Andrew Garfield Says Heath Ledger Was ‘Kind of Dangerous on Set’

Heavy/Getty Heath Ledger and Andrew Garfield.

Andrew Garfield is sharing some insight into acting alongside late actor, Heath Ledger.

People magazine reported that Garfield reminisced about co-starring with Ledger in the film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” which was released a year after the “Brokeback Mountain” actor’s 2008 death, in an October 2024 interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. According to Garfield, Ledger “was just a very generous, like, beautiful, creative spirit.”

“I still have lots of mementos of his. I remember the first day I met him he was wearing these amazing Ray-Ban sunglasses. And I said, ‘Hey, cool sunglasses.’ And he was like, ‘Oh yeah?’ The next day they were in my dressing room. He just left them for me,” said Garfield during the podcast interview.

In addition, Garfield said Ledger “was so free and so wild and so kind of dangerous on set in a way that was a kind of thing that is inspiring and spontaneous.”

“He would say before every take or maybe one take every scene, ‘Let’s have some fun with this one.’ And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s have some fun with this one, right, yeah let’s have some fun.’ Rather than trying to get it right.’I think I was in the stage of my career or like development as an actor where I was really concerned with getting it right. Or being good. Whatever that means,” said Garfield.

Garfield also noted that Ledger filmed “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” after shooting the 2008 movie “The Dark Knight.”

“I think he was a kind of beacon, it was kind of like a wild animal. He had just done the Joker. He had just finished doing ‘The Dark Knight.’ And he was so smug about it. I was like, ‘How did that go?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to be good,'” stated Garfield while laughing.

People magazine reported that Ledger’s death occured before the production of “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” wrapped.

Andrew Garfield Opened up About Experiencing Grief

GettyAndrew Garfield poses in September 2024.

Garfield mentioned Ledger’s death in an October 2024 interview on “All There Is with Anderson Cooper,” hosted by Anderson Cooper. Garfield said he had experienced some grief before the 2019 death of his mother, Linda “Lynne” Garfield. He explained that he had “lost friends,” his grandparents, and mentors, such as Mike Nichols, Ledger, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

He clarified that he had not felt anything like “this absurd, surreal event of the person that gave [him] life is no longer here” after his mother’s death, which occurred after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

In addition, Garfield said he feels his mother’s presence when he is grieving.

“It’s the longing, it’s the admission of the pain. It’s the crying out. ‘Hey I need you. Where are you? I miss you so much.’ And only in that absence, in really inhabiting that absence, being that little boy at the bottom of that empty cave and that vast darkness, and just kind of crying out, That’s the only moment that she comes,” said Garfield during the interview.

Andrew Garfield Discussed His Upcoming Film, ‘We Live in Time’

GettyFlorence Pugh and Andrew Garfield pose together in September 2024.

During the “All There Is with Anderson Cooper” interview, Garfield mentioned that his upcoming film, “We Live in Time,” which also stars Florence Pugh, explores the concepts of love and loss.

“Every scene is about grief,” shared Garfield while speaking to Cooper.

Garfield made similar comments about “We Live in Time” during an October 10 interview with “Good Morning America.” He shared that he felt connected to the movie’s script following his mother’s death.

“It seemed to be very much in line with the things that I was ruminating on and considering in my life,” said Garfield in the “Good Morning America” interview. “Love, partnership, connection. Loss, risk, meaning, courage. Sorrow, grief, joy, and how those two things are one thing.”