Actors Donate Pay To Heath Ledger’s Daughter

At first glance, I thought this was pretty ridiculous: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all donated their earnings for a movie called “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” to Matilda Ledger, the late Heath Ledger’s daughter. Ledger had a role in the movie and the three actors stepped forward to take over his role, playing the character at different times in his life.

On the one hand, there are tonnes of kids whose parents died and who don’t have the kind of resources Matilda Ledger does, not to mention that Ledger was earning millions a picture and I am sure her mother, Michelle Williams, does OK as well. And if she really is in danger of being in need, well, why weren’t her parents setting aside some cash for her future when they make that kind of money?

These guys would arguably serve society better by donating their pay cheques to a charity that helps, say, kids without health insurance before ponying up for a child whose mum ought to be able to take her to a doctor whenever she needs it.

On the other hand – this was Ledger’s last role and had he completed it, that money presumably would have at least partially gone to his daughter’s care. I think it’s a sweet gesture by three actors, fathers themselves, who would want the same done for their kid in the same situation.