Rose Byrne Shares Throwback Photo of Heath Ledger as a Teen

Rose Byrne is remembering Heath Ledger in a throwback photo to their time together 20 years ago on the set of one of their first movies, Two Hands.

The two Australian actors were just teenagers when they were cast in the 1999 crime film, but remained friends through the years until Ledger’s death in 2008.

“Twenty years ago! Two Hands! Aussie kids on their first film,” the Bridesmaids star captioned the snapshot posted on Tuesday. “My own vintage polyester frock for $18. just bleached my hair in kitchen sink. Heath trying to be serious 🙃 goofball 💛.”

Many of Byrne’s followers responded to the photo with joy.

“Adorable!! Both you!! I saw the film. I miss you Heath!!!” one person said.

“So awesome. Makes me teary-eyed! So much talent. 💜” said another person.

“Remember seeing this film and thinking ‘those two are going to be huge’. Loved it!🎈” someone wrote.

Byrne has opened up about Ledger before, most recently when she was a judge for Australians in Film’s Heath Ledger Scholarship earlier this summer.

“Heath and I met as young 18-year-old actors in Sydney on Two Hands,” Byrne said at the time, according to Entertainment Tonight. “He supported me so much in L.A. with his lovely spirit, always giving me a place to stay, always getting me into rooms to audition.”

“I’m delighted to be part of a scholarship that honours this generosity, by giving young actors an opportunity to begin and build their careers,” she added. “I’m thrilled to be working with the HLS team to help keep his legacy alive, for this special 10 year anniversary.”

Ledger’s famously private ex, Michelle Williams, also recently opened up about the late actor in her interview with Vanity Fair. She and Ledger met on the set of Brokeback Mountain and dated for three years, welcoming daughter Matilda together in 2005. Ledger died in 2008 after an accidental overdose when Matilda was 2, just five months after the couple had split, leaving Williams to raise their daughter.

“When you’re a single parent, and that element of provider and protection is missing, it’s scary,” she said.

“I always say to Matilda, ‘Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes,’” she shared, explaining the “radical acceptance” Ledger had for her.

She explained that Ledger’s acceptance of her shaped how she has parented Matilda, saying, “I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself.”

Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, said that he and the rest of his family are “terribly happy” for Williams, who also revealed to Vanity Fair that she secretly married musician Phil Elverum.

“We are terribly happy, it is great,” Kim Ledger told the Sydney Morning Herald. “She’s very private and I don’t really like to make too many comments about her, but we are very happy [for her].”