A resurfaced clip has fans mourning the late Heath Ledger all over again.
The Oscar-winning actor had no qualms about portraying a gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain,” but did have gripes with the 2005 drama becoming a punchline for homophobic jokes at the time — and openly said so during a 2006 press conference in Berlin.
With bigoted reactions to the film’s central relationship flooding the discourse, at a time when same-sex marriage had yet to be legalized in the U.S., Ledger was asked at the Berlinale International Film Festival what he would tell people “who suggest that this is disgusting.”
“Oh,” the actor, then 26, groaned at the time. “Well, I don’t know. I think it’s a real shame.”
“Well, I think it’s immature, for one,” Ledger continued. “Really immature. But I think it’s an incredible shame that people go out of their way to discuss or to voice their disgust, I should say. Or negative opinions about the way two people wish to love one another.”
“I mean, at least voice your opinions on how two people show hate and violence and anger towards each other,” he added. “Isn’t that more important? I think so. So I don’t know, and it doesn’t really concern me. I think it’s a shame, but I also feel like it’ll surprise people.”
Ang Lee’s adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by author Annie Proulx did indeed surprise people: It landed eight Academy Award nominations but lost the biggest prize to “Crash” — widely considered one of the worst Best Picture wins in history.
“The pure fact of it is it transcends a label, it’s human,” Ledger explained during the 2006 press conference. “It’s a story of two human beings, two souls that are in love. It’s like, get over the fact that there’s two men — that’s the point.”
“We’re showing that love between two men is just as infectious and emotional and strong and pure as it is with heterosexual love,” he added. “And if you can’t understand that, then just don’t go see the movie, it’s OK. You know, we don’t care.”
“Deal with it in your own private life,” he concluded.
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Ledger’s response was shared Wednesday on TikTok by PinkNews to adoration from thousands of fans, as the actor minced no words in condemning the backlash at a time when portraying gay characters was viewed as a potential career killer.
“So well stated. Heath was obviously a genuine caring human being,” one fan commented on the post, with another writing: “Gay marriage wasn’t even federally legal when this movie came out. Let alone when the movie is set. Such a beautiful, important film.”
“What a beautiful answer,” another user stated simply.
Ledger went on to reach stratospheric career heights with his villainous turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” (2008), but died of an accidental drug overdose months before its release. He won a posthumous Oscar for his performance in 2009.
“Heath ledger u will always be missed,” one fan commented Wednesday.
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