This girl lost her star dad at only 2 – he didn’t include her in his will, so people gave up money for her

But it would take a few years before he was cast to the movie that really changed Heath’s life forever.

Meeting Michelle Williams

When Heath Ledger was offered the role as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain in 2004, he nearly turned it down. But after being encouraged by this then-girlfriend, Naomi Watts, he decided to give it a go.

That decision would have a lot of consequences.

First of all, his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar, the rough and silent cowboy from Wyoming, became a career-defining role for Heath Ledger.

While working on set, he fell in love with actress Michelle Williams.

Sparks flew when the pair met during the production of Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 2004; Michelle played Alma, the wife of Heath Ledger’s character.

Years later, the director Ang Lee revealed that the couple’s love story began Michelle Williams was sent to the hospital on the first day of shooting the movie. She had twisted her knee and apparently, Heath Ledger was holding her hand all the way to the hospital. He “tried to comfort her and it was pretty obvious he was interested in her,” Lee told USA Today.