THE GENIUS OF HEATH
A documentary celebrates the life of the late Aussie actor
Matilda Ledger was only two years old when her father, Heath, died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs nine years ago. Sadly, the daughter the Aussie performer adored was too young to remember what he was like and how much he doted on her.
Now the 11-year-old has the chance to get to know her father through a documentary that shares deeply personal insights into the gifted actor.
Consisting of home movies made by and of Heath, and featuring interviews with friends and family, I am Heath Ledger has been described as a love letter to the Oscar winner from those closest to him. The film project also has the blessing of Matilda’s mum, actress Michelle Williams, although she doesn’t appear in it.
It’s been hard for Matilda growing up without her dad, who was only 28 when he died in January 2008, but Michelle and Heath’s family have done their best to make sure she knows as much as possible about Heath.
His older sister Kate, to whom he was very close, reveals she enjoys painting a picture of what Heath was like, especially as a young boy, for her niece. “I love telling [Matilda} stories about her daddy and how he grew up,” says Kate. “I think it’s so important for her to have a good sense of where she comes from in order for her to get to know herself.”
Matilda is the spitting image of her dad, but looks are not all they have in common, says Heath’s dad Kim.
“She’s got his energy,” he reveals. “Heath never slept from when he was two and Matilda’s like that.
“She’s got this ball of energy and she radiates this little aura – Heath was kind of like that.”
The Ledger family has stayed in close contact with Matilda and Kate admits they are impressed by the way her mum, Manchester by the Sea star Michelle, is raising her. “I think that she provides such a wonderful environment for Matilda to grow up in, especially in the sort of industry that she’s in. She’s really down to earth and grounded.”
Kate’s blown away every time she sees Matilda by how much like Heath she is, both in looks and actions.
“When [Matilda] picks up her pencil, it reminds me of Heath. When she walks, it reminds me of Heath. When she gets on her skateboard, it reminds me of Heath. Everything she does reminds me of Heath. For the first five years after Heath passed, every time I’d see Matilda, I would be in tears.
“Now I am really happy that I am at a stage that I can see Matilda and be happy, and feel her daddy’s energy through her.”
That boundless energy is evident in the film, with lots of clips of him larking about. One of his friends says in it that Heath always had a camera in his hand and really wanted to be a director, so acting was his path to doing that.
The actor, who had a company that made music videos, “essentially documented his life”, says director Derik Murray.
Along with clips filmed from when he was a teenager up until a few days before he died, I am Heath Ledger includes tributes from his loved ones, who say they wanted to show how creative and optimistic Heath was at heart, which contrasts with the slump he was in before he died.
He was struggling thanks to a combination of being upset about the break-up of his relationship with Michelle and the pressures of stardom. There is also a theory that playing the very dark character of the Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight had sent him into a depressive spiral.
In the days before he died, Heath had been recuperating from pneumonia and, an insomniac at the best of times, he was sleep-deprived. Taking medication to deal with each of these issues eventually led to his death, according to the inquest.
Friends warned him about all the pills he was popping and Heath told one of them, “I’ve got to stop. It’s not helping. It’s making me feel more upset.”
A NEW FILM GIVES ILLUMINATING INSIGHT INTO THE WORK AND GENIUS OF THE AUSSIE ACTOR
His big sister was also feeling concerned. Heath’s father Kim recalls, “The last conversation Kate had with him was this discussion about his medications and she warned him, ‘You can’t mix drugs that you don’t know anything about.’
“He said, ‘Katie, Katie,
I’ll be fine.’”
The following day, he was found unconscious and could not be revived.