Heath Ledger’s father saddened by Ryan Corr’s drug arrest

Heath Ledger’s father has expressed his sadness after the actor who received his son’s scholarship fund was arrested on suspicion of drug possession. Rising star Ryan Corr, who appears in Russell Crowe’s upcoming movie The Water Diviner, is facing a drug possession charge after police officers in Sydney, Australia allegedly caught him smoking heroin.
He was given a huge career boost in 2011 when he was named the recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship Award, which is named in honour of the late Australian actor and funded by famous benefactors including the star’s former partner Michelle Williams, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.
Ledger’s father Kim, who is a patron of his son’s scholarship fund, has now spoken of his disappointment following news of Corr’s arrest.
He says, “It does make me sad to hear that because we have enough problems with alcohol and drugs… I have some empathy for what happens around that situation with families but very little empathy for people that put it in their own mouth. We do what we can to help people but we’re not involved in the proactive side of it.”
Ledger was just 28 years old when he died from an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008. Previous winners of the scholarship include Dark Shadows star Bella Heathcote and James Mackay.