Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Best Thing About Being Wrong

I was late to the party when it comes to Heath Ledger, wrongly dismissing him at first as a flash-in-the-pan. It wasn’t until I saw him a couple years ago in the DVD version of MONSTER’S BALL that I sat up and took notice.


Not in a hubba-hubba, hunk way (that came later) but as a serious actor who could not only emote on the screen, but make me feel his passion and pain.

The best thing about being wrong was that I suddenly had the makings of a Heath Ledger Film Festival! I rented everything I could find, enjoying his performances, even if I wasn’t crazy about every film.



When BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN came out, I actually went to theater, and was later delighted when he was nominated for an Oscar.

I have to admit that lately he’s been photographed in some seriously ugly outfits, and that scraggly, skinny look doesn’t exactly “work” for me. But here’s a photo taken during interviews for his latest movie, CANDY, (which comes on DVD shortly) in which once again he's looking mighty fine.


I’ll be renting that one for sure, as well as just about anything else he does. The man has screen presence, and I, for one, am happy to watch. Any other Heath fans out there? (Heather?)

What I'm Reading: PROM DATES FROM HELL by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Tina
www.tinaferraro.com
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, out now

17 comments:

stephhale said...

I know that I am totally in the minority here, but he just doesn't do it for me. Too skinny. Besides, I wouldn't want to fight Heather for him because I have a feeling she'd fight to the death, especially if he was holding some Nutter Butters. :)
xo,
Steph
www.stephaniehale.com

Anonymous said...

I fell in love with Heath in a Knight's Tale. I don't think many people even saw that movie, but my husband and I loved it! Such a feel good movie and watching Heath added to the "feeling good" feeling. For me at least, maybe not my husband!

Janie

Marley Gibson said...

He had me in TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU when he humiliated himself in front of the girl he liked by serenading her from the stadium's press box, accompanied by the marching band.

Marley = )
http://www.marleygibson.com

Dona Sarkar-Mishra said...

I actually am not a huge fan (ducking for cover) BUT I think he's a great actor! Esp in Brokeback :)

TinaFerraro said...

Interesting comments, and they actually support my reactions to him, which have ranged from "not really a fan" to "good actor" to "hubba hubba".

Anyone else want to weigh in? (Calling Heather...)

alexgirl said...

Yeah, I think he's pretty hot. And the accent. I'm a sucker for accents. Except, he looked kinda rough in 10 Things I Hate About You (not a fan of the long greasy hair). And the Patriot was such a terrible movie, it was hard to see his cuteness through the crap!

Dona Sarkar-Mishra said...

I agree with Alex, I love the accent!

And Tina...check out my blog for a quickie review of PROM DRESS :)

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

I'm with Marley, I've been hooked since Ten Things I Hate About You. He's different, yet cool. I like that! :) :)

Natalie said...

I'll have to shamefully admit that I haven't seen any of his films...it can take awhile for American films to get to Italy because all films are dubbed in Italian (no subtitles!), but I'll have to check him out on DVD (where you do have the option of choosing "English"--whew!)I'm a sucker for accents, which I'd miss if I heard his Italian voice over!

Thanks for bringing him to my attention, Tina!

Diana Peterfreund said...

When my fiance and I first started dating, people used ot stop him on the street and ask him if he was Heath Ledger. Not once. Lots of times.

And so my now-fiance shaved his head. And then heath did.

They don't look alike anymore. But back when they were both in their early twenties, they did.

TinaFerraro said...

Yeah, I agree--love the accent. I'm always disappointed when he does an American one.

Natalie, yep, you gotta get on the ball with Heath. :) Although I really wouldn't recommend MONSTER'S BALL as your first Heath film...maybe CASANOVA? Or A KNIGHT'S TALE. Anyone have thoughts here?

And Diana, woo-hoo about your fiance looking like Heath! By the way, do you two have a wedding date set?

Unknown said...

Accents will do funny things to my inner squeeing fangirl. Meaning... I'll love them forever. Heath Ledger, like many here, had me as Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You.

I should never be allowed within ten feet of him. For his health and for my sanity. :)

GeminiWisdom said...

I heard he was named after Heathcliff, the character in Wuthering Heights. I don't know if it's true or not.

Did you guys ever see the short-lived series, "Roar?" That was my first Heath-sighting and I was hoping I'd see him in the future. Yeah for longevity. My all-time fav is A KNIGHT'S TALE (he seems to do very well in period pieces) with CASANOVA running a close second.

Simone Elkeles said...

I LOVE Heath! I saw Brokeback and I have 10 Things I Hate about You on my iPod. Great pics!

~Simone
www.simoneelkeles.com

Unknown said...

Total Heath Ledger fan, ever since "10 Things I Hate About You." And the Patriot. And A Knight's Tale...

In Prom Dates from Hell (since you're reading it), I'll tell you that the character Brian looks like Heath in my head. I didn't realize it until something came on the TV--A Knight's Tale, I think--and I realized that while I'd been writing the book, that's who I had pictured in my minds eye.

Heather Davis said...

Yes!!! I love me some Heath.

Sorry to chime in late, because he is my favorite (up there with Christian Bale) hottie actor. I loved Heath in 10 Things. In fact, as I've said before, he is the model for Austin in Never Cry Werewolf.

I love his scruffy, devil-may-care looks and I think he's an amazing actor to boot. He was so good Brokeback Mountain.

There's so much that could be said about Heath... ah...

And, Steph is right, she wouldn't want to tangle with me over Heath... especially with the Nutter Butters added in..

Hugs!

Heather

TinaFerraro said...

Rosemary,

Yeah, Brian sizzles, so I'm not at all surprised he's based on Heath! Thanks for sharing that...