Michelle Williams Reveals The Actor Who Helped Raise Her Daughter After Heath Ledger Died

It's been over a decade since Heath Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008. At the time of his death, he was split from his former partner, fellow actor Michelle Williams. Their shared daughter Matilda was just two years old.

Since his gut-wrenching death, Williams has excelled in her already impressive career and landed lead roles in notable projects like "My Week with Marilyn," "Blue Valentine," "Manchester by the Sea," and "Fosse/Verdon" (via IMDb). Though Williams has been stellar in her on-screen performances, she's managed to keep her personal life, and her daughter's, largely private. 

During an interview with Variety, the actor shared she's currently pregnant with her third child. This will be her second with her theatre-director husband, Thomas Kail. Because Ledger died when Matilda was so young, Williams had to adjust her parenting style accordingly. Despite the years that've passed, she recently revealed the grief that came along with raising a daughter without her father and the people who helped her along the way.

Specifically, she shared that one method actor on a hit HBO Max show helped raise Matilda, which had a lasting impact on the both of them.

Michelle Williams sat down with Variety to discuss gender wage inequality and the passionate devotion she carries for her craft. She even stepped outside of her usual private nature to detail how one certain "Succession" actor helped her and her daughter during the toughest of times.

While talking to Variety about her approach to acting, Williams recalled how a popular profile in The New Yorker depicted fellow actor and friend, Jeremy Strong. In it he came off as intense on-set to inhabit his characters. Williams wanted to clear the air about the flak Strong was getting after the piece and even revealed how integral he was after Heath Ledger's death.

Williams said that Strong moved in and spent hours playing with her daughter, Matilda, at her home. "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," she said. "[Matilda] didn't grow up with her father, 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."