Movies
Director Shekhar Kapur remembers Heath Ledger
Kapur was one of the last people to speak to Ledger, as the two were set to work together on ‘The Nine O’Clock War’ before his passing.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has paid tribute to Heath Ledger, with Sunday marking the 15th anniversary of the actor’s death.
The Australian picked up best actor nominations at the Oscars and BAFTA for his work in ‘Brokeback Mountain’ back in 2005. He was found dead in his New York apartment on Jan. 22, 2008 at the age of 28, and would go on to win both an Oscar and BAFTA for supporting actor for playing the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’.
Kapur was working with Ledger on a satire titled ‘The Nine O’Clock War’ before his untimely passing, and in an interview with Variety, the filmmaker says the two had developed a close relationship.
“Heath and I became very close. He used to write to me and he called me my brother from another mother, we became that close,” said Kapur. “Heath, even for his young age, was a very spiritual person and our conversations meandered through the ideas of space and the ideas of consciousness and all of that, and he tried to bring all those ideas into the film.”
Kapur says that prior to Ledger’s passing, he went to New York to meet with him regarding their upcoming project. Their meeting was pushed back a day because the actor had just returned from a shoot in Vancouver before tragedy struck.
“I remember going home and Deepak Chopra sat me down,” said Kapur. “He said, ‘Heath Ledger is dead.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean, he’s dead? He’s coming to see me soon.’ Then we switched on the television.
“And then I got a call from the New York police. They said that the last call on his cell phone was mine. And what do I know about it? I think they were just trying to examine the circumstances of his passing.”
Ledger and The Joker
Ledger’s locked himself away for weeks and kept a diary while preparing for his role as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’, and Kapur believes the role took a lot out of the Australian.
“The Joker is famous not because of his cruelty, but because of his compassion. When you see that there is a man that is killing people, and yet there is in the eyes compassion and understanding and wisdom. And so he related.
“I think it must have taken a lot out of him — to believe that you are the Joker, which is what he would always do. He would believe in what he was doing and saying and playing on screen. It must have devastated him.”