Actor who had daughter with Heath Ledger spoke out about moment after his death that left her in tears

Before he died, Heath Ledger had a daughter with fellow actor Michelle Williams, with them having met on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2004 where she played his wife in the movie.

A year later their daughter Matilda Rose was born, but the relationship between the actors didn't last and by 2007 it was confirmed that they'd broken up.

Ledger tragically died in 2008, having completed filming on The Dark Knight before his death and him winning a posthumous Oscar for his incredible performance.

The awards Ledger posthumously won had many of those who worked with him in tears thinking about his loss, and there have been many heartfelt tributes to his memory since his passing.

His loss was especially difficult for his family, and Williams said that her 'heart was broken' after she learned of Ledger's death.

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams met on the set of Brokeback Mountain, and had a daughter together (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The actor said that their daughter would 'be brought up in the best memories of him', and she would later tell Porter magazine of a moment she had with her daughter afterwards that brought her to tears.

She said: "I watched her warm in the sun, in her swimsuit, get on her bicycle and smile and wave as she rode off to go meet her friends.

"I went back into the house and sobbed because of this incredibly simple moment - common everyday happiness.

"I really felt like in that moment, like wow, we've done it. Not only are we OK, she's happy. Life has brought us to a place that's not just surviving, but thriving."

One of Ledger's final performances, as The Joker in The Dark Knight, contained a reference to his daughter as when his character dresses as a nurse and blows up a hospital he's wearing a nametag saying 'Matilda'.

Williams later said she'd been brought to tears seeing her daughter experiencing 'common everyday happiness' after Heath Ledger died (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

She was just a toddler at the time of filming, and in another film he acted in which was released after his death his co-stars made a kind gesture to the child.

Ledger's final film was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, though he died before filming was completed.

To finish the movie, director Terry Gilliam hired Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law on the basis that they'd been friends with Ledger.

They decided to have Ledger's character transform at certain points in the story when it made sense, and body double Zander Gladish stood in for Ledger in some other scenes.

Farrell, Depp and Law all gave their salaries from appearing in the film to Matilda.