Memories of Heath Ledger...

I must say, Daniel Day-Lewis dedicating his SAG Award to Heath Ledger Sunday night was really moving and to see him a bit later talking about it backstage, it was easy to see how geniune and deep his reaction to the young actor's death has been. He admitted to thinking of little else since it happened and I think a lot of us can say the same.

It's been a week now that Heath left us so suddenly and I wanted to share a few things I came across on the Internet. First, the painting (above) of Heath by Melbourne artist Vincent Fantauzzo. It was done when Heath was Down Under visiting family over the holidays. Fantauzzo painted Ledger with the intention of entering the portrait in the prestigious Archibald Prize later this year but with the approval of the Ledger family, the artist released the image to the media early and said: "Heath was very excited about it. He was very excited to see the finished product" ..

Then there is an interview Heath did with The Advocate upon the release of "Brokeback Mountain." Alonso Duralde, who conducted the interview, wrote a new opening and it has been reposted on Advocate.com. Here are a few excerpts:

Q. 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?
Ledger: 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.

Q. How do you perceive gay acceptance in Australia? We sort of get mixed messages: On the one hand, there’s the Mardi Gras and we all love Priscilla, and then at the same time, occasionally your prime minister, John Howard, will say something very George Bush–ian.
Ledger: Well, I don’t know. As you said, 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.

Q. Has being attractive been better or worse for your career as an actor, in terms of how filmmakers perceive you?
Heath: I don’t know how to answer that question. Wouldn’t I be a particularly cocky person if I could answer that question!

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