Celebs Comments/Actions on Heath Ledger's Death

Mrs Roy Keane

A mourning Naomi Watts has pulled out of all engagements at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The actress, in Park City to promote her new thriller Funny Games, has canceled all interviews and obligations after learning her former lover Heath Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan home. The pair began dating after sparks flew on the set of their 2002 Western Ned Kelly and lasted 16 months.

A devastated Lindsay Lohan has been seen crying in Hollywood over the news that Heath Ledger, who she’s been romantically linked with several times, has died. Lindsay and Heath were rumoured to have been dating as recently as last month, but have reportedly been “very close” for quite some time. Lindsay isn’t the only star who’s expressed her devastation over the actor’s tragic death – several big names, particularly those with links to Heath’s native Australia, have released statements: Nicole Kidman: “What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family.” Director Todd Haynes: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. Heath was a true artist, a deeply sensitive man, an explorer, gifted and wise beyond his years. There is no finer person on this earth.” Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: “It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger. It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation’s finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger’s diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor.”


"I was on my way over to pay him a visit when I found out. I had just left him a message and heard his voice on the machine. He was such a special and genuine person, so extraordinarily talented because he was so raw and honest with his feelings."

~Helena Christensen

"I am shocked and very saddened by the news. I deeply respect Heath's work and always admired his continuing development as an artist. My thoughts are with his family and his close friends"

~Cate Blanchett

"This is such a sad event. I admired Heath enormously. He was such a sensitive and committed and daring actor. This truly is a tragedy."

~Geoffrey Rush

"What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family."

~Nicole Kidman

"I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family"

~Mel Gibson

"He is one of my favorite actors. His abilities are rare...it's a tremendous loss. It's hard to be here celebrating Australia under these circumstances."

~John Travolta

"It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger. It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation's finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger's diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor."

~Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

"Heath Ledger was a courageous actor, and a great soul. He gave us the gift of sharing his fearless and beautiful love ? of his craft, and of all who worked with him ? for which all of us will be eternally grateful."

~Focus Features, producers of Brokeback Mountain

"This is an unimaginable tragedy. Heath was a true artist, a deeply sensitive man, an explorer, gifted and wise beyond his years. There is no finer person on this earth."

~Todd Haynes, director of I'm Not There

"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."

~Warner Bros., producers of The Dark Night

Ang Lee directed Heath Ledger in his Oscar-nominated role in Brokeback Mountain, where the actor met his ex-girlfriend, Michelle Williams.

"Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life,” Lee said in a statement to Usmagazine.com. “He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him.”

Lee is still grappling with Ledger’s passing.

“His death is heartbreaking," he said.

Mrs Roy Keane

Ang Lee directed Heath Ledger in his Oscar-nominated role in Brokeback Mountain, where the actor met his ex-girlfriend, Michelle Williams.

"Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life,” Lee said in a statement to Usmagazine.com. “He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him.”

Lee is still grappling with Ledger’s passing.

“His death is heartbreaking," he said.

Mrs Roy Keane

Jake Gyllenhaal, who was close to Heath Ledger, is reportedly too distraught to even speak about the death of his friend. Gyllenhaal co-starred with Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and is godfather to his 2-year-old daughter Matilda Rose.

Gyllenhaal is in New Mexico shooting the film Brothers and has declined any requests to make a statement to the media. Although production has not been shut down on the film, the set has been closed to non-crew members and extra security has been hired to ensure Gyllenhaal's privacy.

lizann

Tearful Day-Lewis pays tribute to Ledger
Friday, January 25 2008, 11:18 GMT

By Beth Hilton, Entertainment Reporter


Rex Features
Daniel Day-Lewis paid an emotional tribute to late actor Heath Ledger during an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday.

The actor's eyes filled with tears as he spoke of his regret on learning of Ledger's sudden death on Tuesday.

Day-Lewis, who was supposed to be discussing his Oscar nomination for There Will Be Blood, said he felt "strange" talking about anything else.

He explained: "I hope you don't mind if I speak about this, Oprah... I feel very unsettled at the moment. I only just heard the news about Heath Ledger.

"There isn't anything to say other than to express one's regret to his family and his friends. I didn't know him. I have a strong impression I would have liked him very much as a person if I had.

"I had already marvelled at some of his work. And looked forward to the work he would do in the future."

He added that he prayed Ledger's loved ones would be left alone to grieve, saying: "This is going to be something they are going to be living with for the rest of their lives.”

lizann

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/autopsy-fails-to-find -cause-of-ledgers-death-773154.html

Just to the side of the entrance to the building a small shrine of flowers, candles, written notes and pictures of Ledger is starting to build up. "Heath, wherever you are, I hope you are at peace," one hand-written tribute began. Julia Stiles, who starred opposite Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You, his first film after moving to Los Angeles from Australia aged 19, was a few blocks away at a popular bar and restaurant. "I am drinking away my sorrows right now," she said.

lizann

It appears that Jake Gyllenhaal is taking Heath Ledger's sudden passing very hard.

The actor, who played Heath's onscreen lover in the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain and is godfather to Heath's two-year-old daughter Matilda, has been devastated by last week's news.

"Jake is taking this harder than most people," a friend of Jake's told People.com

And it's affecting his work - he is currently filming Brothers in New Mexico.

"This has had a strong personal affect on Jake," noted an on-set source, who said the 27-year-old left the set immediately he learned of his friend's death, but returned on Thursday to shoot an additional scene.

"He was there, but he wasn't with us. Jake was sitting in the director's chair staring off into space," the source continued.

"It was obviously a major trauma. These guys were very close."

The source recalled an earlier scene, when Jake jokingly put a picture of his Brokeback beau on a prison wall.

"Those prisoners put loved ones on the wall, but Jake's was Heath Ledger. That was hilarious. It was a nice moment," they added.

"When you think back on it now, it's touching."

Source: http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7406514

Mrs Roy Keane

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324790,00.html

Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron was notified of her very close friend Heath Ledger's passing on Tuesday while walking the carpet at the Sundance Film Festival for her independent thriller "Sleepwalking."

According to an eyewitness, an entertainment media outlet asked Theron how she was feeling about the tragedy, as numerous cameras rolled just moments after the news broke.

Theron, however, had not been informed.

"Charlize put her head down and was ushered into the screening almost straight away," our source said. "She was shaking and her people were really upset about how it all went down."

After this "bad experience," Theron canceled the carpet of the "Sleepwalking" post-premiere party as she did not want to be questioned on the issue.

Meanwhile, fellow Australian and former girlfriend of Heath Ledger Naomi Watts canceled press at the Park City, Utah, festival following the news of the 28-year-old's sudden death.

Watts had been scheduled to hold one-on-one interviews with numerous media organizations on Wednesday morning to promote the highly anticipated "Funny Games."

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Avril, Paris Party on New Year's Eve However, FOXNews.com since has been advised that the press day will not take place due to Watts' emotional state. The couple met on the set of "Ned Kelly" in 2002 and were romantically linked until April 2004.

The publicists stationed in Park City, however, have been working overtime in an attempt to shield stars from the spotlight with various celebrities "calling in sick" to scheduled events.

However, "Alpha Dog" star Lukas Haas spoke to FOX soon after hearing the news, expressing his shock and extending his condolences to the Ledger family.

"He truly was a great, great actor who I have known and admired for sometime," Haas said. "I am in total shock — it certainly has put a damper on the festival."

Later that evening, the stars paid their respects at the Hollywood Life House party in honor of the romantic comedy "The Deal."

"It is so upsetting — it's a huge loss and my heart goes out to his wife and kid," said William H. Macy. "I think great talent comes coupled with great demons."

Young Hollywood sensation Jason Ritter then removed his hat, telling us that "very few actors of Heath's age could leave behind such a legacy of extraordinary work."

"Heath was an actor who always amazed me — somebody I believed always had such life left in him," added "You Raise Me Up" singer Josh Groban.

Fellow Australian A-lister Nicole Kidman also released a statement on Tuesday (via her publicist) saying that "her heart goes out" to his family over such a "terrible tragedy."

The "Brokeback Mountain" sensation no doubt had a huge presence in Hollywood, and his tragic death has rocked the entertainment community.

Lindsay Lohan (who apparently was very close to Ledger) was spotted sobbing as she left a cafe on Tuesday afternoon, while Pop Tarts caught a very shaken Josh Hartnett in shades as he attempted to remain incognito at the film festival soon after the word was out.

Most recently, the 28-year-old "10 Things I Hate About You" star was romantically linked to another Perth-born beauty, 19-year-old supermodel Gemma Ward. The pair was sighted together in Sydney last December — however, Gemma also resides in New York City (where Ledger, too, had a home base).

A close hometown friend of Gemma had not spoken to her since the tragic events unveiled but said she was "deeply concerned" about how the young model would handle the news.

"They have a lot in common — they were both shining stars in their small Perth-based community," said the friend (who did not want to be named). "I can't believe it and I am really worried for Gemma. She will be devastated."

Ledger reportedly gave guidance to Gemma through the filming of her first feature late last year, "The Black Balloon" alongside Toni Collette.

Mrs Roy Keane

The reclusive actor Wes Bentley made a rare public statement Tuesday to remember his friend Heath Ledger as a "man who spread so much spark to so many people."

Capitalizing letters for emphasis, the American Beauty star described Ledger, who was found dead last week, as "a Vibrant Man, a Brave Actor, a Passionate Father and a Friend Forever."

"Heath was an essential piece of my Life," wrote Bentley, 29, who costarred with Ledger in 2002's Four Feathers. "At one point we were as close as two people could get without being blood. That closeness came from sharing a similar, life-altering experience in life at a young age where very few could relate and those who could often were pre-occupied with competition. It would have been isolating, not to mention boring, without him."

Added Bentley, who didn't make another film until five years after Four Feathers, "I don't know if I could have come back without him."

In fact it was because of Bentley turning down a part that Ledger got one of his breakthrough roles: that of the suicidal prison guard's son in Monster's Ball.

"(Wes) was signed up to play that part and he pulled out in the last minute because he really doesn't like to work that much," Ledger said in 2005. "I think they were threatening to sue him. So he asked me to do this for him to get him out of trouble. It was a great opportunity for me and I took it. It was a nice gift from Wes."

In his statement, Bentley urged people to "resist our routine chore of dwelling on a celebrities moments at Death, taking what is essentially inconsequential to a man's definition and making it his Legacy."

"While most of us forget we're alive and are dead on our feet, Heath woke up everyday excited about what was out there to enjoy," wrote Bentley. "He lived in a way that spread so much spark to so many people every day he had. Heath not only lived for himself, if he could've he would Lived for all of us as well. That was his way."

The Arkansas-born Bentley, who parents are both Methodist Ministers, concluded his statement with, "My Prayers are with all who loved him, his Family, Michelle, and Matilda."

Mrs Roy Keane

Monica Bellucci
A costar with Ledger in the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm, Bellucci told PEOPLE: "With Heath I had the chance to know, not only a great actor, but a generous, sensitive human being, always attentive of others. It is a true loss."


Jeff Klein
The hotelier behind The City Hub in New York and Sunset Tower in Los Angeles blogged for The New York Times about his experience with Ledger, who stayed at the Sunset Tower with Michelle Williams and daughter Matilda after filming Brokeback Mountain.

He was one of Klein's first celebrity clients, describing Ledger as "one of the kindest, sweetest guests we have ever had" and "a gentleman to all the employees." Klein also was grateful for Ledger's help with a business deal. "I remember one time I was having a business meeting with an elderly event planner of the gay persuasion... Ledger passed by us in the lobby and with all the confidence that only someone truly comfortable with their sexuality could muster, he winked at the event planner, who just about fainted. Needless to say, I snagged the very lucrative event, thanks to Ledger's flirtatiousness...To this day, I appreciated the effort he made."


Gary Oldman
This summer Oldman will appear onscreen beside Ledger in The Dark Knight. Oldman told L.A. radio station Indie 103.1 FM that Ledger's performance as the Joker is "remarkable." Oldman added: "he put his signature on this role" and is "better than Jack [Nicholson]" who owned the role in 1989. "His interests and talents extended beyond acting... He'd do these experimental films... You could tell he was a promising writer and director, sadly the world won't see."

lizann

Heath's First True Love

ACTOR Heath Ledger's first true love was Melbourne model Christina Cauchi.
“Heath was a talented actor and wonderful person,” she said this afternoon in a statement through her manager Matthew Anderson.

"Like everyone else, I have been terribly shocked by the news of his passing in New York today.
"All my thoughts are obviously with his family at this time."
The couple first fell in love when Ledger was not in the public eye late last decade, and they had a low-key romance, rarely going out in public.

At the time she was modeling in the US.

"The only thing I will say is that I am madly, truly in love and extremely happy. I'm not saying anything else,'' Ledger told the Herald Sun in June 2000.

Soon after June 2000 the couple split, after Ledger started a romance with actress Heather Graham.

Cauchi, who lives in Melbourne with her fiance Daniel Bottari, was not commenting yesterday about his death.

"Christina Cauchi is as shocked as everyone else to hear the news about Heath Ledger's death today,'' her manager Matthew Anderson said.

While the romance ended in 2000 after he started a relationship with Graham, the couple got back together in 2001 when Ledger was living in Melbourne filming Ned Kelly.

They went to the Melbourne Cup together in November 2001, but the only other public appearance was at the premiere of The Hard Word in May 2002.

Soon after that, in July 2002, the Ledger's sister Kate confirmed to the Herald Sun that they had split.

Since then Ledger has had a number of high profile romances, including with Naomi Watts and Michelle Williams.

RIP Heath Ledger