When Heath Ledger burst onto the scene in his first film in 1999, critics and audiences immediately knew there was a star in the making. Sure, 10 Things I Hate About You was a goofy teen comedy—a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew set in high school with Ledger playing the Petruchio-inspired Patrick Verona— but it was well-made and extremely entertaining fluff. And it featured striking performances from leads Julia Stiles and Ledger as the combative lovebirds. Ruggedly handsome, funny, and confident, Ledger carried himself with an arrogant swagger that no other onscreen teen heartthrob possessed. He was Brando: The Teenage Years.
Hollywood knew it had a hot commodity on its hands, and for years studios tried to build films around his unique appeal, casting him in period pieces (Ned Kelly, The Brothers Grimm, The Four Feathers) or as the sensitive romantic who has a way with words (A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, the upcoming Casanova). It's ironic, then, to consider that the actor is receiving the best notices of his career for playing the polar opposite of those roles: a quiet, closed-off cowboy in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. [See Sidebar, page 17] As Ennis Del Mar, a ranch hand who unsuspectingly falls into a lifelong forbidden relationship with another man (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), Ledger is flawless. In the achingly beautiful love story, Ennis endures youthful confusion, a loveless marriage, and the fear of accepting his true self. It's a performance that has people seeing the actor in a new light—one that includes the kind of accolades that come with statuettes. "I can't think about that," Ledger murmurs dismissively when asked about the awards talk surrounding him. "I really can't."
It will be harder to ignore as the buzz grows deafening; GQ all but declared him the winner of the best actor Oscar, and critics are throwing out raves using words such as "revelation" and "extraordinary." While Brokeback certainly gives Ledger a chance to show his skill, such remarks aren't entirely fair, considering the standout performances he's given, as in The Patriot and Monster's Ball. Even in his lesser movies, such as The Four Feathers, Ledger is compulsively watchable and committed to the role. Even his most underrated film, A Knight's Tale, features a sharp performance by the actor. Simply explaining the plot, which combined modern music and colloquialisms to tell the tale of a 14th century peasant who masquerades as a knight so he can compete in jousting tournaments, makes it seem ridiculous, but Ledger pulls off the anachronisms and heroics with a beguiling charm.
Still, he tends to agree with his critics. "I don't think I could act back then," he says of his early performances. "And I still have far to go. I don't ever want to consider myself a good actor, because, well, I think I'm not. And I think it allows you to be lazy; you start to think you're hot shit."
All the praise seems to embarrass the soft-spoken actor. On this particular afternoon in his newly adopted town of New York City, he seems much more interested in talking about other changes in his life—specifically his month-old daughter with girlfriend and Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams. He's eager to show off pictures, like any proud father, and it's only when discussing fatherhood that he seems to open up and speak without reservation. Talk to him about his work, however, and he has trouble maintaining eye contact, his eyes darting to the floor as he repeatedly insists he doesn't think he's that good. "I'm not as good as I want to be," he says. "I don't think I'll ever be as good as I want to be, but I'll keep striving for it."
It would seem impossible for anyone, even Ledger, to deny his abilities; this year alone he headlined four films with radically different performances. He lent his laid-back charm to the role of a skateboarding guru in last summer's Lords of Dogtown, then played the bookworm sibling to Matt Damon in Terry Gilliam's all-over-the-map The Brothers Grimm. In addition to his role in Brokeback, he will soon be seen on screens as the title character in Casanova, in which he again plays a verbose charmer. His role as the legendary lover couldn't be more different from portraying Ennis, and it's jarring to realize it's the same performer in both films. He's glad the films are coming out at the same time, not because it showcases his diversity but because it cuts down on his press workload. "I guess it's good because I get to double up all the interviews," he offers. "I can kill two birds with one stone."
Ledger was born almost 27 years ago in Perth, Australia, and didn't have the typical actor dreams. "I didn't grow up watching movies; there was no movie star I aspired to be," he says. "I did some little plays in primary school and high school, but even then I never thought about becoming an actor." His elder sister, however, was pursuing the craft, and one day a 14-year-old Ledger accompanied her to an agent's office. "The agent was, like, 'Nice to meet you, kid; you should audition for this show,'" Ledger recalls, slipping into a fast-talking Hollywood voice. "I auditioned, and I got it. Suddenly I was a professional actor." The TV program was called Sweat, and it was Ledger's first "professional" audition. "I was getting paid money and suddenly realized this was something I could do: work hard for five months, then take six months off," he notes. "The leisure time in between was very attractive to me at that age."
He soon landed the leading role in a series for FOX, the short-lived fantasy Roar, which shot down under. After it was canceled, he moved to Los Angeles—but not for career reasons. "I came to America because I followed a girl," he says. "I fell in love and followed my heart, and that's purely what got me to L.A. I figured as long as I was there, I would continue my career path." Ledger says a manager "kind of jumped on my shoulders" and took him to meet with prospective agents. While he had some cache from Roar, Ledger opted to sign with the relatively new Steve Alexander at Creative Artists Agency. "He was a young agent who no one cared about; his office was the size of a shoebox," Ledger recalls with a smile. "Out of all the agents I met, he was the only one who genuinely wanted to represent me. All the other agents seemed like they just wanted to book me so no one else could; there was no genuine enthusiasm. He had a real fire in his belly." Ledger, whose nickname for Alexander is "Butt Monkey," has stayed with him for nearly a decade. "It's kind of sweet, because as my career has moved on, so has his," says Ledger. "He has a really big office now with windows. He's a good person and a father, and I really appreciate him."
Ledger admits he wasn't the easiest client. "I didn't work for a year after 10 Things I Hate About You," he observes. "I was bombarded with very similar roles and similar scripts, and I didn't want to get stuck doing the same thing. I just kept saying no until The Patriot came along." During this time, he notes, Alexander was extremely patient—because he had to be. "I had hoped that I would learn more and get better and study and investigate my roles more," says Ledger. "He had no idea I was going to be that thorough; he wanted to get me working. I wanted to be a little more dignified and take my time."
Even when he accepts a part, Ledger says he's prone to second thoughts. "The general rule of thumb for me is to hesitate before taking any role on," he says. "I definitely did with [Brokeback and Casanova]. I recognize there's a bit of a pattern to me, so it doesn't worry me as much when I back away." He adds that he frequently tries to back out of jobs, noting, "I go straight to my agent and say, 'You've got to get me out. I can't do it; I don't know how to do it.' He's, like, 'Uh huh, yeah, all right, I'll take care of it.' Then I'll call back an hour later and say I should do it, and he already knows."
There is one thing that worries Ledger, something he has in common with many actors: He hates to audition. "I'm fucking shit at auditioning," he insists. "I'm terrible; I give the worst performance. It's counterproductive for me to audition on a film, because I convince people not to hire me." He says he tries to avoid auditioning as much as possible and has a theory about why he's so bad at it. "It's such an uncomfortable position to be put in," he reasons. "You're not performing; you're being judged. To really perform, you have to be unaware of people's eyes and opinions and judgments."
While he auditioned for Casanova director Lasse Hallström, Ledger says his own aloofness might have helped him relax. "I guess I didn't really care that much and was a little ruthless about it," he admits. "I was, like, 'Whatever, I don't care, fuck you.' I ended up just getting along with Lasse; I felt really comfortable with him."
Casanova required Ledger to again adopt an accent foreign to him—this time, that of a wealthy European circa 1700. "The last time I did a movie in my own accent was eight years ago," he marvels. "I've got a good accent coach, Gerry Grennell, who's a good friend of mine. I've done six movies with him, and we've got it down to a shorthand now. We do a lot of Alexander Technique—lengthening your spine and relaxing the muscles in your throat. That helps a lot. I can kind of pick it up in a day."
Lee explains why he didn't need Ledger to audition for the role in Brokeback. "I knew he was a good actor, particularly from Monster's Ball," the director says. "He brings so much poetry to the role. He's a great anchor for the movie, a walking poetic cowboy." Hearing he was Lee's first choice, Ledger sighs. "I guess," he shrugs. "It didn't seem that way. It took awhile for him to cast me. I think he was trying different combinations of guys, putting a lot of thought into it." Lee also says he prefers to meet with and talk to actors to get a feeling for them, rather than have a formal audition. "Well, with Heath, it was hard to talk to him, hard to relate," Lee says, laughing. "He's not very good with making conversation."
That makes Ledger the perfect actor to portray the stoic Ennis, who is a Marlboro Man advertisement come to life: silent, manly, and enigmatic. After being cast as several loquacious characters, its interesting Ledger would achieve such acclaim for a role that's probably closer to his own personality. Despite his typical initial misgivings, he saw the Brokeback role as a gift. "I think the roles I'd been taking before were just boring, and the performances were boring," he notes. "And I was boring myself. I kind of got to a point where I thought I'd rather not be doing this than continuing down this path. Your choices also mature as you mature, and so does your performance. As I've been learning more about life and myself, I've been learning more about performance."
But he admits concern over how the sensitive subject matter will play to a mainstream audience; in short, are the Red States ready to see a love story about two men—and not just men but cowboys, the icons of Americana? "If it was in anybody's else's hands, I probably wouldn't have made the movie," he says. "But it was Ang Lee, who's a genius, and who I consider the perfect director for it. And the material itself—there was no reason to worry about it, because it was one of the most beautiful screenplays I've ever read. So all the elements were there." Ledger thinks it over and a smile plays across his lips; perhaps he's remembering a panicked phone call to his agent he might have made after taking on the role. "It was pretty much a perfect setup," he finally says. "You'd be an idiot to walk away from it."