Australian heart-throb Heath Ledger arrived at London’s Leicester Square on Thursday evening for the UK premiere of his medieval jousting film A Knight’s Tale. And, amidst the near-deafening shrieks of women desperate to catch a glimpse of the antipodean star, Heath shared the secret behind the film’s contagious jovial spirit: beer.
“We had fun, nothing but fun. The attraction was just that,” says Heath, who shot the film in Prague last year. How did they keep the good times rolling? “We all drank beer,” he says. “You know, when in Prague…”
“I hope some people are drunk when they see the film as we were enormously drunk when we made it,” corroborates co-star Paul Bettany, who turned in a breakthrough performance as Geoffrey Chaucer. “The strength of this film was a bunch of people having a good time – and we certainly did.”
The flick features a rock and roll soundtrack complete with Robbie Williams’s take on the Queen classic We Are The Champions. Heath stars as an upstart jouster impersonating a knight, a role which required the Patriot actor to spend some time on horseback. “I had this horse called Barney,” jokes Heath. “He was such a lovely guy. He had such an amazing sense of humor. He just missed out on the part in The Horse Whisperer but they wanted a blond.”
Co-star and Dynasty alum Christopher Cazenove could have used Barney on Thursday as he arrived at the screening in a cast. “I was at a party and fell down a hole. Drunk again. Broke my leg.” Christopher too had a blast in Prague, saying: “The film had a period feel but was very modern. This was a…wonderful director and a lovely cast.” However, he remains decidedly humble about the film. “It’s just a fairytale movie – I don’t think it will change anybody’s life.”
However, it has already changed the life of Shannyn Sossamon, who plays Heath’s love interest in the tale. Not too long ago, the 20-year-old was helping a friend deejay Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow’s birthday when she was discovered by Hollywood casting director Francine Maisler.
“Shannyn had such an arresting beauty that you simply couldn’t take your eyes off her,” says Francine. “I could tell that she was completely oblivious to her incredible looks.” The Hollywood heavy-weight approached the beauty and the rest is history. She’ll next appear on screen opposite Pearl Harbor hunk Josh Hartnett in the upcoming comedy 40 Days And 40 Nights.
knight opens across the UK on August 31.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
