Heath Ledger - Let's go, let's fly - and he flew

The nominations for the American Academy Awards are to be announced on 22 January, a date on which it would seem inconceivable that Heath Ledger's name would not be one of those read out. After all, we're talking about The Joker here, and Heath's truly extraordinary interpretation of a character I'd never considered anything but a cartoon caricature before. Not now - the Joker was more terrifying because he had blood in his veins and air in his lungs, only possible because Heath put his all into bringing the Joker off the page.


As the anniversary of 22 January draws closer, I'm surprised to realise it's a year. It's not felt like a year. And the date isn't a reminder that it's time to remember Heath, because we've never not thought about Heath. But with the anniversary still to come, and with the knowledge that the date will coincide with the very public announcement of Heath's nomination, it's good timing by EW to release their wonderful commemoration of Heath's work, through pictures and through the memories and thoughts of some close friends and colleagues. And I'm grateful to a good friend for sending it across to me today.



Read and marvel yourselves, but here are some of the quotes which struck home with me and also demonstrated, if it is necessary, that the Joker wasn't a role that pushed Heath to somewhere he didn't want to go. On the contrary, the role was a source of great personal and professional satisfaction to him - he got it spot on and created a believable monster in a cartoon world.


Todd Black, producer, A Knight's Tale: 'When we saw the first cut of A Knight's Tale, you couldn't look away from Heath. We were the first movie that put his full face on the poster. No one knew him quite yet, but we just decided to gamble. And Heath — ugh, he didn't even want to deal with it. He was mortified! He wanted the other people who were in the movie to be on the poster.'


On being offered Spider-man: 'Heath said, ''It's not for me. I would be taking someone else's dream away.''

Terry Gilliam: 'He was a very old soul. When we were in Prague doing Grimm, there was one night we went to see this gypsy band. Somehow his age came up in conversation. At that time, Matt Damon was 32, and I always felt Heath was the same age, if not older. He said, ''I'm 24.'' I said, ''What? That's not possible!'' He had a kind of wisdom you only get from centuries of former life. He could talk about any number of things — books, ideas — and this was not a 24-year-old you were talking to. Maybe he was part aborigine somewhere down the line.'


Terry again: 'I used to get calls from Heath during Brokeback, because he wasn't happy. He felt alone and isolated. I think it was his sense of not getting the kind of warm support we gave him on Grimm. Whatever it did, it produced an extraordinary performance.'


James Schamus: 'During casting, rehearsals, and preproduction, Ang is like the warm, wise, cuddly daddy bear. The minute he yells ''Action'' on the first shot, the actors become alienated props he kind of puts up with. That's the environment, and it's tough on actors. He doesn't yell at people or humiliate them. But it's a very tough space. Heath had very difficult days. You could really feel the pain he was going through.'


Rodrigo Prieto: 'Heath was definitely moody compared to Jake, who is very bubbly and jokes around. There were some very emotional scenes, and Heath would struggle to get it exactly right. It didn't come easily. I think there was an insecurity about his ability as an actor. I remember the scene where he's in the Greyhound station and the girl he'd been seeing comes in and starts crying. Each take, she cried very easily. She had no problem finding that emotion. Heath just looked at me and said, ''Oh, how I envy her.''


Terry: 'Heath was exhilarated by playing the Joker. He said, ''I'm able to do things I never believed were inside me.'' He's working with great actors, like Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart, and he'd say, ''I go into these scenes, and they can't do anything to me!'' He used to just giggle that he had found a character that was impregnable. They could beat him, hit him, and it wouldn't make a difference because he was so utterly wacko. It freed him up and got him out of that uncertainty after Brokeback. It was just, ''Let's go. Let's fly.'' And he flew.'


Agent Steve Alexander: 'We were making these incredible plans about what was next, career-wise. The day after he died, he was going to meet Steven Spielberg to explore the idea of playing Tom Hayden in a movie about the Chicago 7. This wasn't a guy who was even for a second thinking about checking out in any way, shape, or form. There's a moment in The Dark Knight when Heath's hanging upside down and he says to Batman, ''You and I are destined to do this forever.'' It's a very sad moment. A sequel certainly would have happened. I cringe when I read that he was a tortured soul or a Method actor who couldn't get out of his own way because he'd played this dark character. It's just not true.'


James Schamus: 'It was one of those ''where were you on the day Kennedy was shot'' moments. I called Jake and remember wailing.'

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for such a fabulous tribute.