Verne Troyer Recalls Working With Heath Ledger On His Final Film: 'Heath Meant A Lot To A Lot Of People'
Santa MONICA, Calif. — When people ordinarily see Jules Verne Troyer, sadness is the furthest thing from their minds. The world's smallest film ace has brought laughter to millions as Mini-Me, the diminutive crony to Dr. Evil in the "Capital of Texas Powers" films, and reteams with Mike Myers in June for the comedy "The Love Guru."
The drama he most lately finished shooting, however, has grabbed international headlines with its tragic and at long last inspiring behind-the-scenes tarradiddle. This week, an emotional Troyer tried to give back the tears, speech production nigh his "Imaginarium of Medico Liakoura" co-star and friend Heathland Book of account.
"I've just got to articulate thank you to Heath for letting me be a parting of his life for that short full point of meter," Troyer said, mentation back to the day the worldly concern first base heard about the Oscar nominee's Jan 22 death. "It's just tragic.
"What happened was that we had but finished filming in Capital of the United Kingdom, and I had a view with Heathland, as did Christopher Plummer, who's also in the film, Lily Kail and Andrew James A. Garfield," the worker recalled. "We had wholly just now worked with him and we completely flew bet on. He flew back to Fresh House of York, I flew back up to L.A., and deuce days or three days after he was in New York was when it happened. I was still recovering from blue jet lag back in L.A., and I didn't know around it until my managing director called me. She wouldn't tell apart me on the telephone. She literally came all over and told me. And I just literally broke fine-tune."
At that sensitive retentivity, Troyer had to pause for a moment and call for a tissue. Simply still, he insisted on finish up the thinking.
"He was such a talented actor and just a good person totally around," he added. "I couldn't believe it."
Written and directed by legendary film producer Terrycloth Gilliam, Troyer admitted that any attempt at summarizing the fantasy world of "Parnassus" would be futile. Distillery, he gave it his best stab.
"Saint Christopher Plummer plays Doctor of the Church Liakoura, and I play Percy. My real name is Percival St. Antwon Delatrane the third," he grinned. "It's a travel theatre group, and we have an old horse-drawn carriage, and the waggon folds out into a dramatic art with a leg. We jaunt from township to town. We have a trick mirror that people go into to experience their imaginations, and they have a pick of which direction they want their lives to go. There's unity direction where it looks good, simply it's actually non good, and then there's [unity] that doesn't look good, and that's belike the right path to ask."
After Ledger's last, in that respect were concerns that the film could be scrapped and the actor's final scenes lost everlastingly. Then, Troyer remembered, something very special happened.
"We had Johnny Depp, we had Colin James Thomas Farrell, we had Jude Jurisprudence do in and do scenes, simply to honour Heath," he explained. "[Now], when Heathland goes into the mirror, he comes out as another person, and that's where these other actors come in."
As those A-listers helped complete the pic, Troyer and many of the other people in the "Liakoura" family devised their have tribute to the "Brokeback Mount" star. "Thither was a note that Heath had written his e-mail on and had presumption it to Holly, wHO is Terry's girl and a publicizer for the motion picture," he explained. "Subsequently his email, he scribbled a heart on it."
Now, that very scrabble is inked forever on Troyer's right hand. "A lot of us went and copied that middle and had it tattooed, in commemoration of Heathland," he explained, exhibit off his heartfelt symbol. "We had it copied identical to how he scribbled it. ... [We have it in] various places. I conceive Lily got it on the inside of her sleeve. Holly got it up on the inside of her weapon system."
As it directly stands, "The Imaginarium of Physician Parnassus" is looking for like it volition live to give Ledger's legion of heartbroken fans the chance to glimpse the last scenes he always performed before a television camera, in all probability sometime in 2009. Troyer understands wherefore they're aegir to experience one last Daybook memory — and testament always be happy that he was able to do the saame.
"It's a view where we've simply picked up Heathland, and he was knocked-out, and we invest him in the trunk of the bearing and he comes out of the posture non knowing where he's at," Troyer recalls of his favourite memory of the late doer. "Then I add up out of my quarters, which is underneath the police van, in a draftsman that pulls out. ... It was this scenery where it's just now me and him. He was off-camera [for a piece]. It was basically just on me, and I got to react forth of him. He helped me get through a scene [where I had to say my mention]. I stumbled a couple of multiplication trying to get through it.
"Terry, don't get mad at me," he continued, offering his conductor an apology. "I have footage, personal footage, of that picture that I took on my photographic camera. And that's something I'm going to hoarded wealth for a lifespan.
"Heath meant a heap," Troyer added, "to a draw of people."
Check over come out of the closet everything we've got on "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
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