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THE STAR
LEDGER
Australia's
Latest Leading Man, Heath Ledger,
Rocks and
Rolls in Columbia's "A Knight's Tale"
BY FRANCESCA
DINGLASAN
Nothing" is what a very tired-sounding Heath Ledger tells BOXOFFICE he'd be doing if he weren't acting. A short and sweet answer, unquestionably, but one that's nonetheless best taken with a grain of salt, considering the just-turned 22-year-old's tenacious history.
At the age of 16, when American boys are looking forward to getting their drivers license or shopping for prom gear, Ledger left his home in Western Australia, trekking 2,600 miles across the vast expanse of the continent to reach Sydney and his future small-turned-big-screen career. "It wasn't a professional move so much as to move out and get away," he says. "It was more or less [that] I just wanted to get out there and discover life. Life was flying by and I couldn't wait. It was just a smorgasbord of feelings and emotions and general information about myself that I had to go out and discover, and that was motivating me. It just happened to coincide with my professional life."
Perhaps "nothing" is something that can be applied to what Ledger looks forward to doing, having been away from home for what he estimates to be 18 months. Besides working on location in the Czech Republic for Columbia's hotly anticipated "A Knight's Tale," as well as in Morocco and England for Shekhar Kapur's upcoming "Four Feathers," the actor is in-between flights on a brief stay in Los Angeles, fresh from receiving his "Male Star of Tomorrow" award at ShoWest, the annual film exhibition-distribution convention in Las Vegas. While he came away with a trophy, ironically he also left the place with lighter pockets. "I lost," he says about the City of Sin's prevalent activity. "You go there to lose."
Unlucky in
cards and slot machines, providence did not fail to shine down on Ledger
in terms of his profession. In his breakthrough role as fellow Aussie Mel
Gibson's son in last summer's "The Patriot," he beat what appeared to be
insurmountable odds by landing the role against a purported 200 other actors,
including some of Hollywood's most established young names.
Talent, and not luck, however, is probably what best accounts for Ledger's success, since Columbia, extremely pleased with his performance in "The Patriot," decided to sign him up once again -- this time in the starring role of the studio's major 2001 summer release, "A Knight's Tale."
Set in 14th-century Europe, "A Knight's Tale" features Ledger as a young squire who aspires to the ranks of nobility by ascending his way up through the jousting circuit, having secretly acquired his deceased master's identity. A role that looks as physically demanding as it sounds, the actor says that, well yeah, it was -- but he was prepared. "I've always been physically active," he explains. "I've always been involved in many different types of sports and physical exercise, anyway. It's been an interest of mine, and just to amalgamate the two -- to be doing an acting job and getting out there and jumping off a horse -- keeps things exciting."
If handling thousands of pounds of sheer equine force wasn't enough of a challenge, Ledger also had to master the fine art of jousting. Although a star athlete in high school, exchanging his field hockey stick for a lance meant to pierce through steel armor still seems rather overwhelming. The actor, insisting that jousting was actually enjoyable ("Doesn't it look fun?" he asks), is modest about his physical performance. "I can't say that I was properly jousting and charging at some guy and knocking him off his horse, but it was certainly fun to pretend that I was doing that."
What also
might appear to be a formidable challenge is the pressure associated with
top billing in a major summer release. The fact that "A Knight's Tale"
is Ledger's first big-screen Hollywood vehicle would seem only to intensify
his stress level -- although he insists that isn't the case. "To me, if
you walk into the role with the weight of, 'Oh my God, it's the leading
man [part].You're carrying the movie,' then you're conscious of that when
you're playing your character," he says. "You bring that into the character,
and you don't want to be conscious of that."
A Knight's Tale" may be Ledger's initiation into the coveted universe of Tinseltown's leading men, but he is no newcomer to performing. Among his credits are acting gigs on the Australian television series "Ship to Shore" and "Sweat," as well as opposite Keri Russell in the short-lived American show, "Roar." His big-screen debut came in 1999, starring in "Two Hands," a low-budget sleeper hit in his native Oz, and Stateside in "10 Things I Hate About You," an update of William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."
What Ledger says for him has been the difference between his past acting experiences and "A Knight's Tale" is merely that he "had more scenes to play up from start to wrap." Other than that he feels that his latest release is based on the same foundation as all his previous and future projects. "At the end of the day, all movies are ensemble [pieces]," he says. "It's all about the characters that are around you -- that feed you and whom you work off." He adds, straightforward in his aversion to self-promotion, "I guess the pressures of [being the] leading man and the pressures of carrying the movie come afterwards when you realize, 'Okay, I'm the one who has to go out there and market it.'"
How Ledger handles his post-production responsibility of selling "A Knight's Tale" is by sharing his admiration and fondness for writer and director, Brian Helgeland ("Payback"), as well as his fellow performers.
"Fantastic," he says emphatically in response to his experience with the film's helmer. "He's the nicest guy. He is such a sweet man. The guy is so down-to-earth and genuine and kind to everyone. He's not caught up in his position, and he's a fantastic writer and an extremely talented director."
Ledger expresses similar admiration for his co-stars in the movie, both in terms of the working and offscreen relationships that developed among them. "The cast was fantastic," he says. "I mean, everyone. Rufus Sewell, the villain, is a fantastic actor and just a wonderful, wonderful friend. Shannyn Sossamon, who plays the princess, was fantastic. She was great to work with and a great girl and friend. There's just an endless amount of people. We all became extremely close friends and we had such a wonderful time shooting in Prague, and the time we had there -- and the fun and the laughter of that experience -- really translates on the screen in the relationship of all the friends."
Also likely
to clearly translate is the film's direct comparison between jousting matches
of the Middle Ages and today's major sporting events. Punctuated by a soundtrack
featuring rock anthems distinctly associated with the modern sports arena
experience (i.e., Queen's "We Will Rock You") as well as a marketing campaign
that launched last January with a multimillion dollar TV spot during the
Superbowl, Ledger says that the themes of "A Knight's Tale" transcend the
centuries. "The movie isn't about being historically correct," he insists.
"It's not based upon a specific moment in time. It's more or less a movie
where they're running parallels between sporting life today and sporting
life back then. And it's a movie about emotions and life and love -- and
emotions are timeless. They're contemporary and historic."
History has been a resounding backdrop in Ledger's work, from the battlefields of the American Revolution in "The Patriot" to the Medieval European countryside of "A Knight's Tale" to his next release, "Four Feathers," which is set in the late 19th century war-torn Sudan.
Ledger is dismissive, however, towards the idea of a link in his choices to do three consecutive period pieces. "It wasn't anything, really," he says. "[The media is] so stuck up on it, and I think it's because they want to create questions to ask me. I don't think that really anyone [else is] stuck up on [the fact] that I've done three period movies. If you think about it, there's a lot more to talk about from our past than there is in the present. At the end of the day, emotions are not [just] historic." For the actor, then, the decision to do "A Knight's Tale" was simply because "it just happened to be a great script, great character [and the] right time."
Ledger's exhausted state and disinclination toward the rigors of movie marketing once again become evident when asked about Miramax's "Four Feathers," which is scheduled to bow later this year. "I really can't be bothered explaining it," he sighs good-naturedly. "I've been working on it for six months, and I just wrapped it two days ago, and to go into the storyline of the movie would just kill me right now."
It won't, however, kill BOXOFFICE. Based on a novel by A.E.W. Mason, Ledger plays the film's protagonist: an English soldier serving in the Sudan who's deathly afraid of going to war -- a natural hindrance for any individual in the military. His friends, angered by his fear, symbolically punish him by bestowing him with feathers representative of his cowardice. Unable to live with the shame attached to the emblems, Ledger's character embarks on a journey of self-discovery, which involves rising to challenges that prove his mettle and valor -- and earn him the right to return the unwanted feathers.
Though the
actor would rather not engage in plot synopsis, he is expressive about
his professional involvement in the project. "It was a wonderful, amazing
experience," says Ledger. "It was definitely the hardest six months of
my life. It was strenuous mentally -- just hard, hard, hard. [Director]
Shekhar Kapur ("Elizabeth") is brilliant, but he's quite demanding. It
takes a lot of commitment to work with him. But it was wonderful, and it's
going to be an amazing movie."
Ledger may have some time now to catch up on his rest. For the moment he has no other projects scheduled, although he says he's continually considering future possibilities. Among those scripts that just keep pouring in are several from his native Australia, a film industry that he would like to work in again in the future. The actor says that he looks at movies from Down Under "everyday," but the problem is "there's just very little of them being made right now, and the pickings are slim."
Though professional obligations may not be calling Ledger back to Oz, he plans to visit his childhood home shortly. "I do miss Perth," he says. "Absolutely. I'm going back there actually soon." Describing it as "the most isolated city in the world," he also notes that it's "beautiful" and "quite anally clean."
"It's a wonderful place to grow up as a kid," he adds. "It's a wonderful place to leave when you're a teenager."
While Ledger's teenage days took place just a few short years ago, they must seem as far behind him as Perth was when he reached Sydney, which itself was just a stopover on the road to Hollywood. From the 16-year-old who "wanted to get out there and discover life" to the rising actor whose uncompromising nature has landed him some of the most sought-after big-screen roles, Ledger's star keeps burning brighter.
Burning, too, at times, are his lips. Sure, they smolder, as his growing legions of female fans are well aware, but it's actually a little skill of his that sometimes causes this mishap. Asked about his hobbies or hidden talents, Ledger deadpans, "I can flick a lit cigarette up in the air and catch it in my mouth." His success rate isn't 100 percent, however, and he admits that's he's missed and burned himself "many times."
Not a problem, though, presumably. While the market for smokers -- no matter how fancy their tricks -- remains thin, and should the day come when acting becomes tiresome to Ledger, his alternative profession of doing "nothing" will always be available.
"A Knight's
Tale." Starring Heath Ledger, Alan Tudyk, Mark Addy, Laura Fraser, Paul
Bettany and Shannyn Sossamon. Directed and written by Brian Helgeland.
Produced by Brian Helgeland, Tim Van Rellim and Todd Black. A Columbia
release. Action adventure. Rated PG-13. Opens 5/11.
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