Heath Wave

Image credit: Heath Ledger: Armando Gallo/Retna

'TALE''S HOOK Ledger has his first starring role in a major release with this week's ''Knight's''

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A Knight's Tale

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''Can I get you something?'' asks Heath Ledger, star of ''A Knight's Tale'' (in theaters May 11). ''Do you want some water? A Diet Coke?'' Yes, you heard right: EW.com goes to meet the Australian actor, 22, who isn't just ONE of the selling points for the summer comedy cum Middle Ages jousting saga, he's THE selling point -- and suddenly we've stumbled into an episode of ''Twilight Zone'' scripted by Miss Manners -- or maybe the editors of TigerBeat. Expectation: big star attitude. Reality: He's the perfect host.

Even so, there may be a few benighted moviegoers who don't yet recognize Ledger's name. But by now, even these people (peasants!) have seen his face -- on billboards, TV ads, magazine covers. The actor's been on the rise ever since his attention grabbing role as Mel Gibson's rebellious son in ''The Patriot.'' The same studio, Sony/Columbia, is also behind ''Knight,'' which just happened to be in production in Prague when Ledger's ''Patriot'' hit theaters. So an ensemble story about a wannabe knight and his friends has been transformed, if the splashy poster is to be believed, into a story about a guy who ''will rock you.''

Yet his ''Knight'' costars say the actor hardly notices the furor. ''He's walking around with a $40 million plus film on his shoulders like he's been doing it all his life,'' says Paul Bettany, the English actor who plays Geoffrey Chaucer (yes, the famous one) opposite Ledger's aspiring knight who transcends class to become a champion jousting stud. ''I just have to laugh at those posters, though'' adds Bettany. ''They make him look so butch.''

Butch enough to best an box office juggernaut like ''The Mummy Returns''? Ledger doesn't seem worried -- unless it's about you being thirsty while he talks about the knight life. (Um, we'll take that glass of water, thanks.)

You've said that when you tried out for your first U.S. role, in the Fox TV series ''Roar,'' you were a wreck. Are you more confident now?
No! I'm the worst auditioner, really, really bad. I mean, you're being judged and I'm just so aware of it that it consumes me. I can't relax, I'm tied in knots, so the voice is very taut and tense. You're so aware that you're acting 'cause you're sitting across from this lady with a piece of paper who's going, ''I'm. Going. To. Shoot. You. If. You. Don't. Blah, blah, blah,'' in this emotionless voice. It's foul. I hate it.