I think its so ironic that with all the happenings with Michael Jackson that it reminded me of Heath Ledger and his sudden death. And then not a couple of days later this issue was buzzing around the internet. Although this issue was planned before Michael’s passing it’s just too freaky for me. This August 2009 issue of Vanity Fair hits news stands tomorrow and is packed with stuff I really don’t want to read. I did find some nice things that I would share…

On Heath’s devotion to acting according to director Terry Gilliam: “He would arrive in the morning completely knackered. By the end of the day he was beaming, glowing with energy. It was like everything was put into the work, because that was the joy; that’s what he loved to do. The words were just pouring out. It was like he was channeling.”

On why Heath didn’t want to take the role of the Joker according to agent Steven Alexander: Heath “was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices.”

On his motivation to perform well according to Alexander: “He wasn’t motivated by money or stardom, but by the respect of his peers, and for people to walk out of a movie theater after they’d seen something that he’d worked on and say, ‘Wow, he really disappeared into that character.’ He was striving to become an ‘illusionist,’ as he called it, able to create characters that weren’t there.”

And now for the beautiful pictures that were taken back in 2000 when Heath appeared in Vanity Fair, some of them have been published, some not. They are all amazing.

More pictures….