Heath Ledger Won His Role In 10 Things I Hate About You The Moment He Walked Into The Room

In Huffpost’s oral history of “10 Things I Hate About You,” director Gil Junger narrated the story of Heath Ledger’s audition for Patrick Verona. The filmmaker shared how the then-18-year-old Australian actor had immediately charmed him, and possessed the qualities they were looking for. Junger, along with his casting directors Gail Goldberg, Donna Morong, and Marcia Ross, had trouble finding the right guy to portray the likable, charismatic loner. But when Heath Ledger walked into the room, they knew it was meant to be.

Junger had already sat through 250 auditions and “wasn’t happy,” he knew he was missing the “magic” that was out there. When “The Dark Knight” star walked in, Junger remembers telling himself that if the young actor “could read,” he was going to cast him. The crew prepared a screen test for him, and the actor was convinced he could play the role well.

The director revisited the story, describing that he thought of Ledger as a “f**king movie star” at first glance. He further stated that Ledger’s personality, and his ease of confidence made them curious about the actor.

“… It wasn’t because of the way he looked. It was just the vibe. There was just an ease of confidence and sexuality that was like, ‘Whoa, who is this guy?’ So, he sits down, and I had about eight pages of sides for the character to read.