Heath Ledger’s death 16 years ago is still as tragic as the day it hit headlines, and now director Stephen Gaghan has claimed a new heartbreaking detail following his passing.
The Dark Knight star died from an accidental overdose ahead of the second instalment of the Batman franchise hit theaters. The Oscar-winning actor was also in the middle of filming another flick when he died, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. At the time, his part in the movie was re-cast with more actors, including Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law. However, the three celebrities went on to refuse pay checks, instead giving the money to his family, including his daughter Matilda. Now, friend and director Stephen Gaghan has spoken on a podcast to say how he found out about Heath Ledger‘s tragic death.
Heath Ledger was planning to be in another movie, Stephen Gaghan says
The Gold director spoke on the Developmental Hell podcast this week, and said the Hollywood icon was planning another role at the time he died. The podcast is a spin-off from Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History show.
Stephen Gaghan claimed they had an idea to turn Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, into a flick with Heath Ledger.
But after his sad passing: “I just had to put a pin in it”.
He also spoke of how he found out the Brokeback Mountain star had died, when he was in the airport with his wife.
Heath Ledger’s father, Kim, called Stephen Gaghan to break the news.
He said: “They were there with the body and our script was in bed with him, and your book was on the bedside table.
“I think my number was on the script, like, written. These guys, as you can imagine, they are in shock, and they dialed that number, and I don’t know why.”
He couldn’t make the movie without him
The 58-year-old later teamed up with the author to make the 2005 book into a film with Leonardo DiCaprio. But the pair decided it was a role that Ledger would have been perfect for. Stephen Gaghan said they had the “green light” from Universal Studios to start it, but after he met Heath Ledger, his vision changed.
“I had met Heath Ledger and I’d gotten to be very very close with him instantly. I just had a real connection with him that was, kind of, unusual and very special to me,” Stephen Gaghan explained.
He went on: “I got really excited, and I started seeing him as the main character. Once I started seeing that, I couldn’t unsee it.”
Heartbreaking phone call
The director, known for Syriana, who also won Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for writing Stephen Soderbergh’s film, Traffic in 2000, spoke about the call he received from Ledger’s father.
He said: “I’m in an airport with my wife, [Minnie Mortimer], just going from one place to another, and I literally just collapse, never happened to me before or since.
“My feet went out from under me. I just literally sat down because I was like, ‘what?’”
Stephen Gaghan added: “The emotion, what [Heath Ledger’s father and friend] were going through, I should not have been a party to in any way really, and yet as a human or as somebody who just cares, I just was there and I was listening and my wife was looking at me.
“I remember her face and I was just like, I was speechless. I just listened and listened and listened.
“It was just really, really sad. And it’s still sad.”
Heath Ledger’s daughter, Matilda – who he shared with Michelle Williams – was just two years old when he passed. She is now 18.
If you’ve been affected by this story you can contact American Addiction Centers on (877) 686-7688 or Talk To Frank on 0300 123 6600 in the UK.
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