Michelle Williams Talks Raising Matilda & Taking Time Off After Heath Ledger’s Death
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Michelle Williams and daughter Matilda Rose Ledger, in New York, 2008
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Heath and Matilda Rose Ledger
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FIRST PUBLISHED: February 23, 2009 2:07 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: February 23, 2009 2:26 PM EST
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --
Michelle Williams has said she will not raise her and the late Heath Ledger’s daughter, Matilda, in Hollywood.
“I wouldn’t raise [Matilda] there. For all the obvious reasons – being the daughter of… Being an actor’s daughter. It’s a town that’s about one thing and I want her to have options,” Michelle told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.
The actress, who is currently promoting the UK release of her indie film, “Wendy and Lucy,” told the publication she hopes Matilda will grow up to be a doctor. The three-and-a-half-year-old is hoping to grow up to be a cowgirl, however, the paper reported.
Though she is currently promoting her film, Michelle admitted she hasn’t taken a job in quite some time as Heath’s death was something she, “couldn’t work through.
“I felt burnt out, I still feel that, but I’m coming back to my wits, little by little,” she said. “Ultimately I am not yet ready to work. I’ve actually really been enjoying not working… I guess everybody enjoys that.”
Instead, in addition to taking care of Matilda, Michelle said she has been “cooking, cleaning and sewing.”
And, Michelle said, she doesn’t feel the pressure to return immediately despite the wishes of Hollywood.
“Everybody says ‘The time is now’. But I can be 28 and take a year off. Hopefully there’ll still be something there to go back to,” she said.
Michelle also explained she is happy to stick to independent films.
“I’ll be happy making movies for $300,000 for the rest of my life, if the roles are interesting. On that level, there’ll always be something to go back to,” she said.
One thing Michelle isn’t interested in though, is her romance with director, Spike Jonze.
“I don’t really want to talk about that,” she said. “In terms of trying to convey how you feel, you can never really say it right… I do worry too much about getting it just right.”
Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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