2nd part
Though Ledger good-naturedly complains about riding horses at work, he admits that he also rides them in his spare time. I fact, he fondly relates how he used to ride through Griffith Park when he lived in L.A.
"I used to go riding with an Australian friend of mine. He'd been out here for a while and somehow he got a job at a horse ranch as a tour guide. And they'd shut down every night around 6 or seven and we'd go out and grab the horses and ride all through the night to the observatory."
In addition to horseback riding, Ledger shoots a musket for his role in "The Patriot". "It's always fun with this job because you get to learn all these crazy little skills. I mean, when am I ever going to fire a musket again? And we did fire them. We set little bottles up on the hill and shot at them."
Making a Fuss Over Three Stitches
As if to prove that he indeed shot a musket, Ledger proudly displays a scar he aquired when his index finger got stuck against his gun's flint rock. "It was my first set of stitches," Ledger explains, cradling his finger. "The worst thing about it was that the rock was layered with gunpowder that jammed into my wound. So I was screaming like a baby. They took me to the hospital, gutted it out and stitched it up. I went straight back to work. they only gave me, like, three stitches, but I wanted five because I'd made such a fuss and I wanted to go back and say, 'At least I had five stitches!'"
Working with gibson - who grew up in Australia and is especially revered there - posed a bit of a challenge for Ledger, who says he wasn't intimidated but a bit nervous. "I just wanted to give him a lot because I knew he was going to give me a lot," he says. "I just wanted to live up to something and give him something to work with. I guess I was nervous in finding that within myself to see if I could do it. But, you know, he puts you at ease within the first few minutes of meeting him. He's a lovely man, incredibly funny and professional. He's everything that you wouldn't think a superstar would be."
As for whether Ledger aspires to be a star himself, he says his goals aren't that specific.
"I like to leave things open and let things present themselfes, and then indulge them or turn my back on them."
What comes across initally as humility on Ledger's part, Gibson suggests, may actually be cautious restraint as he begins to attract more attention. "I think it may be getting a little weird for him," Gibson says. "I'm only guessing here, because I haven't talked to him about this, but it could be getting a little 'out here' for him. He might be thinking, 'Whoa-a-a-a-a! Hold on for the ride,' you know?"
