Mon, 29 June 2009 at 2:15 pm

Heath Ledger Covers Vanity Fair

Heath Ledger’s final days are chronicled in Peter Biskind’s cover story, “The Last of Heath,” in the August 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, on NY/LA stands July 1 and nationally July 7.

“[Heath] was ready to bust out of the gate, but he didn’t want to step on the gas and become something that he didn’t want to become: a matinee idol,” Heath’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, told Vanity Fair. “He was a private person, and he didn’t want to share his personal history with the press. It just wasn’t up for sale. That’s part of the reason he initially tore down his career. He wasn’t motivated by money or stardom, but by the respect of his peers, and for people to walk out of a movie theater after they’d seen something that he’d worked on and say, ‘Wow, he really disappeared into that character.’ He was striving to become an ‘illusionist,’ as he called it, able to create characters that weren’t there.”

Check out the full article at VanityFair.com.

Posted to: Heath Ledger
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57 Comments

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# 51

Michelle @ 07/01/2009 at 4:30 am

In respect to Heath’s death, seriously does Rest In Peace mean nothing to Vanity Fair? His untimely death struck our hearts over a year ago, so why do we need to bring his life story back again???? You should be covering Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett’s life story.

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# 52

tmb @ 07/01/2009 at 9:10 am

@irish girl:
Give her a break. Good actors make their fans feel like they’re connected. Isn’t there some celebrity that you think would be your best friend if only you could just meet? lol I am a big fan of Robert Downey Jr, and I’ve never met him but I’m still proud that he was able to overcome addiction and get his life back on track. As a recovering addict myself I look to people like him as inspiration, and he’s also an example of how well addicts can do when they are given a second chance. So based on that I guess you would say I am “overdramatic”. Michelina expresses her honest emotion in a comment forum, and you make it sound like she has a mental disorder. I’m with you Michelina, he was a good actor, and everytime I see The Dark Knight I get pissed at him for not taking better care of himself. That performance was a preview of what was going to happen to his caeer, and it sucks that it’ll never happen.

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# 53

jackie @ 07/05/2009 at 5:04 am

lovely photos of Heath Ledger

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# 54

anna @ 07/15/2009 at 12:39 pm

When Heath Ledger died, his friends and colleagues built a respectful wall of silence around his personal life. Terry Gilliam should probably have done the same. Still, the comments made about Ms. Williams sounded plausible. Relationships often turn toxic when one partner, sometimes with the best of intentions, sets out to change, or “fix”, the other. I wish the original version of Heath Ledger were still around … smoking his pot, drinking his wine … thrilling us with his breathtaking creative genius. Maybe he didn’t need “fixing”. One thing seems clear. This young man was too gentle to live among the wolves.

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# 55

Kitty @ 09/30/2009 at 8:18 am

such a beautiful smile.
It’s strange.
This article made me smile.
And then it made me tear up.
There are men in this world…
and then there’s Heath Ledger.
Love you sweetheart, R.I.P.
<3

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# 56

ElmaBlu @ 10/13/2009 at 2:38 pm

@Anonymous: Dear “anonymous”, He was already famous! That’s why it was such a big story! The lost future of a great talent…it’s so sad we won’t get to see him grow & prosper in his craft.