Jake Gyllenhaal’s heartbreaking words about Heath Ledger
It’s been almost eight years since the tragic passing of Heath Ledger, the brilliant star of 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale and, of course, The Dark Knight. Though Ledger was taken from this world way too soon, his performances live on and serve as testament to his talent – particularly his turn as Ennis Del Mar, the love interest of Jake Gyllenhaal’s ill-fated Jack Twist, in the 2005 critically-acclaimed film Brokeback Mountain.
Recently, Gyllenhaal spoke to NPR’s Terry Gross about how much he misses Ledger, and how working with him was such an honor. He went on to say how it put his own life in perspective, and how losing Ledger made him feel like he lost part of his family. And just this week, Gyllenhaal told British newspaper The Mirror that being at the Venice film festival just wasn’t the same without his late friend – who was with him promoting Brokeback Mountain the last time he attended.
“I have a wonderful as well as a kind of melancholy and deeply sad feeling about returning here,” he said. “I miss him very badly.”
Gyllenhaal, who was at the festival this week to promote his upcoming drama/thriller Everest (in theaters this Friday), added, “Knowing that life is fragile makes you want to appreciate meaningful things and stop wasting time on things that are trivial and superficial. It made me want to be more present in everyday life and be as much in the moment as I can be.”
Excuse our sniffling. While we all miss Heath Ledger’s face on our screens so very much, we can’t even imagine the hole he left in the hearts of those close to him. We’re sending all our virtual hugs to Gyllenhaal, as well as the rest of Ledger’s loved ones. We miss you, Heath.
(Image via Focus Features)
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