If you want to know what it’s like to kiss Heath Ledger, just ask his “Brokeback Mountain” co-star.
“Exfoliating,” says Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Ledger’s lover in Ang Lee’s gay romance that includes physical intimacy between cowboys who fall for each other.
“Yeah, it was certainly rough,” Ledger tells reporters at a Manhattan hotel. “But at the end of the day and once the first take was over, all the mystery went flying out the window, and it was like, ‘OK, [bleep], whatever.’
“It was pretty obvious that neither of us cared anymore, and it was like, ‘OK, what’s the next shot? Can we just get on with it?’ We didn’t have to make little Freudian jokes about it and giggle.”
Whatever they did to make their onscreen affair look genuine, it works. “Brokeback Mountain,” which opens Friday, is one of the most talked about and critically acclaimed films of the year. On Tuesday the film garnered seven Golden Globe nominations, including a best actor nod for Ledger. The Oscar buzz has already started for the actors and the film.
Although the Australian had a sense that a film involving a relationship between two men, not to mention cowboys, would result in a compelling film, he says it was the writing and the opportunity to work with Lee that attracted him to the role.
Save for a few minutes in “Monster’s Ball,” there’s little in his resume–from his American debut in “10 Things I Hate About You” to “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot”–that prepares the audience for the depth of Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar. Ennis is understated and stoic, determined to keep his longing, fury and grief pent up for the rest of his life.
“It was probably one of the most beautiful scripts I’d ever read,” Ledger says. “It felt like a story that hadn’t been put onscreen, which is rare to come across. All of the elements were there. This perfect story, and this terribly complex character for me to play–to attempt to play. And so, I felt like I’d be crazy to walk away from it.”
The release of the film has added to a busy year for the 26-year-old. He’s already appeared in two films this year and a third, “Casanova,” opens Dec. 25. His fiance and “Brokeback” co-star Michelle Williams gave birth to their daughter Matilda in October.
The couple’s relationship began on the set of “Brokeback.” Williams, who played bad girl Jen on the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek,” plays Ennis’ wife Alma. Their marriage hits the skids when Ennis is unable to restrain his feelings for Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal). Falling in love with his leading lady off camera while growing apart from her on camera added an intriguing dynamic for Ledger.
“We were working against the odds here!” he says, laughing. “It was out of our control. … We’re both very professional and we were there with the same goals. We wanted to do our best job possible and do justice to this story.”
Ledger likens playing Ennis to “an interesting experiment” because it required him to sometimes speak more with his body than with his mouth.
“I guess sometimes you can say more without words,” he says. “A lot of the performance was very physical … I wanted him to be a clinched fist, so even my mouth became a clinched fist.”
Did that make playing a gay man easier?
“I could have actually taught Ennis something about loving,” he says. “Unlike Ennis, I enjoy love. I’m very expressive. I’ve investigated love and he didn’t.
“I didn’t walk away from [the movie] going, ‘Man and man, they can express and they can love, wow,'” Ledger says. “I had an understanding of that. I never feared that it existed and it was never really a huge issue of mine. So, it really wasn’t some great revelation that this was possible.
“We certainly didn’t go into this movie with any political intentions. We don’t want to change the world, but if we can help someone accept other forms of love, that’s certainly not a bad thing.”
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Heath’s busy with dishes and diapers
You might think Heath Ledger hasn’t spent much time at the Brooklyn home he shares with fiance Michelle Williams and their baby Matilda, what with the press he’s doing for his upcoming movies.
But according to Williams, the new father still does the dishes.
“It’s an equal partnership,” Williams said. “I do all of the laundry, he does all of the dishes. As any woman who recently has had a child understands, you need help, and he’s really stepped up.”
He’s also mellowed. Ledger hasn’t always been open to the interviews that come with promoting a film. During a recent group interview in New York, he was cracking jokes and being downright homey.
“It’s definitely more exciting and a lot more beautiful [than acting],” he said of fatherhood. “It’s definitely my greatest achievement. I now feel connected to something a lot bigger than me. It’s beautiful.”
And, like most new fathers, he’s making some startling discoveries.
“In the birthing process you come out realizing just how stupid and weak men are,” Ledger said. “I might as well have not been there. We’re that useless. You just feel like going out and taking steroids, going to the gym and starting a war. It kind of explains a lot about society.”
“It’s like overcompensating for this lack of strength,” he said, laughing. “So, I’m not starting a war, I’m doing dishes!”
[ m.t. ]
