Never before seen photos of Heath Ledger to be sold as NFTs

Heath Ledger had his finger on the trigger for a long and successful career in Hollywood when he accidentally overdosed in 2008, leaving fans, friends and family to imagine what might have been.

“The world’s your limit with someone like this,” observed celebrity photographer Ben Watts, who photographed the Australian actor several times before his death, 28. “And what he achieved was incredible.”

Now, 14 years after the “Brokeback Mountain” star’s death, Watts is releasing never-before-seen images of Ledger as limited-edition non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. “This work is one of my most favorite,” Watts said.

It is the sheriff’s first attempt at cryptographic assets. “I’m late to this game,” he admitted.

Watts, 55, of Chelsea, met Ledger at a New York restaurant through his sister, actress Naomi Watts, who dated the actor for two years after they met on the set of the 2003 film “Ned Kelly.”

For a 2004 assignment for Interview magazine, Watts took Ledger, a skateboarding enthusiast, to the Los Angeles River, which he called “such a great day.”

“We rode up and down the freeboard on a skateboard. I was in the back of it towing him,” he explained. “In some of the shots you can see I have the tow rope and he’s holding on to it. He loved it.”

The London-born, Australian-raised Watts, who moved to New York in 1995, also did commercials for “Ned Kelly,” including one in which Ledger holds his fingers like a gun pointed at his head.

“I didn’t really think much of it,” Watts said of the scary snap. “I do it myself sometimes when I’m feeling really stressed or bothered.”

Two puppies that Ledger and Naomi Watts adopted, Ned and Bob, found their way into another photo that is among the 15 photos for sale on MakersPlace, an NFT marketplace, starting September 14.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Heath Ledger Foundation, which was established after the “A Knight’s Tale” star’s death to provide scholarships to emerging Australian actors.

Watts also noted that the actor, who was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of The Joker in “The Dark Knight,” was very involved in the shooting process.

“I do a lot of portraits of celebrities,” he said. “And it’s not always their favorite thing.”