Press Conference, 19 March The stars of "Ned Kelly" faced a packed press conference in Melbourne on March 19. With the premiere imminent, the media were desperate to find out more about this major film. Stars Heath Ledger (Ned Kelly), Naomi Watts (Julia Cook), Geoffrey Rush (Superintendent Hare), Laurence Kinlan (Dan Kelly), Phil Barantini (Steve Hart) and Joel Edgerton (Aaron Sherritt) joined director Gregor Jordan on the panel. Question: Heath, why did you take the role? Heath Ledger: Originally it was just because of Gregor, I wanted to work with him again and it happened to be this project. It also felt like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I happen to be the right age. I thought I would learn a lot about myself and my craft doing it, and I did. I had a lot of fun, particularly because it's such an iconic Australian story and I wanted to work back in Australia as well. Question: What sort of research did you do for the role? Heath Ledger: At the end of the day, there's only so many books you can read on him, and they don't give you an accurate picture of how he walked and talked and carried himself. So really you have to have a stab in the dark, and it's just my opinion on what he was like. In terms of literature, the Jerilderie letter was extremely vital - it was his words and certainly provided me with his passion. I read it to myself every day. Question: Naomi, how did you enjoy working back in Australia? Naomi Watts: It was great. Gregor called me and said he had a role he wanted me to read. From the history I knew of Ned Kelly, there weren't really any female figures featured that I could remember. I was pretty spurred up about it because Gregor told me the cast - Heath, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths - and the opportunity to come back to Australia to work is always fantastic. And the story was such an important part of Australian history. Question: What inspired you to make this film? Gregor Jordan: I'd always been interested in bushrangers ever since I was a kid - I think most kids in Australia are. Executive producer Tim White approached me years ago about doing a bushranger movie, but nothing happened. Then, about 18 months ago, Tim came to me and told me about Working Title's script. I looked at it and thought there was something there. But I also decided I didn't want to do it without Heath. There was no way I wanted to it without casting an Australian, and there weren't many actors in the world who were the right age and stature to do it. Question: How historically accurate is the film? Gregor Jordan: It's tricky to tell a story that spans 25 years in two hours. So you have to leave stuff out, ultimately. I think it's very important to be historically accurate and, where you can't be, to be in the spirit of historical accuracy. The concessions made to fiction usually involved combining characters or condensing events. There's also gaps in the story, even though it is fairly well documented. One of the biggest gaps was during the Fitzpatrick incident, which led to the Kelly outbreak. Ned wasn't there, but there's no record of where he was. There's no record of Ned having a girlfriend or wife, but he's a very passionate, charismatic guy - there's no way women aren't going to find him cool. So we created this storyline, it is fictitious, but not gratuitously so. Question: Do you think the film will translate to an international audience? Gregor Jordan: The story means something different to Australians than to an international audience - Ned's part of our culture and heritage. But it's a great story, an outrageous story, and his story has been appealing to Australians over the years so there's no reason an international audience can't find the same appeal. Question: Geoffrey, how did you get involved? Geoffrey Rush: I received the script, which contained things like "Superintendent Hare GALLOPS into shot, JUMPS off his horse and RACES into the police station." I thought: this is too hard for me! Then I received a revised script later that said "Superintendent Hare arrives by trains and STEPS onto the platform" or "Superintendent Hare WALKS through the train talking to his troops." Then I thought: I'll do this! (Laughs). Question: For Laurence and Phil, did you find it difficult to research your roles, given that a lot less is known about Dan Kelly and Steve Hart? Phil Barantini: I obviously didn't know much about the story at the beginning, so during the audition process I did research on the Internet. Steve worked on his dad's farm and he used to dress in his sister's clothes while he was in the Kelly Gang so he could sneak off to horse races, because he was a jockey. So I quite liked him, he was quite a cheeky guy. Laurence Kinlan: There was a lot of stuff on Dan and Steve, for the whole gang. The whole idea of four guys going around the outback shooting guns and riding horses was a big plus for me. I didn't know very much about Ned Kelly, though my mum and dad did. I read lots of stuff. Question: Joel, how keen were you to get involved in the film? Joel Edgerton: Really keen. I'd been publicised about my walk-on role in Star Wars, and everyone was asking me how excited I was to be in that film. But being involved in a movie about Ned Kelly was such an honour, for me. It was the first job I'd been involved in where I was really dressed up when I walked on set. It does so much for your imagination. I'm really proud.   Heath Ledger brought in Gerry Grennell, whom he previously worked with, as dialect coach to help with the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English accents   Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts   Geoffrey Rush and Laurence Kinlan   Philip Barantini, Joel Edgerton and Gregor Jordan   Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts and Heath Ledger