Heath Ledger’s uncle gave an interview to US Weekly in which he made it clear that his brother was widely misquoted on the “Heath Ledger love child” story that had everyone talking earlier in the week. Heath’s uncle, Haydn Ledger, was quoted as saying a love child of Heath’s was a “real possibility,” but Heath’s other uncle, Mike, says his brother just gave a noncommittal response like “anything is possible,” not something like “that’s really possible.”

One thing Heath’s other uncle said that made it sound like this could be true though, is that “it’s been a rumor for a long time.”

How did the rumors start?
All my brother Haydn said was that anything is possible, and from there, it just went absolutely berserk. At the end of the day, our thoughts are with the little girl in question, and we’re not prepared to make any more comments at all.

So Haydn said something, and it was taken out of context?
Yes. Haydn was asked a question that wasn’t’t directly related to the Heath issue: ‘If someone was this age, could it be possible?’ and Haydn said ‘Anything is possible,’ and that’s it. His statement was absolutely taken out of context. Absolutely.

So you and Haydn don’t know for a fact if Heath had another child or not?
No. It’s just a rumor! It’s been a rumor for a long while.

Did you and the rest of Heath’s family know about Heath having a girlfriend who was older?
There were rumors. He was a young, good-looking guy, and he attracted lots of women.

[From US Weekly]

The Daily Mail has one of their long suggestive stories about an interview with the unnamed woman who is rumored to have had Heath’s love child after a 1996 affair when he was 17 and she was 25. The woman had a daughter after they broke up. The Daily Mail titles the article “Heath Ledger ‘former lover’ refuses to confirm whether he fathered her 11-year-old,” but the woman didn’t “refuse to confirm” it at all, she said “no” flat out, in a statement at the end.

The woman’s husband, who it sounds like was not around at the time the girl was born as he knows he is not the father, says that they would gladly submit to a DNA test, but Heath’s former lover says that’s out of the question, but that he’s not the father anyway.

Agreeing that he was not the girl’s father, the woman’s husband said: “I’m the step-dad, but there’s nothing to hide…and if I asked (the mother) I’m sure that she wouldn’t mind (to have a DNA test).”

But he wondered how they could even get Heath Ledger’s DNA.

However, his wife refused to have any part of the DNA suggestion.

“I’m not answering anything,” she said. “I think it’s very, very rude that I’m being posed all of this. I really do. I can’t talk about anything…”

“When you are considering an 11-year-old girl who has to go to school and be a part of society, that is my main concern,” she said.

Of the persistent rumours, she said: “You have no proof, there’s no background, there’s no grounds, there’s no nothing.

“I’m not going to answer anything or go into anything at all.” Her husband supported her denials.

“The whole thing with that (Heath being the father) is no. No way. No can be. It would probably be a great thing if she was, but no.”

[From The Daily Mail]

If the Daily Mail didn’t completely make up that interview, and I definitely wouldn’t put it past them, then the mother sounds like she’s completely denying that Heath is the father. Even if he is the father, she doesn’t want to acknowledge that possibility and is not going after any of Heath’s estate, assuming this interview is real. (The Mail is hardly accountable for it given that they don’t give a name or any other details that would explain how they were able to get in touch with her.)

As it is, the only one fueling these “love child” rumors is the media, looking for some more dirt to dig up on a dead guy who died of a prescription drug interaction.

Late actor Heath Ledger is said to have had an affair at the age of 17 with a 25 year-old woman in his native Australia. The woman was in a relationship with someone else at the time and everyone assumed that the baby she had after she and Heath broke up, a girl, was the other guy’s daughter. The child would be 12 this year and one of Ledger’s uncles, the same one who was talking trash about Heath’s father’s ability to handle Heath’s estate, confirmed that the girl is potentially Heath’s.

The Hollywood star is believed to have been 17 when he had an affair with an older woman.

The mother - in a relationship with another man at the time - is thought to have only learned she was pregnant after the affair with Ledger ended.

Ledger’s uncle, Haydn Ledger, yesterday confirmed there was a “real possibility” his nephew had fathered a girl with the woman.

Family sources said the girl was raised by the woman and the other man, although there were suspicions about the child’s father.

Ledger’s parents Kim Ledger and Sally Bell yesterday refused to comment on the latest scandal.

If the claims are confirmed, it could split his multi-million dollar estate between daughter Matilda Rose and the love child…

Heath was still at school at Guildford Grammar when he began the affair with the woman, then aged 25.

Yesterday another family source said: “She had the baby. Everyone lived under the assumption that she was the daughter of the mother’s boyfriend and that is how she has been brought up.”

The woman is now married with a young family.

[From News.com.au]

Heath’s will was drawn up in April, 2003 before he had Matilda. His father, mother and sisters were listed as beneficiaries and he had only $145,000 in assets at that time. Many news outlets were confused by this number, and assumed Heath squandered his millions before he died. It is assumed that he did have millions in the bank and that $145k represents his savings in 2003 when the will was written.

Heath’s father, Kim, has said that his son’s one known daughter, Matilda, will be taken care of. Kim’s brothers question his ability to handle the multi-million estate, and cite his mishandling of their late father’s estate in the mid 80s. Kim Ledger squandered over $2 million of his late father’s money, leaving his brothers with nothing. He was eventually removed as executor by the Western Australian Supreme court.

If Heath has a 12 year-old love child this could get interesting. Matilda’s mom Michelle Williams has a thriving movie career and her daughter will hardly suffer if her grandfather doesn’t leave her the bulk of the estate. This other woman could potentially gain millions if her daughter is Heath’s. It’s not going to happen without a drawn and highly publicized legal battle, though.

Heath Ledger’s uncles have gone public with their concerns over Heath’s father Kim Ledger’s spotty track record of managing financial estates. After Heath’s death, it was revealed that the actor left his assets to his parents and sisters, because he hadn’t updated his will since before his relationship with actress Michelle Williams and the birth of their daughter Matilda. Now, Kim Ledger’s brothers are expressing worry that Kim’s lack of asset management skills could jeopardize the estate.

Heath Ledger’s uncles are speaking out against his father Kim’s handling of the actor’s assets, saying Kim has a bad track record of estate management.

Ledger’s father so mishandled the management of their grandfather’s estate 15 years ago in Australia that Kim was removed as executor, the uncles claim.

“It plunged into enormous debt,” Mike Ledger, one of Kim’s brothers, tells PEOPLE.

Heath died in January at age 28 of an accidental mixture of prescription drugs – leaving behind a daughter, Matilda, by his ex, actress Michelle Williams. His will, written before his relationship with Williams, leaves everything to his parents and sisters.

Ledger’s uncle Mike insists the family has nothing to gain by removing Kim: “Our only vested interest is to assure that Matilda is well looked after.”

Mike added that Kim’s recent statement that Matilda “will be taken care of” was not enough assurance. “When you are talking about large sums of money like this,” he says, “it should be an independent executor, but Kim hasn’t chosen that way.”

Williams’s Father Raises Questions
Another of Kim’s brothers, Hayden, tells PEOPLE that Williams’s father, Larry, asked him if Kim was capable of managing the actor’s estate. “I just said, ‘No, not if he handles it like ours,’ ” he says.

The bitter dispute among the brothers dates back more than 15 years, when Kim became an executor of their grandfather Sir Frank Ledger’s estate, which they estimate was worth about $2 million in the mid 1980s. The family patriarch was a respected engineer in Perth.

According to the newspaper The Australian, Frank’s daughters filed a motion in Supreme Court asking to have Kim removed as the executor. The submission to the court stated that Kim’s handling of his grandfather’s estate “placed the assets at risk.” A report in Australia’s The Sunday Times says that a Supreme Court judge eventually removed Kim from overseeing the estate.

[From People]

Quite frankly, it’s none of the uncles’ business how Kim Ledger chooses to manage his son’s estate. But this does illustrate how important it is for people to update their wills and make sure their financial assets are in order, even when they’re only in their 20s. You just never know what will happen, and it’s really a strain on the surviving family who has to figure all of that out after you’re gone. I’m sure little Matilda is going to be provided for, no matter what. Heath’s family and Michelle Williams will see to that.

Kim Ledger is shown in the header image outside his son’s funeral on 2/10/08, thanks to Splash News. (We said we would post no funeral photos, but this one is a little different.) Heath is shown below in London taking his daughter out in her stroller.

Two days before Heath Ledger passed away, Michelle Williams spoke frankly about her painful breakup in an interview with Elle Magazine. She talked about feeling out of place and without a purpose after they broke up. If that was how she felt when she was just estranged from him, it must have been awful when he passed so unexpectedly:

At the time, she was still mourning their breakup. “I didn’t know where to go” after their 2007 split, she says in the magazine’s April issue. “I couldn’t imagine any place in the world that was gonna feel good to me.”

Williams, 27, dove into work on several films, because “when I have too much free time, that’s when things start to get a little messy.”

She also naturally focused on Matilda, 2, her daughter with Ledger. “She’s bigger to me than any relationship, bigger than the awards,” Williams says. “She’s what came out of it.”

[From People.com]

Elle has a segment of the interview on their website, and Williams’ statements are almost haunting in retrospect. She talks about how she faced what sounds like depression for a long time, and how she was a solemn person from a young age:

“I have that feeling inside, like when something really tickles or delights me—it’s not singular. I recognize all the awful things in the world, and in spite of them, I can still laugh.” This hyperawareness has come at a price. “For so long, I felt like a walking open wound everywhere I went,” she says. “There’s this Joan Didion quote about being afflicted from an early age with a presentiment of loss. Did I come into the world like that? Or was I kind of gifted that?”

[From Elle.com]

I know how it is to wait for the other shoe to drop. Sometimes when I’m with my son I start to worry that something will happen to him. It’s like you love and cherish someone so much that you think that there’s another side to it and that everything could come crumbling down. When it does, as in the case of a breakup or death, it’s especially painful because you think you must have done something wrong and you wonder how you could have prevented it.

Williams said in that interview that she threw herself into her work to avoid thinking too hard about her breakup. I hope that she’s able to find some peace, and that having her daughter there will help her through this very tough time. It seems somehow sadder for her that she didn’t feel grounded before Heath passed.

Michelle Williams is shown on 10/4/07 at the NY Film Festival, thanks to PRPhotos.

The DEA’s investigation into Heath Ledger’s death is underway. The NY Daily News reports that a doctors in California and Texas are being investigated to see if they prescribed the painkillers Oxycontin and Vicodin to Ledger legally. Officials say that “it’s not clear if there was any wrongdoing.”

Heath died from a deadly combination of six prescription medications, the painkillers Oxycontin (oxycodone), and Vicodin (hydrocodone), anti-anxiety drugs Valium (diazepam), and Xanax (alprazolam), and sleeping pills Restoril (temazepam), and Unisom (doxylamine). From the statements of the medical examiner, he died from the combined effects of those drugs and not from taking too much of a single medication.

It’s possible that Heath obtained prescriptions over the Internet, considering that one of the doctors is in Texas and that the painkiller prescriptions are being investigated. We try not to speculate too much with this case, and there were a lot of inaccurate rumors immediately following his death. He traveled all over for his job and may have been legitimately prescribed drugs by different physicians without being warned of the possible side effects of mixing them.

Either way, his death shows that combining prescription medication can be deadly. A representative for the DEA told US Weekly “We’re trying to educate that legal drugs… can be just as dangerous as more hardcore drugs when misused or abused.”

According to TMZ, the prescription bottles found in Ledger’s apartment were nearly full, suggesting that he either rarely used them or was just starting new medications.

Update: Both doctors were questioned and cleared by the DEA, according to the NY Post. Neither doctor had prescribed the Vicodin or Oxycontin, but each had apparently given him prescriptions for other unnamed medications.

Rumors have been floating around for a while that several actors may fill in for the late Heath Ledger in his last, unfinished film, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” Today Colin Farrell confirmed that he, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law will share the remaining parts of Heath Ledger’s role.

“I will be honored to be part of that,” the actor told the Herald Sun.

Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp will split what remains of Ledger’s role.

“It makes me feel uncomfortable to think about it too much and to get into it really here but it’s an incredibly painful honour to have, you know, and an honour I wish wasn’t bestowed but an honour none-the-less,” Farrell said.

“It’s about getting Heath’s work out there, get his work out there, he’s too good for any of his work not to be seen, you know, and I’m really keen and looking forward to doing it and just doing the best job I can do,” the actor added.

[From Us Weekly]

Christopher Pummer, who also stars in the film, said that the film deals with magic, so it’s possible to alter the script a little in a way that will explain why Ledger’s character looks different. He also said that they’ll probably use some CGI imagery as well.

In other Colin Farrell news, he will be the best man at his brother’s same sex marriage ceremony this spring – and he’s paying for the whole thing. Eamonn Farrell is getting married in Provincetown, Massachusetts to his longtime partner. Colin’s four-year-old son James will be the ring bearer. Colin has really brought his A-game the last few years since he’s become a father. James is a special needs child, and Farrell has done a lot to bring attention to the Special Olympics and other worthy causes – along with a lot of smaller random acts of kindness that haven’t been widely reported on by the mainstream press. Colin is said to be very happy for his brother, and the whole wedding will be a family affair.

“Colin is the best brother in the world to Eamonn. So Eamonn asked him to be the best man when he and Steven get married.

“Colin took Eamonn shopping for the wedding ring - and intends to pick up the tab for the wedding.”

“Colin is a firm believer in gay rights and he is proud of his brother, said the source. “Colin has played bisexual and gay roles several times in his career.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, February 18, 2008]

Colin also told “The Advocate” that love is what’s important, not sexual preference. He seems to have a really wonderful and loving attitude towards his whole family, and his comments about taking Heath Ledger’s role were very humble and beautiful. I’m sure all three actors will bring a lot of depth and compassion to the experience.

Here’s Colin Farrell at a panel discussion for Arthur Levine’s book ‘Click’ on October 22nd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Lindsay Lohan talked about Heath Ledger in the New Yorker magazine interview that accompanies her topless tribute to Marilyn Monroe. We covered this story earlier today, but here’s a recap: Lohan called Marilyn’s suicide tragic and then said “You know, it’s also tragic what just recently happened to someone else.” When the journalist said Heath’s name she shook her head yes and “hey are both prime examples of what this industry can do to someone… But I sure as hell wouldn’t let it happen to me.”

Despite the fact that Lohan annoys the hell out of me, I hope she moves to somewhere far away without paparazzi or tanning spray facilities and stops spending money so she can live adequitely (spelling deliberate) outside of the spotlight. I certainly wouldn’t want her to meet a tragic end unless it involves personal bankruptcy and not death. Her father says that the latter is a possibility, considering that she is now, or has at some time, taken many of the same prescription drugs as Heath Ledger was went he died. It sounds like their whole family has the same inflated sense of self importance as their orange daughter:

When Heath died, he was taking some of the same medications that Lindsay Lohan has been prescribed, says her dad, Michael Lohan. “Even before Heath’s death, I told Lindsay that I’m very concerned about the pills she’s taking. Doctors had Lindsay on Oxycontin when she broke her wrist. They also had her on Adderall for ADD, Xanax for depression and anxiety and Ambien for insomnia. Although Lindsay, 21, has told Michael, “Don’t worry, Dad, I’m okay,” he believes that doctors are overmedicating young stars. “I’m not only fearful for Lindsay, but for all the other kids out there… Most of these young people shouldn’t be on some of these medications - instead, they should get spiritual guidance, counseling and exercise. These new drugs get into their bones and bloodstreams and they have to detox to get off them or they can have seizures or possibly die.”

[From In Touch, print edition, February 25, 2008]

Leave it to Michael Lohan to make Heath Ledger’s death about his daughter. At least he has some experience in the field, now that he’s working at a faith-based rehab. He also kept the proselytizing to a minimum, you have to give him credit for just saying “spiritual guidance” instead of name-dropping God and/or His Only Son.

I was confused about the “drugs get into their bones” comment, and asked my husband about it. He’s a scientist and works in the pharmaceutical industry and he told me that drugs can conceivably get into the bones because there are blood vessels there. It terms of detox you would be more worried about drugs getting trapped in fatty tissue, though, not in your bones, even with someone as skinny as Lohan.

Michael Lohan is shown with Lindsay in Cirque Lodge rehab last year.

There are at least two new official action figures coming out that depict Heath Ledger’s much-anticipated Joker character in the Batman movie The Dark Knight, which is due for release on July 18. Ledger called his Joker “a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy …” and was open about how he suffered insomnia and psychological torment during his grueling preparation for the role. His family said that it’s fine with them that the action figures are released and that Heath was proud of his portrayal of the Joker. The NY Post quotes a toy expert who acknowledges that the action figures may become collectibles as a result of Heath’s untimely death:

The Post got a sneak peek at the action figures for this summer’s upcoming Batman flick “The Dark Knight,” in which Ledger stars as the psychotic villain The Joker .

Although the doll is being unveiled less than a week after Ledger’s funeral, his family stands behind the company’s decision to go ahead with marketing the collectible.

“Heath was very proud of his work in the film, and his family is aware and supportive of Warner Bros. and its partner’s plans for the movie,” said a family spokesperson.

Mattel will be selling two versions of the Joker doll, both of which hit store shelves in May.

The first retails for $7.99 and features a rocket launcher that can be placed in the Joker’s hand.

The second (pictured), a slightly larger, more detailed version created by famed action-figure designers the Four Horsemen, sells for $10.99 and comes with a toy knife.

“It’s not exactly a marketing point,” said Mattel’s P.J. Lewis of Ledger’s death. “But kids are going to buy the toy if they like the movie.”

Cliff Annicelli, editor of Playthings magazine, said he believes Ledger’s death will definitely increase sales of the Joker figure, especially among adults.

“I would expect it will be a hotter collectible than it would have been before his death,” said Annicelli.

Mattel will probably rely on comic book stores, instead of toy stores, to sell most of the figurines, he added.

“That’s been the marketing plan all along, because the movie is dark and not particularly kid-appropriate,” Annicelli said.

[From The NY Post]

I really want to see this film, because the last Batman with Christian Bale was phenomenal. It was a rare mix of a superhero action film with real depth and emotion. Plus, there was Christian Bale. It’s going to be hard to see Heath on screen, and not think about the fact that he’s gone and that it was one of his last roles. He’s undoubtedly owned it, and advance buzz is that his Joker is darker and scarier than we’ve ever seen before.

Warner Brothers is expected to step away from marketing the film based on The Joker out of respect to Heath. The NY Daily News quotes the editor of boxofficeguru.com as saying that “Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is already one of the most anticipated screen characters of the whole year.”

Here’s the trailer for Batman: The Dark Knight

Thanks to /flim for the movie poster below and still of Heath and Maggie Gyllenhaal. There are other genuine-looking photos of Heath’s character floating out there that I’ve found, but they seem to be off limits for now.

When I first read this story I thought it must have been something cooked up by a journalist with an overactive imagination, and it very well might be, but movie site Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that the director of the film Heath Ledger left unfinished when he died, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, has three big names in mind to take over for his character. Since the film is a fantasy in which Ledger’s character could easily change into someone else, all three replacement actors may pay tribute to Heath with performances:

Have I mentioned how much I love this idea? Because I do. I think it’s beautiful that the script loaned itself to this sort of idea, that we’re going to see Heath Ledger’s work in Terry Gilliam’s new film, and that we’re also going to see three very interesting actors step up to offer interpretations of him as a way of paying one final tribute to this actor whose career was cut so sadly short.

We’ve heard rumors about who might be stepping in, but now we’ve got the names verified. Count on it.

JOHNNY DEPP.

JUDE LAW.

COLIN FARRELL.

Nice choices, Gilliam. Can’t wait to see what happens inside the IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, and I’d love to get a look at the script they’re going to use as they start this next stretch of shooting on the film.

[From Ain’t It Cool News]

Ain’t It Cool News has a good reputation for getting insider information on films and this could be true. About three weeks ago unreliable British source The Sun wrote that Imaginarium director Terry Gilliam wanted Johnny Depp to take over Heath’s part. There’s a scene in which Heath’s character falls through a magic mirror, and Cinematical quotes a studio source as saying “He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.”

Back when that story came out, the movie was in shutdown mode following the death of Ledger, and workers on the film thought it wouldn’t come back. The star of the film, Christopher Plummer, has said that Heath’s final scenes would be created using CGI imagery, and he did suggest that other actors would be used. He is quoted as saying that “Because the film deals with magic, there is a way of turning Heath into other people, and then use stills and computer generated imagery.”

Maybe Heath’s character will get turned into three other top actors. It’s exciting to think that Depp, Law and Farrell might play in this film. I bet Daniel Day Lewis would be happy to be involved too, as he dedicated his SAG Award to Heath and seemed to be very affected by his death.

The evocative header image was created by /film.

Michelle William’s last interview before ex-boyfriend Heath Ledger’s death has just been published in Wonderland, a British magazine. Michelle talks briefly about her split from Ledger, and some of the advantages that came with it – notably less attention from the paparazzi, which was always a big issue for the couple. She also talks about her relationship with their two-year-old daughter Matilda. Michelle had just finished working on a film called “Incendiary” with Ewan McGregor in which she plays a woman who loses her husband in a terrorist attack. It’s very sad to hear her talking about how hard it was just to film something so emotional, knowing she’s actually living it right now.

On Splitting with Heath Ledger:
“When you’re in a relationship with somebody who is also a public personality then it doubles the attention from the media. When you minus that equation it’s just less enticing. That’s been a real bonus. It’s the plus side of the break-up for me. It was so pervading, it got bad there for a while. Every time I walk out of the door I still worry. That’s what is so silly about it: even if the paparazzi aren’t there, you wonder if they are. I’m not good at that stuff. I need to get better at it. It really used to affect me.”

[From Us Weekly]

Michelle and Heath seemed to dislike the paparazzi more than any celebrity couple I can recollect. There’s an infamous picture of the two in bathing suits, flipping off the camera with Heath holding a sign that says “Fuck Off.” They managed to live a pretty low-key existence in Brooklyn, everything considered. By most accounts everyone knew who they were, but were pretty respectful of the couple’s privacy.

Michelle’s been living as a single mother since she and Heath broke up in the fall, but now she no longer has a co-parent and is truly on her own in that sense. She talked about the physical and emotional struggle of filming a demanding movie like “Incendiary” and trying to still be a good mother to Matilda at the same time.

On Balancing Work and Motherhood:
“It’s not easy. Last April I was over in London doing a movie called Incendiary with Ewan McGregor. It’s about a woman grieving after losing her husband and son in a terrorist attack. It was a brutal role and arduous: six-day weeks, 14 hour-days. I was like the walking dead towards the end. Matilda would visit me everyday on-set for lunch and I’d race home to put her to bed. My only days off were Sundays and as much as I’d want to pass out, I’d try to take her out somewhere fun so she didn’t associate me with boredom. The only time that is really my own these days is after I’ve put her to bed and until I go to bed. That’s about two hours.”

[From Us Weekly]

Later on in the interview, Michelle brings up a really good question: why did she choose her line of work, considering she’s such an introvert? Michelle started acting at only 16 and says she never thought it would make her life so public. She seems to definitely be a real introvert, noting, “I have such problems with people looking at me.” She admits that acting is a strange choice of professions, considering the fame it brings. Unfortunately there’s probably no time in her life where she’s wanted less attention given to her, and no time where people have focused on her so much. Hopefully that’ll die down in the coming months and she can figure out a way to live the rest of her life happily.