Andrew Garfield remembers Heath Ledger as 'a gift to the world'

Andrew Garfield has learned a lot about death and grief over the last two years.

The 38-year-old actor lost his mother, Lynn, to cancer in late 2019, and then he dove headfirst into portraying the late Jonathan Larson for "Tick, Tick ... Boom!"

Larson, the creator of "Rent," died unexpectedly at 35, just before the now-iconic play's first Off-Broadway preview. 

"Tick, Tick," Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut, is the adaptation of Larson's autobiographical musical about the existential torture involved with pursuing your artistic calling.

Garfield opened up about his preparation for the role in conversation with Dakota Johnson for Vanity Fair, which led to him remembering Heath Ledger, who died Jan. 22, 2008, at just 28 years old.

"[Jonathan's] sister, Julie Larson was a big resource and a producer on the film," Garfield explained. "From her to one of the people that lost their virginity to him. Everyone was lining up around the block to just share about John because I think when someone, when anyone dies, we want the beauty of keeping their memory alive by talking about them and by repeating stories over and over again. It’s like a ritual, right? It keeps their spirit here with us no matter if they die at 35 or 80. So, I think especially with someone who died so young—I remember feeling it with Heath [Ledger]. I don’t know if you knew Heath?"

Johnson then confirmed that she didn't know Ledger.

Garfield continued: "He died in the middle of a film that we were making together. And also he was just obviously such an incredible artist and a gift to the world and I think the same goes for Jonathan. It was like the amount of people that want to keep his spirit alive enabled us to get all of the information and all of the subjective experiences that people had with him and I love that."

That film was 2009's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." It was Ledger's final film, after 2008's "The Dark Knight," which also premiered after the Australian actor's death and earned him a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor. In "Imaginarium," Ledger's role of Tony had to be completed by a combination of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

As for Garfield, this isn't the first time he has spoken so poignantly about loss. In November, he gave an emotional take on his mother's death and his ongoing grief while visiting "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Watch below.