Heath Ledger’s Death Taught Jake Gyllenhaal About Life, Admits The ‘Southpaw’ Actor


Heath Ledger’s absence is something Jake Gyllenhaal is reminded of every day.

Ten years after the two actors made waves with their poignant portrayal of a gay couple in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, Gyllenhaal opened up about how the absence of Heath Ledger has altered his approach to life and career. Speaking to NPR’s Fresh Air on the eve of the release of his new film Southpaw, Gyllenhaal admitted that he missed Heath Ledger, both as a friend and as a fellow actor.

“I miss him as a human being and I miss working with him. What an unfortunate thing it is that we won’t be able to see the beauty of his expression.”

Gyllenhaal also confessed that Heath Ledger was the first person he was close to who died. He found himself struggling for words when describing the late actor.

“He was incredibly special and that doesn’t even come close to encapsulating who he is, who he was.”

But more than anything, Gyllenhaal was left humbled by Heath Ledger’s sudden departure. He admitted that his outlook on life has altered significantly ever since his co-actor passed away from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs more than seven years ago.

“I’m trying to have relationships that are as real as they possibly can be on a movie set, be close to people because I know that it’s precious. And I know, not only can this career end in a very short period of time and this or that can happen, but that life is precious. I think losing Heath and being a part of a family that was something like the movie, the movie we all made together, makes you see that, makes you appreciate that and hopefully moves you away from the things that really don’t matter to the things that do.”

Meanwhile, Jake Gyllenhaal is not the only person who has opened up about Heath Ledger this month. Earlier, in a candid interview with ABC News, Heath Ledger’s father Kim, spoke of the last call his son made to the family on the night when he died.

“Basically, Heath was complaining about not being able to sleep, because he was busy, he was meeting Steven Spielberg the next morning, he really needed to be bright and shiny and he was finding it difficult with a chest cold, or the chest infection to sleep.”

Kim also admitted that Heath Ledger’s sister Kate had warned him about the effects sleeping tablets could have when mixed with prescription medicines, but that he was in too much discomfort to listen to her. All Heath wanted was to sleep.

“So Kate was saying to him, ‘well Heath, you can’t take you know, sleeping tablets on top of prescription medication, you know it’s not a good mixture.’ And he sort of said, ‘Katie, Katie, look, it’ll be fine, you know, I just need to get some sleep.”

“Well they are really the last words we ever heard from Heath. Or at least, the last words that Kate heard. So, It was a terrible shock to us. I mean, he literally went to sleep.”

Heath Ledger will always be remembered for his talent, for his improvisation, but above all, for his simplicity and dedication to the art of performance. There was and always will be only one Heath Ledger.

[Photo: Evam Agostini, Carlo Allegri / Getty Images]

Share this article: Heath Ledger’s Death Taught Jake Gyllenhaal About Life, Admits The ‘Southpaw’ Actor
More from Inquisitr