Ilana Kaplan

Since Nico Tortorella landed the role of Josh on TV Land’s “Younger” in 2015, they’ve been juggling creative projects while using the platform to be vocal about sex, sexuality and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Last year, Tortortella released a collection of poetry, entitled “All of It Is You,” just weeks before marrying their longtime partner, fitness instructor Bethany Meyers.

And in September, Tortorella’s memoir was published. “Space Between: Explorations of Love, Sex, and Fluidity” details everything from struggles with alcoholism to conversations around sexuality and gender identity, both private and in public. Tortorella is also starring in the upcoming third series of AMC’s “Walking Dead” franchise, which is currently shooting in Virginia.

Tortorella, 31, shares an apartment in Manhattan’s Financial District with Meyers, 33, and their two dogs, Papa and Sun. But the couple often spend weekends at their home in Poughquag, New York.

SOUND BATH: I usually wake up, I will make some coffee, some tea, take the dogs outside, and I’ll plug in my VoiceLive Touch, which is my voice modulator, and I’ll set a pretty deep reverberating baseline using my voice, layer it, and kind of set an experimental meditative sound in the house.

Sometimes, I’ll throw lyrics on top of it, some sort of mantra for the day, and it’ll just be playing on repeat, just echoing through the halls. And Bethany and I both will go up to it and add different things to it, take different things away, and that’s kind of just how we set our intentions for the day.

SWEAT: We’ll put on the sauna, which is literally in the middle of my living room. It’s a big, three-person, infrared sauna smack dab in the middle of the living room next to the fireplace, and we’ll spend an hour in there.

MARKET RUN: This Sunday we’re going to go to a farmers market, pick up some food for the meal that we’ll prepare later, and lunch. We have so many mushrooms on the property, and I have gotten relatively OK on knowing which are good to eat.

There’s a bunch of great farms up by the house where we go get raw milk, cheese, eggs, and if the weather is nice, which I’m hoping it will be, it’s looking like it is, we’ll take the canoe and the paddleboard out on the pond.

HIKE: We have a big 10-acre pond in our backyard, and that’s usually how I get my workout in when I’m upstate. There’s a waterfall back behind the house. We’ll go on a hike which leads to this big overlook which is just absolutely amazing.

KARAOKE: We listen to old-school country music, with a gospel vibe. Bethany grew up in the Baptist church, and we definitely vibe out to some old church music on Sundays, for sure, with a country twang. Lots of Johnny Cash.

Bethany knows more about the names of that stuff than I do. I kind of just go, “Hey Siri, play this.” Sometimes we’ll throw in some karaoke on the microphone and Bethany starts singing it, but usually we’re just listening to it.

LIGHT READING: I’m listening to “The Argonauts” on tape right now by Maggie Nelson, and I have the hard copy upstate, so maybe I’ll pick that up as well. I couldn’t get through it the first time I picked it up, and then I started listening to it. It’s so much easier to listen to because she gets quite masturbatory with her language, and you can zone out when you’re listening to it in parts and pick up where you need to.

MOVIE NIGHT: When we’re upstate, we’ll watch a movie or something before we go to bed. We have a little den room, and we’ll lay out pillows and blankets on the floor, on the couch and just lounge out with the dogs and watch something.

I usually just watch everything as soon as it comes out, and Bethany’s very picky and doesn’t usually make it all the way through a movie. So, most of the time is spent actually deciding on what we’re going to watch. But we love a cartoon, Disney-animated Pixar all day.

And then, we’ve been watching a lot of TV recently. We just watched “Orange is the New Black,” the new season. “Ramy,” we just watched. I just watched “Euphoria.” I’m watching “Years and Years” right now.

MOM TIME: I definitely will call my mom. Multiple times a day. My mom’s my best friend. It’s been so interesting to watch her transition into a new person as my journey has been unfolding. All of a sudden she has a group of queer friends in Florida, and it makes me so stupid happy and proud. We are all always capable of transformation.

This article originally appeared in

How Nico Tortorella of the Television Series 'Younger' Spends Sundays

(Sunday Routine)

Just down the hall from the “Law and Order: SVU” squad room set, in the show’s new Chelsea Piers production hub, is Hargitay’s “oasis” — a hybrid office/dressing room full of inspirational “visual aids.” Her very first cover story, in Time Out New York, is framed above a millennial pink couch. Nearby is an array of photos — subjects include her husband, actor Peter Hermann; her children; her “SVU” co-star Ice-T; and, in a life-size poster, Hargitay and her former “SVU” partner, Christopher Meloni. Fittingly for a feminist hero, another wall is devoted to Wonder Woman memorabilia and an end table is covered in Ruth Bader Ginsburg-themed books and tchotchkes.

Olivia Benson would be proud. Over 20 seasons, Hargitay’s empathetic TV detective has become something of a pop culture icon for her all-consuming drive for justice for the “special victims” she works with, generally female survivors of sexual assault.

In recent years “SVU” has come into new relevancy as the #MeToo movement has spurred a broader reckoning with the prevalence and consequences of sexual harassment and assault.

For Hargitay it’s been a long time coming.

“I am appalled and jubilant at this moment,” she said. “I’m horrified, and I’m doing a happy dance that this is what is dominating the media because I say thank God, finally, the collective culture is focusing on this. Because that is the only way, the only way that we’re going to eradicate it.”

On Thursday, “SVU” begins its 21st season, which will make it the longest-running prime-time drama in U.S. TV history (surpassing its parent show, “Law &amp; Order,” and the western “Gunsmoke”) and make Olivia Benson TV’s longest-running prime-time drama character. (“The Simpsons” holds most prime-time longevity records at this point.)

Neither the series nor the actress plans to shut down the unit anytime soon. That’s partly because “SVU” still draws respectable ratings for NBC, but also because what started as a job for Hargitay has become her life’s work.

Since taking on Benson in 1999, Hargitay, 55, has also spent much of her life off-screen working for victims of sexual assault. She trained to become a rape crisis counselor, and in 2004 she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit that helps survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. On Tuesday night she accepted an Emmy for “I Am Evidence,” the HBO documentary she produced and starred in that investigates how police handle sexual assault cases in the United States.

“I’m more engaged now than ever, and I was pretty engaged when I started this,” she said. “It turned me from sort of actor to activist.”

While she shares Benson’s obsessions, in person Hargitay is a near opposite. Playful and affable where her alter ego is taciturn and matter-of-fact, she also veers sharply from Benson’s grayscale wardrobe, surrounding herself in color. Settled in a plush, plum armchair with Sally Jessy Raphael-red reading glasses perched atop her head, she radiated bubbly energy and moved her hands constantly in conversation. “I’m a gesticulator,” she warned.

The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and bodybuilder-actor Mickey Hargitay, she studied acting at UCLA and landed her first role in the 1985 comedy-horror film “Ghoulies.” She starred on her first TV series one year later, the crime drama “Downtown,” and went on to appear on shows like “Falcon Crest,” “Can’t Hurry Love” and “ER.”

But everything changed in 1999 when she landed the role of Benson on “SVU,” and she hasn’t looked back since. “I fell so in love with her and so in love with the idea of this show, as progressive as it was at the time, and telling these kinds of stories,” she said.

The show brought her awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a spot in the cultural imagination. Taylor Swift, who famously named one of her cats Olivia Benson, recruited Hargitay for the video for her song “Bad Blood” in 2015. More recently, Hargitay starred with Ice-T in a “SVU”-themed “Game of Thrones” parody on “Saturday Night Live.”

More meaningfully, the character at times has been a source of comfort for real-life victims and survivors. In the 2016 book “We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out,” a writer discussed how “Olivia Benson shattered the self-blame and uncertainty I had endured for years.”

Hargitay said that viewers often approach her to share their personal experiences with sexual assault. The topic, and that of Benson’s broader impact with women and survivors of abuse, makes her emotional.

“It became very apparent to me early how much, culturally, we needed this character who relentlessly fights and advocates for women and for survivors, and who does it with compassion,” she said through tears. “Somebody who is unequivocally committed to righting wrongs, who believes survivors, who’s aware of the healing in it.”

At her foundation’s “Being Believed” panel in May, where Hargitay spoke alongside author Roxane Gay and prosecutor Kym Worthy of Wayne County, Michigan, some women disclosed their assaults for the first time. She has also made the widespread rape-kit backlog at police departments a personal focus — her documentary “I Am Evidence” investigates that issue in particular.

“If somebody’s rape kit is not tested, what’s that saying?” she said. “That says you don’t matter, and no one should experience not mattering.”

Dick Wolf, the “Law &amp; Order” mastermind, calls Hargitay “the mother of the #MeToo movement.”

“She has clearly been affected by her role as Detective Benson, and she has turned that into a mission to make a difference,” he wrote in an email.

Over 20 seasons, “SVU” has remained true to its procedural roots. It brings in the occasional celebrity to spice up its cases of the week — Bradley Cooper, Carol Burnett, Robin Williams, Serena Williams — but otherwise it evolves mostly in the headlines it rips and the investigative tactics it incorporates, like the latest forms of trauma interviewing. In recent years it has flirted more with continuing storylines as it has gone deeper into Benson’s and other characters’ personal lives.

In addition to its own two-decade run, “Law &amp; Order” generated six spinoff series. “SVU” is the only one left standing. Last season it drew more than 7 million viewers on average, which was enough to keep it in the Top 50 of all broadcast series. (It ranked within the Top 30 among coveted viewers ages 18-49.) According to NBC, the show also thrives on Hulu, where it draws a much younger audience.

Producers credit Hargitay with the show’s longevity, pointing to both the enduring appeal of the character and the actress’s steadying presence on the set.

“The reason the show is 21 years in is Mariska,” showrunner Warren Leight said. “The No. 1 on the call sheet defines your show. If it’s toxic, it starts there, and if it’s open, warm and generous, it’s a different kind of show.”

Hargitay never imagined she would be playing Olivia Benson for over 20 years, but she remains committed to surprising the “SVU” faithful as well as herself. “This is Season 21, baby — there’s never been a Season 21,” she said. “We’ve got to do it differently.” (She was tight-lipped about details, aside from mentioning that Ian McShane would make a guest appearance.)

NBC hasn’t yet renewed “SVU” for a Season 22. But with the show’s move several years ago from New Jersey to Chelsea making it easier for Hargitay to coordinate her family schedule — her children go to school in Manhattan — she isn’t thinking about the end, she said.

When she does decide to call it quits, though, she will have at least one thing to check off first: a reunion between Benson and Meloni’s Elliot Stabler.

“It just has to be that way, doesn’t it?” she said. “I started it with him, and I want to finish it with him.” Meloni has said that he has no plans to return to “SVU,” although the actors remain close; last week Hargitay posted photos on Instagram of herself and Meloni, whom she compares to an “ex-husband.”

But should Meloni return, don’t expect the romance plotline viewers clamored for throughout their run as partners. “I think that was the beauty of it — we just always knew that could never happen because the tension, and the love, was the magic,” Hargitay said.

As the conversation came to a close, her gaze fell upon another photo on her office wall, a black-and-white shot of a woman running on a beach. It was of Hilary Swank, a close friend, taken from a Vanity Fair cover shoot.

“When I saw that picture, I said, ‘Hilary, I need this,’” Hargitay said. “Because that’s a marathon. That’s what I’ve been on for 21 years.” And she doesn’t plan to stop running anytime soon.

As 'SVU' Makes History, Mariska Hargitay Makes Olivia Benson's Mission Her Own

When Mariska Hargitay isn’t grilling perps in gloomy interrogation rooms, she spends most of her time in a real-life Pinterest board.

“I didn’t think we were done with the world of ‘Brooklyn,’ but I’m also realistic,” she said recently. “I thought to myself maybe if Netflix or Hulu picks it up and lets us finish out the ride for a few more episodes, then maybe that seems like the best-case scenario.”

Instead, NBC greenlit a 13-episode season and later extended it by five episodes — Season 6 of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” began this month. The renewal gives fans a chance to uncover more about Rosa, a leather jacket-clad crime fighter who was only starting to open up, on a personal level, by the end of the show’s run on Fox. While Rosa had previously shared vague bits of history — like the time she got kicked out of a dance academy for “beating up the ballerinas” — her biggest reveal of all happened last season, when she came out as bisexual.

“Over the last six seasons, Rosa has gone from being an enigma whom people knew nothing about, to an enigma whom people now know an incredibly tiny amount about,” showrunner Dan Goor said.

Rosa is best known to fans for her anger management issues, deadpan disposition and secrecy.

“In comedy you have the ‘straight man,’ who’s basically the deadpan, flat comedy partner,” Beatriz said. “And in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ the bi woman is a straight man, which is hilarious.”

In reality, the generally bubbly Beatriz, 37, is the emotional antithesis of her character. Even so, she sees shades of her own personality in Rosa’s fierceness and candor, and the inspiration for the character’s bisexual identity was informed by the actress’s own life.

Beatriz disclosed that she identified as queer in a 2016 tweet, responding to an interview featuring bisexual actress Aubrey Plaza. If the revelation on the show got attention and made Rosa’s identification official, it was not especially noteworthy to the woman who portrays her.

“Secretly in my mind, I think, I was playing her as someone who was attracted to all genders,” Beatriz said.

Born in Neuquén, Argentina, Beatriz emigrated with her parents when she was 2 years old to Webster, Texas, just outside Houston. Her interest in acting began with that perennial refuge for young outsiders: high school theater.

“That’s where the weird kids were; that’s where the gay kids felt comfortable. A lot of people of color gravitated toward that group,” Beatriz said. “I just felt like the best version of myself when I was with that group of kids.”

After high school, Beatriz graduated with a theater degree from Stephens College in Missouri, then moved to New York.

“I knew there was space for me in theater, but I didn’t know if there was space for me in TV and film,” she said. Eventually, she found her place: After bit parts in a few TV series and a notable supporting turn in the film “Short Term 12,” Beatriz got her big break in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which debuted in 2013.

In portraying a “tough good guy,” Beatriz found inspiration in spaghetti Westerns, a genre that sometimes featured a character in an all-black getup. She described it as a “robot-cowboy” look: “I think I was taking elements of that archetype when I started thinking about her as a character. I remember going into the first costume fitting and saying, ‘I think it’s a lot of black.' ”

Aside from her inscrutable nature, Rosa is known for her sardonic tone and dedication to being a solid detective.

But as the writers began working on Season 5, Goor asked Beatriz if she would be comfortable with Rosa coming out as bisexual, to parallel Beatriz’s own revelation.

“I was thrilled by it,” Beatriz said. She was open with the staff about her own experiences, as well as the experiences of other queer Latinos in her life, “because I wanted the story to feel real.”

True to form for the brusque Rosa, the disclosure came in two sentences: “I’m dating a woman. I’m bi.”

The actress was more forthcoming, sharing with the writers specific sentiments she had heard in her own life.

“'Well, you’re not gay; you could still marry a man,'” she recounted. “Which is like, ‘I’m holding out hope that you’re straight, honey.' ”

Beatriz was reminded again of the perceptions particular to bisexuality in October, when she did marry a man: her husband Brad Boehlefeld.

“People that maybe don’t understand bisexuality completely and haven’t had a lot of experience with it, might have questioned [my marriage],” she said. “I’m in a partnership that’s monogamous for the rest of my life that’s exciting to me, but [that] may be disappointing to some fans.”

A proudly silly cop sitcom might seem like an unlikely catalyst for change, Beatriz said. But in Rosa’s progression, she sees the chance to move the emotional needle for a certain segment of the fan base.

“I’ve been watching this character on my favorite show for five seasons — now do I hate her because she’s bi?” she said, rhetorically. “I think the best learning, growing and conversations with people can come out of art, and particularly fun art that makes you laugh.”

After the brief brush with cancellation, Beatriz now gets to continue Rosa’s storyline on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” There are hints of an evolved Rosa in the new season; in the premiere, the character’s soft side peeks through when she expresses concern over Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) losing out on the position of police commissioner. (Her gruff nature quickly returns, however, when she finds herself on the verge of losing an important case.) While Beatriz is coy about the details, she promises more evident growth for the formerly buttoned-up Rosa, who will continue to slowly let her co-workers into her life.

“I also can say the exploration of Rosa’s romantic life and her inner-workings will continue,” she said. Whatever the dubious response to her own relationships, Beatriz stated that she will keep using her platform to be a vocal LGBTQ advocate.

In Season 6, Beatriz also realized a professional goal: She directed an episode of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which will air March 14. She admitted that along the way she had to overcome “me da pena,” a Spanish expression that describes the sensation of both embarrassment and the shame surrounding it.

“I think a lot of women identify with that feeling,” Beatriz said. “We’re all sort of culturally talking about this moment now where women have felt like, ‘Why haven’t I asked? Why not me?'” But she took the arrival of the once improbable sixth season of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” as a sign that she needed to ask for what she wanted, and Goor gave her the go-ahead.

The self-doubt Beatriz once felt has inverted into a kind of fierce determination that Rosa Diaz would be proud of, she said, and she’s trying to remain open to whatever opportunities come her way.

“I just really like telling stories,” she said. “And it turns out I’m pretty good at it.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/arts/television/brooklyn-nine-nine-stephanie-beatriz-rosa-diaz.html" id="51fabfb5-ea47-3fda-a9b5-5819339aceb3">The New York Times</a>.

'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Is Back, and Stephanie Beatriz Is Making the Most of It

When Fox pulled the plug on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” in May, many fans and critics were shocked. But Stephanie Beatriz, who plays the no-nonsense detective Rosa Diaz, was more clear-eyed.

Based on “The Taming of the Shrew,” the film centered on the Stratford girls, whose strict father won’t allow Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) to date until her older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles), does. The problem: Kat has no use for boys; she’s got her sights set on college. Hoping to go out with Bianca, new student Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) hatches a convoluted plan to get Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to date the prickly Kat. Of course, drama, romance and a lot of awkward moments ensue.

What stands out 20 years later is the movie’s continued relevance — its Seattle teenagers debate sexual politics — as well as its status as a beloved teen comedy. Made for $11.2 million, “10 Things I Hate About You” was released March 31, 1999, and made instant stars out of Stiles, Gordon-Levitt and Ledger.

But things could have turned out differently because several actors you know could have ended up as the leads.

I recently spoke with the stars (including Gabrielle Union and David Krumholtz), director Gil Junger and others about casting near-misses, face-drawing and their memories of Ledger, who died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in 2008. Here are edited excerpts from the conversations.

KirstenSmith and Karen McCullah wrote the script at a time when teen rom-coms based on the classics were trending in Hollywood.

KIRSTEN SMITH: There was such a big teen movie explosion at the time. We were young writers who had never sold a script before, and it was very unusual you would get your first script made, let alone greenlit six months after it was optioned. It had this feeling all around of firsts.

JULIA STILES: I remember thinking (the screenplay) was so cool and I just loved the heart of Kat so much. I was dying to get the role. I had been reading “The Taming of the Shrew” in school, and it was the first time I had read a romantic comedy (script) that captured teenage angst in such a clever way.

LARISA OLEYNIK: I remember being pretty smitten with it right away. The script was unabashedly feminist and really of the riot grrrl era of the Pacific Northwest.

Katie Holmes and Kate Hudson were among several performers up for leading roles. Even some of the final cast members originally wanted different parts.

MARCIA ROSS: (casting director) We screen-tested Josh Hartnett, Eliza Dushku, Heath and Julia. But Julia and Heath just had the best chemistry together. I loved Katie Holmes. She was about to get “Dawson’s Creek,” and we had to make a decision really fast. The other person I loved was Kate Hudson. But her mom (Goldie Hawn) didn’t like the script for her, so she passed.

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT: If I’m really honest, I didn’t want to do a high school romantic comedy. I wanted to do Sundance movies. I’m very lucky that five years later, I got to do that. The truth is, I was a naive or stuck-up 17-year-old.

OLEYNIK: I auditioned for both Kat and Bianca pretty much up until the very end, and I really wanted Kat. I think I was so obsessed with wanting to prove to them that that’s who I was, that by the time I’d get to the Bianca stuff, I’d be like, “Oh, yeah, sure, whatever.” And I’m sure that’s why it worked, because I was super-relaxed about it.

DAVID KRUMHOLTZ: (who played Michael, Cameron’s neurotic best friend) I wanted to play Cameron, but I had worked with Gil on a couple of TV projects, and he knew I could do Michael in my sleep, in the sense that you play a neurotic Jewish kid. I know that Joe wanted to play Michael.

GORDON-LEVITT: I auditioned both for Krumholtz’s part and my part, because I thought (Krumholtz’s part) was funny. Then (Gil) wanted me to play Cameron.

GABRIELLE UNION: (Chastity, Bianca’s pal) I was over 10 years older than my younger cast members, some of whom were still in high school. So, it was kind of like, how close is this to my high school years? Do I look crazy playing a 15-year-old? Don’t mention Earth Wind &amp; Fire or give away your age.

Heath Ledger thought he bombed his audition, but his star power was undeniable to everyone.

SMITH: (On) his audition tape, he wore a white suit with a black button-down shirt. He was really dressed up, very John Travolta “Saturday Night Fever.” It was a look that was rumpled and rock, but way more dressed up than anyone else was, which was badass because he could pull that off.

GIL JUNGER: Heath walked in, and I thought to myself, if this guy can read, I’m going to cast him. There was an energy to him, a sexuality that was palpable. When Heath was done, literally, with the first page, I said, “OK, you can put down the script. You’re doing great. I want to do a little improv with you.” I just wanted to see how fast his mind would adapt, comedically. After 35 seconds, I said, “OK. Fantastic.” But I could tell he was nervous that he blew it, because the audition was so quick, and I said, “No, no. you’re a very talented guy, and I really appreciate you coming in.” The instant the door closed, I turned to the women in the room and said, “Ladies, I have never wanted to sleep with a man, but if I had to sleep with a man, that would be the man. Please cast him immediately.”

Ledger took creative control of the scene in which he woos Kat by singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” from the bleachers at her soccer practice.

McCULLAH: The first song we had in the script was “I Think I Love You.” Then we decided on “I Touch Myself,” and I think Heath decided that that wasn’t romantic enough, so he chose the Frankie Valli song, which was a much better call.

JUNGER: I said to Heath, “Just run around the steps when the guards start to chase you.” Right after the first take, the nurse on set ran up to one of the guards. They were fearful he might have pushed himself almost to a heart attack. Heath was running with such joy that it physically exhausted the guards.

Kat’s drunk table-dancing in a party scene would have career ramifications for Stiles.

STILES: I hadn’t ever really been drunk before in real life. I mean, I was 17, so I remember Heath — because he was older — giving me tips on what being drunk looks and feels like.

JUNGER: I was good friends with Paula Abdul, and I mentioned to Julia that I was going to have a big choreographer work with her and Julia said, “That’s fine, but I can dance.” I went against my normal instincts and trusted her.

STILES: I would never have the guts to do that now. I’m glad somebody got that on film. I mean I love dancing, but sort of provocatively on the table? I was pretty guileless at that point. I also have heard that that is what got me the part in “Save the Last Dance.” The director said to me that he had seen that scene, then realized that I could do hip-hop, not just ballet.

Andrew Keegan, who played the wealthy bully, needed help for a scene involving an obscene drawing.

MCCULLAH: That scene came from a friend of mine from college. He passed out and his roommates drew a (penis) on his face, and then he got up and walked across the street to a 7-Eleven without knowing.

ANDREW KEEGAN: Quite frankly, I did not know how to draw (a penis) on someone’s face, and I believe David was the one that helped creatively with that.

KRUMHOLTZ: I had to teach Andrew. I sat him down and we rehearsed. In a way, I kind of conducted my own penis-drawing on my face.

KEEGAN: I have heard about that scene for my whole adult life, so I think I did a pretty good job.

During the most heartfelt scene in the movie, in which Kat reads the titular poem to Patrick, Stiles went off-script and cried.

STILES: It had been such an emotional role and such a wonderful experience that I was overjoyed, and probably sad it was coming to an end, but I also was just in a very raw place.

JUNGER: Basically, the whole speech was one shot.

STILES: I remember Heath, when they turned around to do his reaction shot, he said something like, “I don’t need to do anything because this isn’t about me.” A lot of times you get one actor crying in a scene and the other actor feels like they have to cry, and he knew to be sort of restrained. I thought that was really cool.

JUNGER: I did everything I could to cover my mouth and nose because I was crying so hard. It was such an amazing performance. That take (in the film) is the first take. I think I jumped up and just hugged her for the longest time.

In the final scene, Letters to Cleo performs on the rooftop of Padua High School, but the crew didn’t have permission to shoot there.

JUNGER: Disney said they loved the work I was doing but couldn’t justify spending that much money for one shot. And then when the line producer said to me, “What did they say?” I don’t know what the hell it was, but some instinct in me said, “They said yes. Shoot it.”

ANDREW LAZAR: (producer) It was so complicated, and we had a helicopter.

JUNGER: I was flying in the helicopter, and I said to the pilot, “Charge ’em.” And he flew right over (Letters to Cleo).

KAY HANLEY: (Letters to Cleo lead singer) We’re all arranged on top of this postage-stamp-sized roof with chicken wire the only thing protecting us from toppling to our deaths into the Puget Sound. The music starts playing (and) we start pretending we’re in a music video. We hear the whir of a chopper right above us, and then it divebombs us. We did two takes, and it was pretty much assumed that this shot wasn’t going to work, and Gil would never work in Hollywood again because he had just blown through half a million dollars doing this shot he was forbidden to do. And it ended up being a pretty iconic scene.

JUNGER:Kay was (exhilarated). She said, “Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

The cast recalls the shoot as one of the best times of their lives, but they wish Ledger was here to celebrate the anniversary.

OLEYNIK: It’s projecting a fantasy of a high school experience, but it’s also grounded in what most 17-year-olds are still feeling, what I’m still feeling as a 37-year-old.

GORDON-LEVITT: I feel like the sheer closeness that we all had that summer is a big part of why people like that movie, because it wasn’t fake. I spent all summer laughing at (Krumholtz) and slowly starting to talk like him. By the end of that summer, everybody talked like an old Jewish man from Queens because of Krumholtz.

KRUMHOLTZ: You know, people still say, “I have a (penis) on my face, don’t I?” And I have to be like hey, you got me. It’s haunted me for the rest of my life. It’s wonderful.

STILES: It was a really fun summer. There wasn’t a mean person in the bunch. I remember (Heath) played the didgeridoo, which was the first time I had even been introduced to that.

KRUMHOLTZ: It always makes me swallow hard when I know that something I say about Heath is going to be put out there. My clique was Heath and his lovely assistant and best friend, Trevor (DiCarlo). I loved Heath. As I get older, and as the movie takes on greater relevance with new audiences, it’s harder to wrap my head around the idea that Heath passed on the way he did. I would’ve very much loved him to be part of this article, to feel appreciated for his work in the film, because he worked really hard on “10 Things I Hate About You.”

UNION: Heath had the ability to look at you, and (make) you feel like Princess Diana. In a very crowded Hollywood landscape, he could make you feel special and seen. That’s a pretty special gift, and I don’t think it’s talked about enough.

KRUMHOLTZ:Toward the end of his life I reunited with him, at a time when we were both quite vulnerable and trying to recover from some stuff that was haunting us. I had an opportunity to tell Heath how much I loved him and to sort of try to help Heath. He had become so famous, and his life had become so crazy, that in the moment when I could’ve said something, I didn’t, even though I thought it. It’s a big regret I have. To fans, he’s a movie star that died. To me, he was flesh and bone, soulful, sweet, and I know for a fact he was in recovery prior to his death. He was trying to get healthy.

I just want people to know there was a suffering individual there, who couldn’t have been a lovelier human being. I prefer to remember Heath as a 20-year-old kid doing his first American lead with a big giant Cheshire grin smile on his face, taking charge as the leader of the group like any good ensemble leader should.

This article originally appeared in <a id="f2c8da34-0d92-4ec1-8ac4-b8b03d503518" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/arts/10-things-i-hate-about-you-heath-ledger.html">The New York Times</a>.

Shakespearean teenagers in love, '99 style

In a sea of late-1990s rom-com takes on classic literature, “10 Things I Hate About You” stood out for remaining faithful to its Shakespearean roots.

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Ilana Kaplan

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Shakespearean teenagers in love, '99 style