Michelle Williams makes rare Heath Ledger comment as she breaks silence on raising their daughter

Michelle Williams has made a rare comment about her relationship with Heath Ledger and life raising their daughter.

Ledger and Williams met while filming romantic drama Brokeback Mountain back in 2004 and enjoyed a three-year relationship together, during which time they welcomed their daughter Matilda, in October 2005.

The couple later go their separate ways in 2007 and remained as co-parents to their daughter until the Dark Knight star's unexpected death at the age of 28. Ledger passed away from an accidental overdose in January 2008, just months after completing filming for The Dark Knight.

His death would send shockwaves through Hollywood, with Dawson's Creek star Williams left to raise their daughter alone.

Over 17 years on from Ledger's death and Williams has paid tribute to the 'special' actor as she makes a rare public comment about their daughter.

They met on set of Brokeback Mountain (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)

Touching on the subject during a recent interview on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Shepard revealed that he'd known Ledger while he was getting sober.

"I feel obligated to say that I knew him a little bit when he was getting sober," Shepard revealed.

"And I don’t know that I’ve ever fallen in love with someone so quickly. This is one of the most special boys I’ve ever met."

He continued: "And I can feel the weight of the world on him in a very special way that kind of broke my heart."

The moment clearly left Williams feeling emotional, as she was only able to reply that Ledger had been 'so special' before making the rare comment about her daughter.

"Thank God there’s Matilda," she added.

Williams previously addressed what it was like to raise her daughter without Ledger in 2016, telling Porter magazine that Matilda not having her father was something which 'won’t ever be right.'

The actor made a rare comment about her daughter, after referring to Ledger as 'so special' (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

"In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I’m a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you’ve been," she said.

"In pretty much all senses but one, I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not having her dad. You know, that’s just something that doesn’t…I mean, it just won’t ever be right."

Meanwhile, Ledger's father Kim previously told Channel Ten Australia’s The Project that the pair were very much alike.

"She’s got an enormous number of his mannerisms. She’s very inquisitive, she’s got his energy… ’cause Heath never slept from when he was two and Matilda’s like that," he explained in 2015 (via MailOnline).

"I mean, she’s just got this ball of energy and she radiates this little aura, Heath was kind of like that. So it’s fabulous really."

Williams has since welcomed three further children with her current partner, theatre director Thomas Kail, in 2020, 2022 and earlier this year.