Heath Ledger: The Heath Is On! by Nancy Krulik

Author:Nancy Krulik
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Archway
Published: 2001-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

If Heath was looking for a little R&R after the hectic, grueling Patriot shoot, he was going to have to wait. Directly after leaving South Carolina, he headed to Prague, Czech Republic, where he began filming a new movie, A Knight's Tale.

“I'm the knight,” Heath told reporters about his role as William Thatcher. “My father sends me off to work as a squire for a knight. One thing leads to another and he dies in a tournament. I jump into his armor and complete the competition. There are a lot of twists and turns.”

And also a lot of humor. Heath told iF magazine that A Knight's Tale was best described in feel as “borderline Monty Python,” referring to the legendary British comedy troupe. Since many actors consider comedy much harder to do than drama, Heath knew he was in for a big challenge by taking on the role.

Accepting the title role in A Knight's Tale was a major step for Heath's career. In Ten Things I Hate About You, Heath was part of an ensemble cast, where he could depend on the other actors for support. On the set of The Patriot, Heath had had Mel Gibson's broad shoulders to lean on. But the success of A Knight's Tale depended primarily on Heath. This time he was the star, and as such, the other actors would all be looking to him for guidance.

Even before filming began on A Knight's Tale, Heath had to admit that the pressure of being the lead in such a big film was getting to him. “It's going to be mentally laboring because it's the first big movie I have the lead in,” he admitted to Detour magazine in early 2000. “I guess I'm a little nervous about driving the bus. Before, I got to sit behind Mel and pat him on the back and go, ‘Hey, keep driving, you're doing a good job. We're all happy back here. Just make sure we get off this bus safe.’ Now I have to step up and sit in the driver's seat.”

The pressure was increased because Heath knew just how much was riding on the film's success. For starters, this was a major studio undertaking—the picture was budgeted at $45 million. Heath had beaten out several big-name actors to win the role; rumor has it Columbia Pictures chairman Amy Pascal didn't even wait to see how The Patriot did at the box office before signing on Heath for A Knight's Tale. She okayed him for the lead role after seeing only a few dailies of Heath and Mel Gibson performing together. Nailing the starring part in this film also allowed Heath to cross over into the one-millions-dollar-per-film category. Obviously a lot of people had taken a chance on Heath— and they were depending on his talent and charisma to make the film work.

They were also counting on his physical endurance. The Patriot may have required some hard physical labor on Heath's part, but it was nothing compared to the Knight's Tale shoot.

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