Not much has changed there, either. Now dating fellow actor Heather Graham, the Boogie Nights rollergirl and Austin Powers's spy, with constant rumours of an imminent engagement, Ledger struggles to keep their relationship resolutely private. Over the years, in any case, he's developed his own tactic for keeping both feet on the ground. People can let it all go to their heads, but I just look up at the sky, imagine I'm on Mars and realise how small the Earth is, and how insignificant this industry is. It doesn't mean anything.
Nothing really does from up there.
He's fond, too, of insisting that the day his job is no longer fun, he'll simply walk away from it. A Knight's Tale , which opens on July19, certainly looks as if it was fun to make over its four-month shoot in Prague. You is a rollicking fantasy, naturally a bit silly, but yet another glorious showcase for Ledger. We never sat down and concentrated on history or background or analysed characters. It was all about building friendships with the cast and drawing on something real to put up on screen.