Heath Ledger in 2004

Heath Ledger landed one of his most famous roles with effortless charm — within seconds.

Gil Junger, the director of 10 Things I Hate About You, recalled in an interview last week that he was desperate to find his leading man for the 1999 rom-com, and had already auditioned hundreds of young actors when a then-unknown Heath entered the room.

What happened next, he told Entertainment Weekly, was pure “magic”.

“I’m very picky,” Junger told the outlet. “I had already read 253 guys — 253 guys! And then Marcia Ross, the head of Disney casting, said, ‘Look, this next kid, I don’t know him. It’s a favour for an agent I respect. So if he’s no good, just stop it and send him on his way’.”

Heath had already established himself as an actor in his native Australia at the time, with roles in various television series, but was still very much unknown in the US.

Junger recalled that the option to rush through his audition, however, vanished........

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