Michelle Williams on friend Jeremy Strong's bond with daughter Matilda after Heath Ledger's death
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Michelle Williams opened up about the bond that actor Jeremy Strong had with her daughter, Matilda, after the death of Heath Ledger.
After Ledger died in 2008, Strong moved into Williams' home in Brooklyn, which was also cohabitated by Williams' sister and a friend. In an interview with Variety published Tuesday, Williams recalled how her friend and former theater castmate helped her daughter with Ledger navigate the grief, including letting her ride on his back like a pony for hours on end.
"Jeremy was serious enough to hold the weight of a child's broken heart and sensitive enough to understand how to approach her through play and games and silliness," Williams said, adding "[Matilda] didn't grow up with her father, but she grew up with her Jeremy and we were changed by his ability to play as though his life depended upon it, because hers did."
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Michelle Williams opened up about the bond that actor Jeremy Strong shared with her daughter, Matilda, after the death of Heath Ledger
Williams and Strong met at Williamstown, the summer theater festival in the Berkshires, in the early 2000s. In Strong's controversial New Yorker profile published in December, Williams shared anecdotes of Strong coaching her through Shakespeare auditions and goofing around with fellow castmates Jessica Chastain and Chris Messina. "We would go to parks after dark and roll down hills in our clothes until we were sopping wet," Williams said.
Strong lived rent-free in Williams' basement room, on and off, for more than three years, Williams told the New Yorker. "There was an emptiness in the house," she said. "So people moved in." That piece, chronicling the extremes that Strong went to in order to capture performances (including asking to be tear-gassed for a scene in Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7) caused quite the stir. Some people criticized Strong as a self-indulgent method actor taking unnecessary measures, while others called it a misrepresentation.
Williams told Variety the backlash was difficult to digest: "I think that unfortunately the word 'method' has become a buzzy one because of what happened to Jeremy Strong when he tried to describe his process," Williams said. "He takes his work as seriously as he takes his play." She added, "We've all been in awe of his talent. We've watched him work harder than anyone and wait a long time for other people to recognize it. So when he became so celebrated, we all celebrated."
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