Doctor Parnassus: Heath Ledger's Legacy

It is not unusual for a film to be overshadowed by its star, but with 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', the title of Terry Gilliam's fantasy epic has become synonymous with the untimely death of Heath Ledger. In the aftermath of the actor's passing from an accidental prescription drugs overdose in 2008, while many people could correctly identify what film he was working on - 'The Imaginarium' - few could explain even the basics of the plot at the time, yet none the less, it became one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the coming years.

The movie follows Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), the leader of a travelling show who is cursed by a dark secret - after making a deal with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) for immortality, he later makes a new deal, trading his everlasting life for eternal youth, on the condition he gives his first-born child to Mr. Nick on her 16th birthday. With Valentina (Lily Cole) rapidly approaching her milestone age, the Doctor is desperate to save her soul and promises her hand in marriage to the person who helps him win a soul seduction bet.

With Heath's character Tony popping in and out of a magical mirror to a land of fantasy, it opened up the possibility of recasting the role after his death. The actor had already filmed most of his 'before' scenes, set in the real world, but even so, director Terry Gilliam had his work cut out in making alterations to make the transformation believable. "There was one thing I did which was when the first guy goes through the Imaginarium, I had his face changed so we've established the idea that people's faces could change in there. There were scenes that Heath hadn't finished filming, which I either dropped or put them on the other side of the mirror," he explained. "I kept saying that Heath was directing this film posthumously because he created a situation in which there were only a couple of answers to the problem and so forcing me to do these things. And most of them worked for the better."

Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp eventually stepped in to take over different incarnations of Heath's role, with Terry and others involved in making the film - including the director's daughter Amy, an executive producer - deliberately choosing actors who had known the late cast member, feeling it a fitting tribute to continue with the movie, despite initially wanting to scrap the project.

"My initial reaction was to just close the film down, because I couldn't even imagine that we could continue without Heath. Luckily I was surrounded by people like my daughter, and they just said we've got to finish this thing for Heath. To throw away his last performance is unacceptable. They beat me up until I started going forward again," said Terry. "I was incredibly distraught. Finally it came out that we should get three actors to replace him, and then it started making sense. I was only calling friends of Heath, people who knew him, and ended up with Johnny, Colin, and Jude. This kind of thing has never happened before. It's a real testament to just how special Heath was."

Even after recasting the role, Terry was still unsure about continuing, but his doubts were soon quashed by Johnny Depp. "Johnny's brilliant. What he does and what I do matches beautifully when we're working together. In this instance he was the first person I called after Heath died because I didn't really know what I was going to do. I asked if I could count on him, and he said sure whatever you want I'll be there. That's what saved the film, Johnny's involvement," he admitted.

While their closeness to Heath bonded the three newcomers to the set - the trio even donated their fees to Heath's daughter Matilda - they initially found it difficult and uncomfortable stepping into his shoes, as did the stars they were appearing with. "Colin was good friends with Heath so it started to feel like the right thing to do. It honoured the work and effort Heath had put in for the last few months. But I remember just crying on the first day of doing it, because it was such a bizarre thing," recalled Lily. "It was strange for Colin too. You've lost a friend recently and you're having to look at clips of your friend's performance and mimic him. It was an incredibly brave and lovely thing for him to do and I think he found it an incredibly hard week."

Once filming was over, the cast and crew still felt the shadow of Heath hanging over them, with Terry admitting it is "hard work" promoting the film without the star.

At the gala premiere in London this week, Verne Troyer admitted: "It's emotional for everybody. Heath was such an amazing person, such a giving person and we all loved him. I'm sure he is looking down and feeling honoured that everybody is here to support him and our movie."

Andrew Garfield added: "I have mixed feelings. I feel really happy his work is being seen because it's phenomenal. Heath's approach to things was fearless. He was always real and honest, it's ridiculous he isn't here anymore."

Unlike other actors who fight for the limelight, the A-list cast of 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' have been more than happy to let Heath take centre stage - with Johnny, Jude and Colin being noticeably absent from promotional duties - with the 'Brokeback Mountain' star taking prominence from the opening credits, which take 'A film from Heath Ledger and friends' as the first words.

No doubt thousands will flock to cinemas to see 'The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus' just to catch a glimpse of Heath's last-ever on-screen moments and will leave cinemas astonished, not just by the actor's performance but the whole slick, stunning, fantasy epic. "I think Parnassus is my magnum opus, I think it's fantastic. I don't normally feel that about stuff that I do. It feels like Parnassus is a compendium of everything I've done," gushed Terry. One thing is for sure, it doesn't need much of an imagination to realise the film is a lasting and fitting tributes to the talents of Heath.

By Viki Waters.

It is not unusual for a film to be overshadowed by its star, but with 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', the title of Terry Gilliam's fantasy epic has become synonymous with the untimely death of Heath Ledger. In the aftermath of the actor's passing from an accidental prescription drugs overdose in 2008, while many people could correctly identify what film he was working on - 'The Imaginarium' - few could explain even the basics of the plot at the time, yet none the less, it became one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the coming years.

The movie follows Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), the leader of a travelling show who is cursed by a dark secret - after making a deal with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) for immortality, he later makes a new deal, trading his everlasting life for eternal youth, on the condition he gives his first-born child to Mr. Nick on her 16th birthday. With Valentina (Lily Cole) rapidly approaching her milestone age, the Doctor is desperate to save her soul and promises her hand in marriage to the person who helps him win a soul seduction bet.

With Heath's character Tony popping in and out of a magical mirror to a land of fantasy, it opened up the possibility of recasting the role after his death. The actor had already filmed most of his 'before' scenes, set in the real world, but even so, director Terry Gilliam had his work cut out in making alterations to make the transformation believable. "There was one thing I did which was when the first guy goes through the Imaginarium, I had his face changed so we've established the idea that people's faces could change in there. There were scenes that Heath hadn't finished filming, which I either dropped or put them on the other side of the mirror," he explained. "I kept saying that Heath was directing this film posthumously because he created a situation in which there were only a couple of answers to the problem and so forcing me to do these things. And most of them worked for the better."

Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp eventually stepped in to take over different incarnations of Heath's role, with Terry and others involved in making the film - including the director's daughter Amy, an executive producer - deliberately choosing actors who had known the late cast member, feeling it a fitting tribute to continue with the movie, despite initially wanting to scrap the project.

"My initial reaction was to just close the film down, because I couldn't even imagine that we could continue without Heath. Luckily I was surrounded by people like my daughter, and they just said we've got to finish this thing for Heath. To throw away his last performance is unacceptable. They beat me up until I started going forward again," said Terry. "I was incredibly distraught. Finally it came out that we should get three actors to replace him, and then it started making sense. I was only calling friends of Heath, people who knew him, and ended up with Johnny, Colin, and Jude. This kind of thing has never happened before. It's a real testament to just how special Heath was."

Even after recasting the role, Terry was still unsure about continuing, but his doubts were soon quashed by Johnny Depp. "Johnny's brilliant. What he does and what I do matches beautifully when we're working together. In this instance he was the first person I called after Heath died because I didn't really know what I was going to do. I asked if I could count on him, and he said sure whatever you want I'll be there. That's what saved the film, Johnny's involvement," he admitted.

While their closeness to Heath bonded the three newcomers to the set - the trio even donated their fees to Heath's daughter Matilda - they initially found it difficult and uncomfortable stepping into his shoes, as did the stars they were appearing with. "Colin was good friends with Heath so it started to feel like the right thing to do. It honoured the work and effort Heath had put in for the last few months. But I remember just crying on the first day of doing it, because it was such a bizarre thing," recalled Lily. "It was strange for Colin too. You've lost a friend recently and you're having to look at clips of your friend's performance and mimic him. It was an incredibly brave and lovely thing for him to do and I think he found it an incredibly hard week."

Once filming was over, the cast and crew still felt the shadow of Heath hanging over them, with Terry admitting it is "hard work" promoting the film without the star.

At the gala premiere in London this week, Verne Troyer admitted: "It's emotional for everybody. Heath was such an amazing person, such a giving person and we all loved him. I'm sure he is looking down and feeling honoured that everybody is here to support him and our movie."

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