I'd just come off Brokeback Mountain and that had been excruciating and Casanova was like my holiday 
2005 will undoubtedly have gone down as a pretty good 12 months for Heath Ledger. He starred in a whopping five films - The Brothers Grimm, Lords Of Dogtown, Brokeback Mountain, Casanova and upcoming Aussie pic Candy - garnering rave reviews and awards as he went, and, as if that wasn't enough, became a dad with Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams. If Ang Lee's much feted western was his most intense film to date, Casanova sees Ledger in a lighter mood playing the legendary ladies' man in Lasse Hallstr枚m's whimsical Venetian tale.
Isn't Casanova the most perfect role for method acting?
Yes, I guess. In the perfect world, I wouldn't have found the love of my life [Michelle Williams] before this movie.
Can you identify with the character of Casanova in any way?
I have loved, I have loved women. I know he was quite bi-sexual, he kind of flung himself around, and so that wasn't a similarity. So really, it's just my appreciation for love and being in love, and he did fall in love with each and every conquest. Unlike Don Juan, who just had sex with them and woke up in the morning and laughed in their face.
Strangely, this is a version of Casanova without any sex scenes?
Because it's for kids and for their parents, and the parents' parents - it's a Disney film.
So why do a Disney film?
I didn't want to take it seriously. Sometimes I feel I don't want to prove anything to myself. I just want to have fun and go on a working holiday. That's what Casanova was for me. I don't have to take myself seriously, I don't have to prove anything, I just wanted some fun, and that's what the script was. After reading the script, I realised it wasn't taking responsibility, so why should I. Also, I'd just come off Brokeback Mountain and that had been excruciating and Casanova was like my holiday.
A holiday in Venice?
Yes, shooting the film entirely in Venice was like a four-and-a-half month tour of a city. Venice feels like it should only exist in your dreams, but it's real, and you really are floating in a boat to work in the morning.
There was some last minute problems with the script wasn't there?
The script was completely destroyed and re-written two weeks before we shot the film. Which was crazy considering the pre-production.
Why did that happen?
Because it was crap [laughs]. It just wasn't as good as it should have been. So, they gave it an overhaul and it came back a lot smarter and wittier. Therefore we didn't have any schedule and we were shooting on a day-by-day basis.
Director Lasse Hallstr枚m said you did a lot of your own stunts. Were you good at the sword play for example? How did you prepare for the role?
I used to play a lot of field hockey when I was a kid, and I think that just went into this. I have wrists from playing field hockey and I've wielded a sword before in films. I only really did research for Casanova out of curiosity. It's not Fellini's Casanova, but upon learning about his life, I thought how much I wanted to really do his life, and really try to connect with him, as he was a complex fellow. To attempt that would have been interesting. But because the story and film wasn't doing that, I kind of didn't want to attempt it. I thought it was better to leave it for another day, when a film is trying to represent him.
Shortly after you wrapped on Casanova you became a dad for the first time, how was that?
I've liked the changes it's had inside of me already, and the clarity it's given me in life. I'm so focused, and I feel like I'm finally synchronizing in life on a grand scale, it's wonderful.
Casanova is released in UK cinemas on Friday 17th February 2006.
