How Heath Ledger and His Then-Girlfriend Heather Graham Helped 'Broken' Alan Tudyk Cope with Friend's Death (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Alan Tudyk, Heather Graham and Heath Ledger.Photo:Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic; Rebecca Sapp/Getty; Sean Gallup/Getty

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic; Rebecca Sapp/Getty; Sean Gallup/Getty

Alan Tudykis sharing how late costarHeath Ledgeronce helped him cope with a close friend’s death.

Tudyk, 53, appears on the latest episode ofMythical Kitchen’sLast Mealsseries, and hostJosh Scherernoted a story of how Ledger, whodied at age 28 in 2008, comforted Tudyk after Tudyk’s friend’s death during the production of their 2001 movieA Knight’s Tale.

“Everything,” Tudyk responded, when Scherer asked what Ledger’s kindness meant to him. The actor explained thatA Knight’s Talefilmed in the Czech Republic in 2000 “for five months, two weeks, two days, not that I was counting,” and said he grew “pretty home sick” and had never been out of the United States for that long.

As Tudyk explained, a friend of his from his time at The Juilliard School died suddenly during production on the movie, and Ledger, coincidentally, also knew the man.

“I got an email and made a call and found out and I was pretty, I was way down,” he recalled. “Heath called me and said, ‘What are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m drinking.’ He said, ‘Write down my address,’ because he had just moved to this other part of town where it was a little quieter in Prague. And I just went and stayed with him for a few days.”

“He was datingHeather Grahamat the time, so Heather Graham and Heath Ledger were sort of my nurses,” Tudyk added.

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Tudyk described himself as “really sort of broken at that point” while speaking about his friendship with Ledger. “It was a bizarre time, man. He just kept me together until I got on a plane, because I couldn’t just leave to go to this funeral,” he recalled. “We had a movie to make.”

Ledger and Tudyk starred inA Knight’s Taleas medieval European squires. Ledger’s character William Thatcher one day assumes the role of a knight when the pair’s master dies unexpectedly and begins competing in tournaments and fighting in battles.

AsNew Yorkmagazinereported at the time of Ledger’s death in 2008, the actor met Graham, now 54, in Prague that same year while she was also filming the movieFrom Hell.

Tudyk said of Ledger, “We had that relationship; he was a little older than me that way, but he wasn’t older than me — he was like 10 years younger than me. But he was more of a caregiver personality.”

Alan Tudyk, Mark Addy and Heath Ledger in A Knight’s Tale.Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Graham and Ledger dated for a short period of time, but the relationship left an impression on Graham, whounearthed photos of her time with Ledgerand shared them on Instagram in 2021.

“Well, he was such a special person. He really brought so much joy into my life,” Graham toldAustralia’sTodayshowin 2023, when asked about her memories of Ledger. “He’s a very soulful person. Obviously he’s very talented, but I think he’s a magical person and I feel lucky to have known him. I feel really sad he’s not around.”

Tune in to the latest episode ofLast MealsonMythical Kitchen’s YouTube channelon Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 6 a.m. ET.

source: people.com