he would divulge to.
Anyway, I miss the guy a lot, even though I never knew him. The world just feels a little emptier every time I see one of my many Heath movies lying around. You still get that sinking feeling when you hear his name, or see pictures of Matilda. I’ll definitely be buying this.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
My god, he is SO HOT in those pics. What a respectable person and an amazing actor. RIP Heath.