The first time I saw Heath Ledger, it was by accident. My date and later to-be husband, Nick, took me to see ‘The Sixth Sense’, finally succumbing to peer pressure to guess the big surprise ending. By now, ‘The Sixth Sense’ was off the major theater chain circuit and only screening in small suburban independent theaters, which led us to experience one of those now rare events: a double-feature matinee. The first movie was ’10 Things I Hate About You’.
Well passed teen movies, even those with Shakespearian-based scripts, we shyly admitted to liking 10 Things. Wow, I really like the male lead, what was his name? Hes Australian, you know, replied Nick. And in typical Aussie-fashion, I was doubly impressed and now stupidly filled with national pride. Another brilliant Australian up-and-comer to join the rapidly increasing queue to grace Hollywood screens.
Years later, I would often grab the DVD to fill a cheerless afternoon and find myself watching and rewinding the same scene. Over and over and over again. My secret guilty pleasure. Heath sliding down the pole, microphone in hand, singing Youre just too good to be true, cant take...