Hollywood Director Shares Call He Received from Heath Ledger's Father at Scene of Actor's Death

Mar. 15, 2025

Heath Ledger; Stephen Gaghan.Photo:Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

A Hollywood director has opened up about the phone call he received fromHeath Ledger’s father at the scene of the actor’sdeath.

Speaking on the latest episode of author Malcolm Gladwell’s podcastRevisionist History, director Stephen Gaghan shared how he got a call from Ledger’s dad Kim and the actor’s close friend after the star was found dead in his New York apartment in January 2008.

Gaghan, 58, explained how at the time he and Ledger were working on a film adaptation of Gladwell’s book,Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, and the script for the movie was found in bed with Ledger.

“I got a phone call, they were on speakerphone and it was Heath Ledger’s father, who I’d never met … and a guy who was really close to him. They were there with the body, and our script was in bed with him, and your book was on the bedside table,” Gaghan told Gladwell. “I think my number was on the script — like written. These guys are in, as you can imagine, they are in shock. And they dialed that number, and I don’t know why.”

Kim Ledger.Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Gaghan, who has directed films includingSyriana,Rules of EngagementandDolittle, went on to share his reaction to the tragic news, which he received while was he was at an airport with his wife, Minnie Mortimer.

“I literally just collapse. It’s never happened to me before or since,” Gaghan said. “My feet went out from under me. I just literally sat down because I was like, ‘What? What?’ The emotion, what they were going through, I should not have been a party to in any way, really, and yet as a human and somebody who just cares, I just was there and I was listening. My wife was looking at me. I remember her face and I was just speechless. I just listened and listened and listened. It was just really, really sad. And it’s still sad.”

Ledger, who was 28 at the time of his death, died due to an accidental drug overdose.

Heath Ledger.Justin GoffUK Press via Getty

Gaghan said that the shock ofThe Dark Knightstar’s death meant that the movie, which was originally going to starLeonardo DiCpario, never got made.

“For me, I just had to put a pin in it,” said Gaghan, adding that he had become “very close” with Ledger and the pair shared a “real connection.”

However, Gaghan went on to admit that revisiting the script before going on the podcast had made him realize just how special it was.

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“I got it out right before we got on. I was reading it … I was like, ‘I could be crazy, but I think this script is really good,’ ” he told Gladwell.

“Maybe it’s time to bringBlinkback to life,” added Gladwell. “If there’s someone listening in some big office somewhere in Hollywood, I will get on a plane tomorrow, if that’s what it takes.”

In 2016, Ledger’s dad Kimrecalled the last conversationHeath’s sister Kate had with the actor the night before he died.

“The last conversation Kate had with him was this discussion about his medications, and she warned him, ‘You can’t mix drugs that you don’t know anything about,’ ” Kim toldnews.com.au. “He said ‘Katie, Katie, I’ll be fine.’ Well, that’s a cavalier boy’s answer. It just put his whole system to sleep I guess.”

source: people.com