Michelle Williams: 'I'm More Brave in My Work Than I Ever Would Be in My Life'

Dec. 21, 2010— -- Michelle Williams has come a long way since the seemingly carefree days on the TV series, "Dawson's Creek." Now a prominent actress with a Golden Globe nomination for her latest film, "Blue Valentine," the notoriously private Williams opened up about shooting the very emotional movie and her life since Health Ledger's death.

Williams, 30, is currently starring in "Blue Valentine" opposite actor Ryan Gosling which will open this week. It's a complex and heart-wrenching love story about a couple that keeps coming together and falling apart. Williams said she originally read the script almost a decade ago.

"I think I was 21 when I first read it," she said. "Almost a third of my life has been devoted to thinking about making this movie."

She added that she was very pleased with the result.

The film feels almost like a documentary, a look achieved by an unusual film-making method: Williams and co-star Ryan Gosling actually lived in the house used in the movie.

"We were told to make memories basically and then have it as [the characters] Dean and Cindy would," Williams said. "To make a budget, to go grocery shopping, to bake a birthday cake ... go to the Sears family portrait studio ... all that kind of stuff."