Catherine Hardwicke, director, The Lords of Dogtown: I heard Heath wanted to do Dogtown, and I was shocked. The real Skip was a pretty funky character. I thought I was going to get Philip Seymour Hoffman. Heath came in to meet me and he was extremely shy. He had his cap pulled down and it was like, could this guy look any more like a homeless person? It's a survival mechanism, to become scruffy, to try to hide, to go against everyone's expectations. He talked to me about Australia and surfing and skateboarding, and I thought, I can't say no.
By this point, Ledger had earned a reputation for having a magnetic personality and irrepressible appetite for fun.
Black: Heath was the pied piper. If you were sad, he took care of you. If you were happy, he made you happier just by dancing or talking or laughing. Fear didn't enter his psyche. He would say whatever was on his mind. If he didn't like you, you would know it, and if he liked you, you would know it.
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