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Buzz Feed
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
How Heath Ledger Won His 10 Things I Hate About You Role
I think I probably speak for a lot of people when I say we aaaaall remember the first time we watched Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. The late actor's performance as Patrick Verona in the 1999 Shakespeare-inspired teen movie is, IMHO, one of the best rom-com performances of all time. And what makes it even more magical to look back on is how it marked the beginning of his incredible Hollywood acting career, which, as we now know, was tragically cut short when he died in 2008 at the age of 28. Despite having already made a name for himself in various projects in his home of Australia, Heath's performance in 10 Things I Hate About You was widely considered his global breakout, propelling him into future projects like A Knight's Tale, Monster's Ball, and, of course, Brokeback Mountain — the latter of which earned him his first Oscar nomination in 2006. Now, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the director of 10 Things I Hate About You, Gil Junger, recalled how Heath's undeniable 'magnetism' landed him the lead role, despite, at the time, being a relatively unknown actor from the other side of the world. 'Actors always wanted to know, 'What did he do? What did he do to make you cast him?'' the director said, recalling that Heath was 'magic.' 'The truth of the matter is, we were casting and he walked into the room, and I'm very picky. I had already read 253 guys — 253 guys!' he went on. 'And then Marcia Ross, the head of Disney casting, said, 'Look, this next kid, I don't know him. It's a favor for an agent I respect. So if he's no good, just stop it and send him on his way.'' As the story goes, it didn't take Gil long to realize that they had a rising star on their hands, saying: 'This is the God's honest truth, on my parents' life: He took three steps into the room, and my thought was, 'If this fucker can read English, I'm going to cast him.'' Recalling Heath's energy, Gil described Heath as 'an incredible young man.' 'He just had a magnetism unlike I've ever felt. It was undeniable,' the filmmaker recalled. 'If there's old souls, he must have been centuries old because he just had a way about him that — he was only 17, and yet he just was so confident and loving and wanted to be the best he could be.' Along with now-well-known folks like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Krumholtz, and Gabrielle Union, Heath starred in the movie opposite Julia Stiles, who played his love interest Kat. Notably, one of my favorite scenes in the film was when Heath's character, Patrick, serenades Kat with a marching band — instantly iconic. Adorably, Gil remembered Heath's first day on set, right down to the details of his outfit. 'He was wearing Frye boots from the '70s, and then he had on these worn-out olive green leather pants, a white leather belt, some crazy shirt, and a hat like a beanie,' he told EW. 'And I looked at him and I thought, 'God, he's cool.' And then I also thought, 'If I wore one of those pieces of clothing, I would be the laughing stock of everyone that knows me.'' 'He just had this magic where you could just throw anything on him, maybe even paint it, and he'd be amazingly cool, because the kid you saw in the movie, that's who he was,' he added. 'He was just an amazing human.'
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
How Heath Ledger Outacted 253 Others to Secure His Iconic "10 Things I Hate About You" Role
Heath Ledger 's breakout performance as Patrick Verona in the 1999 teen rom-com " 10 Things I Hate About You " is now mythic, yet the story behind his securing the role is as delightful as the performance itself. The Audition That Changed Everything Director Gil Junger recalled that Ledger was a new face at the time, and the casting process had been exhausting: he had already auditioned 253 actors for the role of Patrick Verona. Disney 's casting chief, Marcia Ross, had brought in Ledger as a favor to a respected agent, recalled Junger, with little hope that he would get it. But, the moment Ledger entered the room, he owned it completely. Junger remembered: Continue to video 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search Ads Search Now Undo "He took three steps into the room, and my thought was, 'If this f---er can read English, I'm going to cast him.'' Even before a word was spoken, Ledger's soulfulness led Junger to think that he had found his Patrick Verona. "He just had a magnetism unlike I've ever felt. It was undeniable. He just was so confident and loving and wanted to be the best he could be. He was just an incredible young man,' mentioned Junger. Live Events Ledger was only 17, with a rather older and more confident personality. Of Ledger's first day on set, the director spoke about his bohemian attire-Frye boots, torn olive green leather pants, a white leather belt, a wacky shirt, and a beanie-that only made him cooler and more authentic. Junger added, "He just had this magic where you could just put anything on him, maybe even paint it, and he'd be incredibly cool, because the kid you saw in the movie, that's who he was. He was just an incredible human." A Breakout Role Ledger's coming into stardom as the mysterious and charming Patrick Verona, hired to woo Julia Stiles' character Kat, was a career-defining role. The film's blend of humor, love story, and pop culture moments- like Ledger's bleacher drama in the high school- earned him a spot as a leading man in romance and set the stage for his future success in "A Knight's Tale," "Brokeback Mountain," and "The Dark Knight," for which he won a posthumous Oscar. Junger's fondness for Ledger was so immense that he would even go out of his way to ride to location with him, simply to be in his company. Now, as the director works on a spiritual follow-up to "10 Things I Hate About You," he's made it a point to avoid an outright sequel out of respect for Ledger's memory and what worked so beautifully in the original. Heath Ledger's casting wasn't a matter of reading lines-it was a matter of an instant, electric presence that separated him from a sea of other contenders.
