On Dax Shepard<\/a>\u2019s Armchair Expert<\/a> podcast<\/a>, the If I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You<\/a> star, 46, recalled making the jump from Australia to Hollywood with the help of the late Oscar winner.<\/p>\n \u201cI really wanted to work internationally and wanted to have those ambitions, but by no means knew how,\u201d said Byrne, who worked in Australian soap operas before starring as Ledger’s love interest in 1999 film Two Hands.<\/p>\n \u201cI had never been to L.A.,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd then I did a film with Heath Ledger when we were 18. We were just kids.\u201d<\/p>\n When hosts Shepard, 50, and Monica Padman asked Byrne if she fell in love with the 10 Things I Hate About You star, she said, \u201cHe was such a charmer. He was a generous guy and such a talent and could have gone so many ways. We were close when we were 18, 19.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay Brice\/Getty<\/p>\n Rose Byrne and Heath Ledger in 1999<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n Two Hands, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival<\/a>, served as Byrne\u2019s introduction to the American entertainment industry, she explained, recalling that Ledger knew at that early age what he wanted out of Hollywood. \u201cHe was such a great example of an artist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was always getting offered these TV shows when we were starting out, and he was really like, \u2018I don’t wanna do that. I don’t wanna just be a heartthrob,\u2019\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t have that confidence,\u201d said Byrne, \u201cto be like, \u2018Okay, I’ll just not do TV.\u2019 At 20?\u201d In the years before her breakout role on legal drama Damages with Glenn Close<\/a>, she received support from the Brokeback Mountain star. \u201cI stayed with him a bunch of times, and he was so sweet. He’d get me into audition for his things.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the interview when discussing past costars, Byrne compared Ledger \u2014 who died<\/a> in 2008 at age 28 \u2014\u00a0to Ethan Hawke<\/a>, who she worked with in 2018 rom-com Juliet, Naked and who she said is close with her longtime partner Bobby Cannavale<\/a>. \u201cHe could have gone so many ways,\u201d she said of Hawke, 54. \u201cHe’s a true artist. That takes such drive and such belief \u2014\u00a0similar to Heath.\u201d<\/p>\n Byrne is earning buzz<\/a> for her lead role in A24\u2019s Mary Bronstein movie If I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You, in theaters now and costarring Conan O’Brien<\/a>, Danielle Macdonald and A$AP Rocky<\/a>. Season two of Platonic<\/a>, Byrne’s Apple TV+ comedy with Seth Rogen<\/a>, began airing in August. Among her upcoming projects is drama series The Good Daughter.<\/p>\n![\"Lindsay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6e011b938b15848dd9b45c0d97ed2199.jpeg\"\/)
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