Actor Heath Ledger, star of The Four Feathers, proved he was no coward when he undertook some secret stuntwork in the desert. Steve Pratt reports.

AUSTRALIAN actor Heath Ledger knew there was no way the makers of his latest film The Four Feathers would let him do a dangerous horse-riding stunt. So he didn't tell them.

Ledger, director Shekhar Kapur and the stuntman hatched the plan for Ledger to jump on a galloping horse in one of the action scenes in secret.

"The producers didn't know we were going to do it because insurance-wise I'm not even allowed to ride a bicycle, let alone jump on a charging horse," explains Ledger, who starred in A Knight's Tale and opposite Mel Gibson in The Patriot.

"The original shot had me falling off my horse, getting up and running past the camera. It seemed a little boring. Then Shekhar asked if I wanted to jump on a galloping horse. I was like, 'what the hell, it would be pretty cool if I did'."

He had one rehearsal. He and the stunt man grabbed a horse and, out of sight of the rest of the film unit on location in Morocco, had a crack at the leap on to the charging animal. "All I could think was I was going to jump for my life to get up on that saddle, but very little effort is needed," says Ledger.

"The first time my legs went straight over the saddle and I ended up on the opposite side of the horse, running off into the desert beside a galloping horse. I'd jumped too high. It needed less effort, a delicate touch and a matter of staying really focused."

He did it perfectly on the first take. He admits it was "a good feeling to land on the saddle" - and the risk was worth it, resulting in a tremendous shot of his character, disgraced soldier Harry Feversham, in action. Having been branded a coward by his fellow soldiers, he's gone off to rescue his best friend in 19th century Africa, where Sudanese Arabs are revolting against British rule.

Ledger, part of the Aussie invasion of Hollywood, is past the stage where he's labelled as the next big thing. He's established his credentials and is in demand, although he's not playing the game. Instead of doing blockbusters, he's opted for supporting roles (in Monster's Ball) and leading roles for little pay (taking home a mere £30,000 for playing the title role in Ned Kelly down under).

The US release of The Four Feathers was delayed over worries about public reaction post-September 11. In this country, the film was premiered at the London Film Festival seven months ago, and then the release held back until the end of the Iraq conflict.

Filming in the heat and sand of Morocco was no picnic, but Ledger isn't complaining. "I really enjoyed how humbling it was in the desert, and how insignificant everything in life felt," he says. "I just felt like a grain of sand out there. We had nothing better to do than just focus on telling the story. The environment was gruelling, but so was my character's journey. In a sense, it made my job easier."

Before shooting started, he and the other actors - who included Wes Bentley, Michael Sheen and Rupert Penry-Jones - spent four weeks, eight hours a day, round a big boardroom table hanging out, getting to know each other and exploring each other's characters.

"You couldn't help but get to know each other. Being so isolated in the desert with nowhere to go but our rooms and a very cold swimming pool to sit around, we had ample time to chat about each other's lives. We found something true to love, admire, respect and protect about each other that we could translate on screen. It didn't happen in a forced way. We genuinely got along with each other and found true friendship."

They also bonded in a rugby match featured early in the film. It was so cold that hot blowers were put over the frozen solid pitch to thaw it out. "I guess it was as rough as it looks," he admits, adding jokingly: "We're boys and like to get dirty and beat each other up."

His scenes in the desert, with Feversham disguised as an Arab, came more naturally than wearing a uniform and standing correctly. "I guess I found it easier being in the desert because I felt the life of a gypsy was closer to my heart rather than the formality of the military. I'm quite liberal in the way I express emotions. It was a colder existence back then and I grew up in a warm place. When I was in uniform that's when I had to change myself more because I had to gain posture, accent and mannerisms. I guess there was more of a transformation there."

Perth-born Ledger became involved in theatre at an early age and first made an impact on the US movie scene in Ten Things I Hate About You, a high school retelling of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew.

"I've been living out of a suitcase since I was eight, and not spent more than three months in one place since," he says. "From an early age, my parents split and so I spent two weeks in one house and two weeks in another until I was 15. Then I packed my bags and went to Sydney, travelling from house to house to house.

"I've had a house in LA for the last four years and probably spent eight weeks in it. I've been based in LA for six years but never worked there. I seem to have worked everywhere else."

* The Four Feathers (15) is now showing in cinemas.