Yup, last year's ShoWest "Male Star of Tomorrow" has come into his own, and the soon-to-be 23-year-old is a sexy star today, taking 10.1 percent of your votes to become the fifth sexiest male star in Hollywood. -hollywood.com
EAGLE-EYED Confidential readers may have noticed that in yesterday's photograph of Hollywood star Heath Ledger walking the red carpet at the premiere of The Hard Word, he was clutching a female hand.
And while he did his utmost to make a low-key entrance – wearing a hat, keeping his head down, refusing to stop for photographers and practically running into the cinema – his appearance did not pass unnoticed. According to our southern state counterparts, the mystery blonde with him was Melbourne model Christina Cauchi who dated the A Knight's Tale star before he became an international name. (may 2002)
Australian actor Heath Ledger has escaped unscathed from a series of dangerous stunts during filming for his latest movie Four Feathers. Ledger, 22, reportedly rankled movie insurers by insisting on completing his own stunts, one of which was described as "life-risking", during filming of the $210 million extravaganza set in Britain and Morocco. The star of The Patriot, Ledger decided he did not need a double to record a scene in which his horse is shot at full gallop and falls as two armies charge at each other. According to reports in London, Ledger "goes down with the horse, then runs across the path of the galloping army, only to mount another galloping horse." "It's very spectacular," said a set insider. "The stunt really does have the desired effect because you think 'Wow, that's really him (Ledger).' And it is. "The insurers were having kittens because if anything had have happened to him, we would have been in deep trouble." Ledger stars opposite Kate Hudson, of Almost Famous, Tim Piggott-Smith, Michael Sheen and Alex Jennings. The move will be released later this year. -Leo Schlink in London (3 February 2002)
"Actor/director Peter Berg has signed on to direct the Columbia Pictures thriller "Nautica"... as a tribute to late director Ted Demme. This was to be Demme’s next project, until his untimely death in mid-January left the film's status in limbo. Ewan McGregor and Heath Ledger were originally signed on to star in the film. Ledger dropped out recently, as he will now portray Ned Kelly in a biopic about the famous Australian outlaw, beginning production in April. Ledger is also committed to star in Oliver Stone’s "Alexander the Great" biopic, which is scheduled to start lensing in October, so he obviously doesn't have much time for sailing. Currently, McGregor is still attached to the project and a replacement for Ledger is being sought. Filming is expected to begin sometime later this year." - chud.com
Hollywood hunks Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger have left studio bosses fuming, after growing beards for their new movie. Twenty-four-year-old Brit Orlando and Aussie star Heath, 23, are both starring in Ned Kelly, a film about the legendary Australian outlaw. And, although, the Brad Pitt-style shaggy facial hair they have grown for the flick is historically accurate, Hollywood bosses are terrified their new beards will jeopardize the pair's sex appeal with female film fans. After much negotiation, Bloom and Ledger agreed to trim down to a trendy stubble-look, but it was too late - too many scenes had been shot to start again.
In what might well be the winning blow in the battle to mount an epic feature film about Alexander the Great, Oliver Stone is set to direct Heath Ledger as the Macedonian conqueror in "Alexander," an independently financed project set to begin filming Oct. 16 in India. -NEW YORK (Variety)
Heath Ledger
Age: 22
MVP MOMENT: It's tough to outshine consummate box office babe Mel Gibson, but Ledger managed to hold his own against the heavyweight in the Revolutionary War epic, The Patriot.
THIS SEASON: The Aussie heartthrob once again sidesteps standard-issue blockbusters, as he stars in the historical romance Four Feathers and the religious epic Sin Eater, opposite his A Knight's Tale honey Shannyn Sossamon; in 2003 he'll go Jesse James on us as Australian outlaw Ned Kelly in Our Sunshine.
SCOUTING REPORT: "A Knight's Tale didn't do it for him. He needs to be in a movie that opens because of his presence and validates that he's a star," says our scout, one of Hollywood's top casting agents (who asked for anonymity).
PLAYING THE FIELD: "For me, acting is a form of expression," Ledger says. "I discovered this curiosity about human nature and how people work. I love what I do--the time between action and cut is precious."
BATTING AVERAGE: .400
Premier Magazine, March 2002
Australian actor Heath Ledger has escaped unscathed from a series of dangerous stunts during filming for his latest movie Four Feathers.
Ledger, 22, reportedly rankled movie insurers by insisting on completing his own stunts, one of which was described as "life-risking", during filming of the $210 million extravaganza set in Britain and Morocco. The star of The Patriot, Ledger decided he did not need a double to record a scene in which his horse is shot at full gallop and falls as two armies charge at each other.
According to reports in London, Ledger "goes down with the horse, then runs across the path of the galloping army, only to mount another galloping horse."
"It's very specutacular," said a set insider. "The stunt really does have the desired effect because you think 'Wow, that's really him (Ledger).' And it is.
"The insurers were having kittens because if anything had have happened to him, we would have been in deep trouble."
Ledger stars opposite Kate Hudson, of Almost Famous, Tim Piggott-Smith, Michael Sheen and Alex Jennings. The move will be released later this year.
Leo Schlink in London 3 February 2002
If you haven't heared the rumor about Heath and Tara Reid then here it is...
According to the gossip columnists at the New York Post, Reid and Ledger are rumored to have bumped into each other at a London airport. It turns out that both celebs were headed for a film festival in Paris.
When they arrived at the city of love, Reid and Ledger checked into the same hotel and got quite comfy with each other over the next three days. The New York Post quotes one spy as saying Tara and Heath were "all over each other."
This was in people magazine.
Speaking of Thornton,
He just got out of prison. He and Aussie hearthrob Heath Ledger recently wrapped Monster's Ball, in which they play father-son correction officers. They shot part of the drama at the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, where 120 inmates, mostly lifers, appeared as extras. Although the director, Mac Forster, asked for real inmates, he had no hand in the actual casting. "That was up to the warden," he tells us.
*Have more news then mail me and I'll post it*
