Williams says her friend, Strong, helped care for her daughter after Ledger died in 2008.
Michelle Williams had a very supportive village behind her after the death of Heath Ledger. The 41-year-old actress, who shares 16-year-old daughter Matilda with the late actor, reflected on how friend Jeremy Strong stepped up after Ledger died.
“Jeremy was serious enough to hold the weight of a child’s broken heart and sensitive enough to understand how to approach her through play and games and silliness,” Williams told Variety about the Succession star moving into her home with her sister, and another friend, after Ledger died in 2008.
Williams shared that Strong would let Matilda ride on his back while he pretended to be a pony.
“[Matilda] didn’t grow up with her father,” the Fosse/Verdon actress said. “But she grew up with her Jeremy and we were changed by his ability to play as though his life depended upon it, because hers did.”
Strong recently caught heat when he broke down his unconventional Method acting technique in a New Yorker profile. Still, Williams also sees the friend whom she has known since they first met while performing at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2004.
“We’ve all been in awe of his talent,” Williams told the trade publication. “We’ve watched him work harder than anyone and wait a long time for other people to recognize it. So when he became so celebrated, we all celebrated.”
Williams’ recent profile also gave a look at another one of her personal relationships. In the magazine, the Venom actress revealed that she is expecting her second child with her husband, Thomas Kail. “It’s totally joyous,” Williams said of her pregnancy.
"As the years go on, you sort of wonder what they might hold for you or not hold for you. It’s exciting to discover that something you want again and again is available one more time. That good fortune is not lost on me or my family.”
Williams and the Tony-winning director tied the knot in secret in 2020. The pair also welcomed a son, Hart, during the pandemic. “It was a reminder that life goes on,” Williams told Variety about Hart’s birth.
“The world we brought a baby into is not the world we thought we were bringing a baby into, but the baby is ignorant of that," she added. "He experiences the unmitigated joy of discovery and the happiness of a loving home.”
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