Melbourne, October 29 Terry Gilliam who was directing Heath Ledger in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' when he died has recalled the actor's last days on the movie set.

The Brit filmmaker, who earned a standing ovation for the film at the Cannes film festival, revisited memories while shooting with the 28-year-old Australian star before his tragic passing from an accidental prescription drug overdose last year.

"How somebody with that much vitality and strength and just sheer life force suddenly just isn't there is just a mystery," News.com.au quoted Gilliam as saying.

Ledger's last scenes were shot in London just days before his death, when he was suffering from chronic insomnia and stepped on the set drained.

He was said to be struggling to come to terms with his split from Michelle Williams and a custody battle over their daughter, Matilda.

Former Monty Python member Gilliam saw Ledger pick up energy, rather than losing any, as the day went by, including performing his own stunts.

Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law were involved in the project at the last minute after Ledger's shock death.

Referring to Depp, the 68-year-old director said: "He just arrived, he was word perfect, he just jumped in. He's just brilliant.

"We were under a lot of pressure with Colin and Jude as well, because they all had schedules, and we were just trying to juggle everything.

"There was just this love for Heath, it's as simple as that - that's the thing that kept everybody going." (ANI)