“Heath Ledger knocked out my tooth while jousting with a broom”: How we made The Knight’s Tale | film

Brian Helgelandwriter, director

I wrote and directed Mel Gibson’s “Payback,” but was fired during post-production. It was my first film as a director and I thought my career was over. During this hiatus, I wrote A Knight’s Tale. I liked the idea that jousting tournaments were medieval sports, but I never knew what to do with them. I thought about the ideas behind it: a peasant who wanted to become a nobleman was like a screenwriter who wanted to become a director. He is a man trying to be something he has no right to be.

The studio had a shortlist of actors for William/Sir Ulrich, with Paul Walker at the forefront. I met him but he seemed very contemporary, like a guy who should drive race cars, which he did so well in The Fast and the Furious. I just thought: “You’re not going to be able to pull this off.” Heath Ledger was a rising star at the time. I met him in a restaurant at LAX and he had this long leather briefcase. “What’s the case?” I asked. “It’s my didgeridoo,” he said. “Can you play it?” I asked. “Of course I can,” he said. He started blowing on it like white Australian Miles Davis. Everyone was looking. I fell in love with him at that moment and offered him the role.

I wrote the part of Chaucer for Paul Bettany, even though Sony wanted Hugh Grant. I don’t have anything against Hugh but I thought his tone would be off if it was him and three other guys. The film has since been written up by Chaucer scholars – and they love it.

We dueled for real with actors from a dueling show in Las Vegas. But we made spears out of balsa wood so they wouldn’t kill anyone. The technical department made chambers in them and placed uncooked spaghetti: when the spears broke, they exploded and the spaghetti rose into the air like splinters. We put the Nike logo on Sir Ulrich’s shield as a joke. Years later, someone at Nike told me how much they loved it. I thought: “We could have had so many free sneakers!”

Heath was badly beaten. He would proudly lift his shirt and there would be major abrasions. After the movie came out, we were showing his agent how to duel. He had a broom and I had a microphone stand: he accidentally hit me in the mouth and knocked my tooth out.

It was poorly reviewed. Someone criticized the sheet music – not the modern songs but the sheet music itself, because it had electric guitar in it. I said: “Should it have violins and trumpets? Because they didn’t exist either in 1370.”

Heath said The Knight’s Tale was like a photo album of how much fun he had making it. It’s about fighting against authority – and this applies to the present day very well.

Paul Bettany,play Chaucer

I auditioned and the studio said, “We didn’t get it.” Brian flew me out for another audition and they still didn’t get it. Finally he said: “If you don’t choose it, I won’t make the film.” And because they hooked up Heath, who was the hottest thing since 10 Things I Hate About You, they said, “Okay, we’ll let Brian have pee in this fucking movie.”

That’s how Brian began my career in Hollywood. He was like a shining knight. I knew exactly what it meant to be an unknown artist. I had a philosophy when I was nervous before a test. I think: “All you have to do is fake confidence for 15 minutes.” That was the basis of Chaucer for me: fake it til you make it.

There were a lot of jokes in Chaucer’s first speech but we were in Prague and the extras didn’t speak English, so they were just staring at me. We drew these huge cards that said “Applause” or “Laugh” in Czech. I walked away thinking I really killed it when they laughed. I was amazed at my shallowness.

I was very nervous about the nude scenes. Before filming, the costume team knocked over my trailer with a sock on a hanger. I asked: “What is this?” They said: To wear your robe if it is awkward. “The only thing more embarrassing than walking down the street naked is doing so with a sock over your penis,” I said. Thank God it was a warm day. After all the roles I’ve played, which includes Vision for Marvel, I often get a “Hey, naked man!” He shouted at me in the street.

Heath got a tattoo in the middle of filming. It was a small circle with a larger circle surrounding it, like a target. He said, “That’s me in the middle. That circle is the Earth, and the other circle is the universe.” I said, “Did you put yourself in the middle? I’ve never been so confident!” But he was so confident in the most cheerful and triumphant way.

Much has been said about health and darkness, but the moment I saw him, he radiated light, happiness, and joy. He was full of creativity and charisma, so alive that even today it is difficult to imagine him dead. I often find myself wondering what beautiful things he would have made.

A Knight’s Tale is a movie about a boy from nowhere who changes stars and I love that. It’s full of positive messages. It was a magical time.