I remember exactly where I was when I learned that Heath Ledger passed. I was at work, passing some time when the headlines came through. It happened to be my birthday. Nobody was all that certain about what happened, and details were being pieced together. It was such an unexpected horror, though. It seemed especially tragic because Ledger had a young daughter, Matilda, at home.
Heath Ledger’s life was often very private. Fans knew he was romantically linked to actress Michelle Williams for years after the two met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. Williams and Ledger even had a daughter together. But the couple separated shortly before his passing. They tried to keep news of the split out of the headlines as much as possible, and the pair still seemed to have a lot of respect for each other. “I always say to Matilda, ‘Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes,'” Williams told Vanity Fair.
So when reports revealed the Academy Award-winning actor lost his life because of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008, the family probably felt it immensely.
Moreover, the actor suffered from depression and addiction. And six months before his untimely death, Ledger’s friends said the Dark Knight actor experienced dramatic mood swings. Apparently, he was dealing with a deep depression.
Ledger booked plenty of lead roles and seemed to get more and popular. So one might assume that his diet was complicated.
And many actors do have a strange way of addressing their weight and fitness. While there aren’t too many resources out there, here’s what was uncovered.
Ledger was thinking about owning his own restaurant.
Like many celebrities, Ledger dreamed of opening a restaurant and bar in Brooklyn, New York. And technically, he did. He just wasn’t alive to see the finished results.
Five Leaves, which is located on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, was partially his idea.
The New York Times reports that some of the money from Ledger’s estate helped pay for the finished product. Ledger was scheduled to open the restaurant with his friend Scott Campbell, the artist who did many of his tattoos, and his business partner, Jud Mongell.
Ledger reportedly scouted out the location of the restaurant while skateboarding.
Skateboarding was one of Ledger’s hobbies. And he reportedly even skateboarded on set for some of his films, including The Dark Knight. The infamous image of Ledger flipping over Christian Bale with a skateboard is, however, photoshopped.
This restaurant was initially supposed to be an Australian-meets-American bar and restaurant that served some of Ledger’s favorite childhood cuisines.
Mongell told The New York Times that “This would have been Heath’s hangout.” Even though he wasn’t around to enjoy it, he’s still credited as being a business partner.
The menu is actually pretty fantastic.
For breakfast, you can chose between anything from a brûlée grapefruit and fruit salad to ricotta pancakes and a Moroccan scramble.
We’re also impressed by the hardy and unexpected morning options, like green tea noodles.
If you’re looking to try something new, one option is the heritage bowl, which is described as, “soft, crispy, and puffed grains, spiced pumpkin, candy-striped beet, frill mustard, poached eggs & chermoula.”
For snacks, you’ve got the choice of truffle fries, devils on horseback (bacon-wrapped medjool dates with habanero vincotto, and almond,) or charred shishitos.
Having a daughter changed his diet in certain ways.
When Williams became pregnant, Ledger admitted that he put on a few pounds after eating with her in solidarity. As far as pregnancy and weight gain go, Ledger seems as if he was the perfect partner, making sure not to make Williams feel bad about herself.
It’s a story that Matilda, now a teenager, can always carry with her.
ContactMusic reported that Ledger gained 20 lbs during the time that Williams was pregnant, often indulging himself in foods like pizza and ice cream.
After their baby was born, the couple went back to juices and plates full of vegetables.
Ledger reportedly liked to have friends over for meals.
That same article states that he was quick to invite people over for barbecues. Ledger never adhered to a vegetarian diet, and it seems as if he knew food was a good way to connect people.
Ledger never fully followed the Hollywood lifestyle or trends. Instead, he acted like a commoner.
“It was really quite staggering for such a young person to be as successful as he was, and yet so authentic and so loyal and giving as a friend,” filmmaker Derik Murray stated in an interview with Dazed.
Ledger also liked having people over for tea.
The New York Times piece makes it seem that when friends came over to visit and keep him company, a kettle was always on and people were grabbing teacups. There’s something very calming about this image.
Especially since it seems so innocent.
Other portraits have portrayed Heath Ledger as being a partier, which also has some truth to it.
When Ledger did go out, things often got rowdy.
Drugs were reportedly the reason why he split with Michelle Williams — and, having a child in the house is a very good reason to draw the line. The Telegraph also reported that Williams tried hard to rectify the issue, taking him to Promises in Malibu, California.
The good news is that while he passed away from an accidental prescription drug overdose, there were no drugs on the scene.
That means that he may have tried to clean up for the sake of his daughter. And, it’s not the first time.
Ledger also enjoyed drinking a lot.
However, it was obvious that Ledger had toned it down a lot before his death. He even had a character witness who said that he was only drinking Diet Coke while out.
It seems like it was a move that was made on purpose to help him hang out with non-sober friends.
“He was drinking diet Coke when we were together and he said he was very committed to not drinking alcohol,” model Sophie Ward said to Reuters in regards to her friend. “I don’t believe he took his own life deliberately.”
It was also common for him to just order water.
In a profile for New York Magazine, writer Chris Norris made note that Ledger was especially fond of SanPellegrino water. The water and Diet Coke were his go-to beverages when he quit alcohol.
Norris also mentioned that when writing stories about Ledger, it was either about his sober days or his partying days — so, that water could have represented his matured lifestyle.
A waitress who served him shortly before his untimely passing confirmed that it was common for him to just order a bottle of water and stay a few hours. According to The New York Times, he had appeared to look relatively healthy.
Coffee was also a must for Ledger.
He was spotted drinking coffee pretty often while he lived in New York. The Miro Cafe in Broadway saw him a lot, according to the New York Daily News. The owners reportedly didn’t even know he was famous.
Since Ledger seemed to have the “casual, everyday” look while out and about, that makes a lot of sense.
“We were surprised, we never knew he was an actor,” manager Max Barrsi told the news outlet. “He was practically here all the time for coffee…always very nice with us.”
Ledger was also once spotted at an Indian food restaurant.
Apparently Heath Ledger ate at this same Indian restaurant I was at. #flavorofindia #chickentikkamasala #whysoserious pic.twitter.com/RfbfQ9tchV
— Hal Rudnick (@halrudnick) June 13, 2018
And, writer and comedian Hal Rudnik had photo proof. While Rudnik was there, he noted a photo of Ledger on the wall. Even though the photo had been there for years, Rudnik just posted it in 2018.
Based on hashtags, it seems like the restaurant was named Flavor of India.
It’s hard to figure out what his favorite go-to dish may have been. But, it’s proof that Ledger had an international palate. As he was born in Australia and traveled a lot for work, that makes sense.
He was also spotted buying organic sausage.
A grocer who recalls seeing Ledger the day before his death made note that he bought the sausage along with other produce — which is an important clue.
“He had three bags of groceries…I remember he had organic chicken sausages,” clerk Liz Bullis said to People.
She said that everything he had was evident that he was going to prepare a meal. That makes it obvious that his death wasn’t a suicide, but was unintentional.
He was a fan of shopping at farmer’s markets.
That made him even more appealing to his fans. “I know I’m not the only twenty/thirtysomething lady who longed to be Michelle, living in a groovy Brooklyn brownstone with a famous-but-not-too-famous (yet very attractive) film actor, eating organic fruit and produce from the local farmers market and taking yoga,” Jennifer Mathieu wrote for the Houston Press.
That means that Ledger must have been serious about what he ate.
Farmers’ markets are good for plenty of reasons, but they’re usually the best for home cooks to grab the freshest produce.
He wasn’t afraid to dine solo.
When he was spotted out and recognized, he was often just eating with the companion of his cell phone, making him even more relatable.
Ledger was once spotted enjoying a meal by himself at the Grotta Azzurra Ristorante.
GrubStreet reported that the actor was seen with “only his iPod and cell phone for company.” There was no word on what he ate, but since the eatery is known for their Italian food, it was probably delicious. It wasn’t the only time he was spotted eating with his iPod.
He also ate a quiet breakfast out, the day before his death.
People reports that Ledger spent that Monday morning at Le Pain Quotidien, listening to music while eating some granola for breakfast. Granola was also a favorite breakfast go-to for Williams.
He enjoyed his quiet time and didn’t like to be recognized while he was out on the town.
It’s possible he used this alone time to research other side projects. You may not have realized that Ledger was thinking about expanding his name from acting to directing.
Fans of Heath Ledger swear he was into sushi.
To be fair, sushi is almost a universal food, especially if you’re a celebrity. It’s a light dish that’s seen as healthy, and once you get a taste for it, you’re hooked.
But, it’s hard to verify if that was a fact.
There’s a good chance that Ledger stated this in a magazine interview from back in the day that didn’t manage to transfer over to the internet.
Other fan sites claim that risotto was his favorite food.
It’s normal to have two favorites. This Italian rice dish is also extremely versatile, meaning that it’s something that’d be hard to get tired of.
One fact that emerged about Heath Ledger’s dietary patterns makes this favorite more believable.
A New York Times article made it clear that Ledger had no problem with cooking at home, and risotto is a dish that’s fairly easy to make for a moderately skilled chef.
While his food habits were obviously quite strange, he also had a long history of sleep troubles, which only accelerated during his role playing the Joker.
In a New York Times profile in 2007, while the film was in production he told a reporter, “It is a physically and mentally draining role.”
During the interview he also revealed he was sleeping less than two hours per day and taking Ambien with no success.
To get into character he took things to extremes, including isolating himself for about six weeks.
During a 2007 interview with Empire, he talked about how the role changed him, saying, “I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices.”
Despite this, his friends and family say he wasn’t lonely at the time of his death.
The late actor’s sister, Kate Ledger, told Entertainment Weekly, “He was having fun. He wasn’t depressed about the Joker.”
Oddly enough, he had never read a Batman comic before landing the role.
According to Looper, “he quickly fell in love with the character of the Joker.”
While Ledger’s diet was pretty all over the map, it was not nearly as disturbing as Elvis Presley’s. At one point the singer was known to be consuming about 100,000 calories per day.
If you’re interested in his poor food choices and wild stories, which included taking a private jet from Graceland in Tennessee to Colorado to order a Fool’s Gold Loaf.
If you’re wondering what’s in that sandwich, it’s a hollowed-out sourdough loaf stuffed with an entire jar of jelly, an entire jar of peanut butter, and a whopping pound of bacon.
We’ve also covered Marilyn Monroe’s diet, which resembled a paleo-like menu. But, we’re not sure how much we’d love to eat raw eggs in warm milk or stewed prunes.
