Talented and troubled, the

Oscar winner loved big and

lived fast. Now friends and

family open up about the star

they loved and lost

BY LIZ McNEIL

Heath

Ledger

‘HeWas

Like

Wildfıre’

A

As a young boy, Heath Ledger would point to the

glow-in-the-dark stars on his bedroom ceiling, tell-

ing his father, “You know, that’s where I’m going to

be. I’m going to be a film actor.”

He made that prediction come true—with meteoric

speed. At just 19, the surfer from Perth, Australia,

landed the lead role in the teen rom-com 10 Things I

Hate About You,and a superstar was born. “Some-

times people break through because of one thing,

whether it’s good looks or talent or timing,” says

actress Naomi Watts, whom he dated after moving to

L.A ., “but he sort of had everything down.” And yet

overnight success brought unease to the free-spirited

dreamer, who had no desire to fit the leading-man

mold. “He was like wildfire,” says his childhood friend

Kane Manera. “He couldn’t be contained.”

And he wasn’t. His searing role in 2005’sBrokeback

Mountain also ignited his romance with costar

Michelle Williams, and the two welcomed daughter

Matilda Rose in 2005. But those who knew the star

best say he pushed himself to extremes, telling one

friend, “I don’t feel like I have much time. I just don’t

think I’m going to be around that long. I don’t know

why. Just gotta get things done now.”

Sadly he was right, and on Jan. 22, 2008, the

28-year-old actor was found dead in his Manhattan

apartment from an accidental overdose of prescrip-

tion drugs after weeks of battling respiratory illness

and insomnia. Now a new documentary,I Am Heath

Ledger (premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on

April 23, then airing May 17 on Spike TV ), explores

Ledger’s personal life and private struggles through

interviews with friends and family as well as previ-

ously unseen footage taken by the actor himself. “It’s

like Heath is taking us on this journey,” says the film’s

director, Derik Murray. It’s also a testament for his

now-11-year-old daughter. “We can tell her things,”

says Heath’s sister Kate Ledger, “but her being able

to see his movements and his expressions, it’s almost

like he pieced the documentary together for her.” His

loved ones hope that by sharing their memories, Led-

ger’s bright light will continue to shine. “Heath was

more than a star,” says his friend and vocal coach

Gerry Grennell. “He was a galaxy waiting to happen.”

44 April 24, 2017 PEOPLE