Williams: 'Ledger was very vulnerable'

Rex Features

Michelle Williams has described former fiancé Heath Ledger as "vulnerable".

Williams and fellow actress Naomi Watts opened up about their relationships with Ledger while talking to Interview magazine.

The actor was found dead from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in January.

Williams said: "I think the interesting thing about Heath, which maybe people have only really fully discovered in his death, is how vulnerable he was.

"You can pick up on it in his performances, but it's easy to overlook because he was so physical and beautiful and strong and masculine. But there was always that underlying sensitivity. That's who he was."

She also discussed his long-running sleeping difficulties, saying: "For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning, turning - always turning. But he had a talent for everything that he put his mind to. He didn't know limits."

Naomi Watts, who dated Ledger for two years until 2004, revealed that he was a "huge, obsessive, chess freak".

Talking about his struggle with fame, she added: "I think he wanted to be someone who was doing the observing - not the one being observed. He hated not being able to go about his life in an ordinary way. But I think that, deep down, he enjoyed that he was being recognised for his talent.

"I think he was starting to own that and that's the deepest tragedy, in terms of his work. He was just beginning to own it and embrace it."