‘THE TRUTH ABOUT HEATH LEDGER’ Brendan Jones’ heartbreaking realisation
The radio host spills the beans on one of his most heartbreaking realisations
He’s one half of Australia’s most successful breakfast radio show, so it’s likely Brendan “Jonesy” Jones has had his fair share of good and bad interviews. But speaking to Pete Timbs on WHO ARE YOU podcast, the 50-year-old shares his most interesting guest to date was the late Heath Ledger.
Jonesy spoke to a then young Ledger on Triple M in Brisbane. “He came into the studio and he was really just so into the interview and so playful,” the radio host says of the actor.
“I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but just if you wanted to see the decline of an interview subject, as years went on, he came on for movies like 10 Things I Hate About You. I found once we got past A Knight’s Tale, he was just over it. Over interviews.”
Jonesy admits he understood Ledger’s frustrations. “All we look for is chemistry,” he says. “One of my dreads is when a producer says we’ve got ‘Blah Blah’ in to chat, and you just go, ‘Agh’ – you can’t be bothered talking to them.
“But you have to make an effort and they have to make an effort. So, with Heath’s last interview with us for Brokeback Mountain I just thought ‘Man, come on, just give us something!
“It was around the time that he peeled the mandarin in that TV interview – which is just so disrespectful. I mean, he had a lot of issues, and I’m not here to grind an axe with it. But it just showed over time that decline. “My dad was dying from cancer and I came to work every day and I just did the job. In fact, for me, it was a good distraction.”