Heath Ledger finished filming this summer’s Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, in which he plays a villain, the Joker. Christopher Nolan, the film’s director, recalls Heath’s charisma and shared these beautiful memories in the latest issue of Newsweek:

“One night, as I’m standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for The Dark Knight, a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I’d fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you’d asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn’t know. That’s real charisma—as invisible and natural as gravity. That’s what Heath had.

Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren’t many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them.

One time he and another actor were shooting a complex scene. We had two days to shoot it, and at the end of the first day, they’d really found something and Heath was worried that he might not have it if we stopped. He wanted to carry on and finish. It’s tough to ask the crew to work late when we all know there’s plenty of time to finish the next day. But everyone seemed to understand that Heath had something special and that we had to capture it before it disappeared. Months later, I learned that as Heath left the set that night, he quietly thanked each crew member for working late. Quietly. Not trying to make a point, just grateful for the chance to create that they’d given him.

Those nights on the streets of Chicago were filled with stunts. These can be boring times for an actor, but Heath was fascinated, eagerly accepting our invitation to ride in the camera car as we chased vehicles through movie traffic—not just for the thrill ride, but to be a part of it. Of everything. He’d brought his laptop along in the car, and we had a high-speed screening of two of his works-in-progress: short films he’d made that were exciting and haunting. Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I’ve never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents. That night I made him an offer—knowing he wouldn’t take me up on it—that he should feel free to come by the set when he had a night off so he could see what we were up to.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we’d have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we’d done with all that he’d given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

Back on LaSalle Street, I turn to my assistant director and I tell him to clear the skateboarding kid out of my line of sight when I realize—it’s Heath, woolly hat pulled low over his eyes, here on his night off to take me up on my offer. I can’t help but smile.”

Heath Ledger was remembered at the G’Day USA: Australia Week 2008 black tie gala at NYC’s Waldorf Astoria on Saturday.

Australia’s consul-general in New York John Olsen read a letter written by Heath’s father, Kim Ledger.

The unexpected letter choked up the 1,000 guests inside the grand ballroom. Tears flowed as the letter was read:

“Heath is, and always will be, an Australian. He adored his home. His last two weeks with us over Christmas in Perth were just bliss. Heath did not become an actor for the fame or fortune. He loved his craft and he loved helping his friends. He loved chess and skateboarding too. My image of Heath in New York is him with his skateboard, a canvas bag and his beanie. That was Heath to me.”

A minute’s silence was held in Heath’s honor after the speech was read.

Beautiful.

Mary-Kate Olsen speaks out days after the the death of Heath Ledger.

“Heath was a friend,” MK tells ET. “His death is a tragic loss. My thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time.”

Heath Ledger’s family have written about the loss of the Hollywood actor in the Australian newspaper West Australian.

Heath’s mom, Sally: “Our darling boy, special in so many ways to all of us. You knew you were so loved. You lived life with courage and daring and we are so grateful for the wonderful times we shared. We will be there for Matilda.”

Heath’s older sister, Kate: “I can hardly breathe when I try to write this. We were the ultimate in soul mates. I feel both my heart and life have been torn apart. I loved our special talks, our daily chats from where ever you were in the world. I especially loved all the precious time we spent together. We were so fortunate to have you as long as we did. You were so many things to so many people, but to me you were just my little brother. There will never, ever be another “Heath” and I think that in itself is the greatest tragedy. I will continue to talk with you everyday and love you just as if you were here. You will never leave my thoughts ‘Roast’, ever.” (Roast was her nickname for him)

Heath’s father, Kim: “My beautiful boy, so loving, so talented, so independent, so caring, so young . . . no more chess games mate . . . this is it, couldn’t beat you anyway! My body aches for the sound of your voice, our chats, our laughs and our life and times together. Your truly varied artistic skills, insatiable desire to improve and eclectic abilities set you apart from any other person on the planet . . . it had only just started for you … and for us to further enjoy. We were one, in soul and commitment. Just . . . Father and Son. I will love you forever, Dad.”

Heath’s entire family: “How do we describe our sudden and tragic loss? … You were the most amazing individual “old soul” in a young man’s body. You so loved us, as we dearly loved you. As a close knit and very private family unit we have observed you so determined yet quietly travelling in your self-styled path in life, nothing would get in your way … no mountain too tall, no river too wide. You dreamed your dreams and lived them with passion and intelligent commitment. We have been privileged to accompany you on a ride through life that has simply been amazing and through it all, we have loved each other beyond imagination. Your true legacy lives on in beautiful little Matilda, who will always remain in the greatest of care. Our hearts are broken.”

Here’s one relationship you might not know about. Heath Ledger dated Australian model Christina Cauchi on and off between 2000 and 2002.

These pictures show Heath, then 22, and Cauchi on a double date with Heath’s sister and her boyfriend. The foursome were sight-seeing in Rome, Italy. These pictures were taken March 17, 2002.

Not too long after their break-up, Heath started dating Aussie actress Naomi Watts. Previously, he had dated actress Heather Graham (2001).

30+ pictures inside of Christina Cauchi sightseeing with Heath Ledger… More Here! »

CNN host Anderson Cooper set his foot down last night, refusing to cover the death of Heath Ledger until hard facts and new evidence turns up. Here’s what he had to say on the 360 blog:

“For the last two nights we have reported on actor Heath Ledger. His shocking death is clearly a story a lot of people are interested in, but tonight we will not be reporting more on it. The truth is there is not really anything new to report.

The full results of the various tests done on Mr. Ledger will not be ready for perhaps a few weeks and there is very little new information. I have no doubt other networks will spend a lot of time tonight discussing his death and the various rumors about what might have caused it, but I am not a fan of speculation, so unless there is something really new to discuss we probably won’t be covering it anymore anytime soon.”

Star Jones also wrote a similar piece about Heath on HuffingtonPost.com.

Says Star, “Might I suggest that we in the media, instead of reporting on the dead based on gossip, rumor, innuendo and anonymous sources, choose to honor this man’s memory based on his talent and the good taste we all should be exercising. My heart goes out to the family of Heath Ledger.”

Mary-Kate Olsen and Heath Ledger were dating for three months before Heath’s death, reports People.

Ledger, 28, and Mary-Kate, 21, first met summer 2006, when he was living at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont.

“Mary-Kate and Heath were casually dating for three months before Heath’s death,” a source reveals. “They were hooking up, but neither were particularly interested in making it exclusive… They had a bond that was based on partying, and they had the same tastes in partying … like, in terms of where they liked to hang out in New York, what time they would want to go out. They just had the same sensibility.”

Earlier this week, New York Post and Daily News reported that the two were dating.

ETonline posted the first photo of Michelle Williams, Heath Ledger’s former fiancee, and 2-year-old daughter Matilda Rose arriving at at Landvetter Airport in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The picture was taken on Wednesday morning. The mother-daughter duo caught a flight to New York after learning of the 28-year-old actor’s untimely death. They are expected to arrive around 6PM EST.

Michelle, 27, had been in Sweden working on her new film Mammoth, also starring Gael García Bernal.