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{{Infobox actor
| name = Heath Ledger
| image = Heath Ledger.jpg
| caption = Ledger at the 2006 [[Berlin Film Festival]]<br />Photo: Howie Berlin.<!-- The copyright holder has requested attribution. E-mail has been sent to OTRS. Please do not remove the copyright holder's name.-->
| birthname = Heath Andrew Ledger
| birthdate = {{birth date|1979|04|04}}
| birthplace = [[Perth, Western Australia]]
| deathdate = {{death date and age|2008|01|22|1979|04|04}}
| deathplace = [[New York City]], [[New York]]
| othername =
| occupation = Film Actor
| yearsactive = 1996–2008
| domesticpartner = [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]]<br>(2005–2007)
| website =| afiawards = '''[[Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor|International Award - Best Actor]]'''<br />2005 ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
| awards = '''[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|NYFCC Award For Best Actor]]'''<br />2005 ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
}}
'''Heath Andrew Ledger''' ([[April 4]], [[1979]] – [[January 22]], [[2008]]) was an [[Academy Award]], [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]], [[Golden Globe]], and [[SAG Award]]-nominated [[Australian]] film [[actor]] who lived in [[New York City]]. After appearing in television roles during the 1990s, Ledger developed a movie career, appearing in nearly 20 films. He starred in both [[Film criticism|critical]] and [[box-office]] successes, including ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]'', ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'', ''[[Monster's Ball]],'' ''[[A Knight's Tale]]'', and ''[[Brokeback Mountain (film)|Brokeback Mountain]]''.<ref name=NYTBarron>{{cite news |author=James Barron |title=Heath Ledger, Actor, Is Found Dead at 28 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/movies/23ledger.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |[publisher=''nytimes.com'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref name=Timesobit>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger: The Times Obituary |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3237974.ece |work=[[The Times]] |publisher=''timesonline.co.uk'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref name=GMAtimeline>{{Cite news |title=Timeline of Heath Ledger's Career |author=[[Associated Press|AP]] |url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77646/Timeline-of-Heath-Ledgers-career |work=[[GMA Network]] |publisher=''GMANews.tv'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> For his portrayal of [[Ennis Del Mar]] in ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ledger was nominated for a 2005 [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for "Best Actor in a Leading Role"<ref name=NYTBarron/><ref name=Timesobit/><ref name=GMAtimeline/> and also was nominated and won "Best Actor" awards for that role from [[59th British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA]] and the [[Australian Film Institute]] and the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award|New York Film Critics Circle]], respectively, as well as won an [[MTV Movie Awards|MTV Movie Award]] with [[Jake Gyllenhaal]] for their "best kiss" in the film.<ref name=IMDbAwards>{{Cite web |title=Awards for Heath Ledger |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/awards |work=[[The Internet Movie Database]] |publisher=''[[The Internet Movie Database|IMDb.com]]'' |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>
He completed filming his role as the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] in the forthcoming movie ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'',<ref name=Halbfinger2>{{cite news |author=David M. Halbfinger |title=Batman's Burden: A Director Confronts Darkness and Death |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/movies/09halb.htm |work=[[The New York Times]] (Arts & Leisure: Film) |publisher=''nytimes.com'' |date=2008-03-09 |pages=1, 16 |accessdate=2008-03-10 |quote=''Heath Ledger's death raised the stakes surrounding [[Christopher Nolan]]'s Batman sequel''. The director Christopher Nolan ... worked with Heath Ledger (playing the Joker) and [[Christian Bale]] (as Batman) ... on the coming 'Dark Knight'.... [photo captions] ... Rebooting the Batman franchise may be behind him, but he still has to improve upon it. Sequels are always trickier. And now he must also navigate the aftermath of the Jan. 22 death of Mr. Ledger. ... It [Ledger's death] came well into editing, and only after the studio had introduced Mr. Ledger’s Joker through posters, trailers and a six-minute Imax short. But it automatically raised the stakes: the acclaimed actor's final role would be ... [sic] a comic-book grotesque? Worse, though Mr. Ledger had finished work on 'The Dark Knight' in October and was already halfway through another film, news that the prescription drugs that killed him included sleep aids — along with narcotics — prompted Internet chatter about whether his intense performance as the Joker, styled after [[Malcolm McDowell]]'s in '[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]],' had been a factor in his demise. ... Mr. Ledger, however, also called it 'the most fun I’ve ever had, or probably ever will have, playing a character.' But his fatigue was obvious, said [[Michael Caine]], who briefly overlapped with him. 'He was exhausted, I mean he was really tired. I remember saying to him, "I'm too old to have the bloody energy to play that part." And I thought to myself, I didn't have the energy when I was his age.' ... Mr. [Wally] Pfister, the cinematographer, said Mr. Ledger seemed 'like he was busting blood vessels in his head,' he was so intense. 'It was like a séance, where the medium takes on another person and then is so completely drained.' ... Will Mr. Ledger’s death cast a pall over 'The Dark Knight,' whose tragic plot turns already make it much darker than 'Batman Begins'? 'We’ll see,' said Mr. [Jeff] Robinov, of [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]]. Mr. Nolan, for his part, said he felt a 'massive sense of responsibility' to do right by Mr. Ledger's 'terrifying, amazing' performance. ... 'It's stunning, it's iconic,' he said. 'It's going to just blow people away.' }}</ref> shortly before dying from an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28.<ref name=NYTBarron/><ref name=Timesobit/><ref name=Chan>{{cite news |author=Sewell Chan |title=City Room: Heath Ledger's Death Is Ruled an Accident |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/heath-ledgers-death-is-ruled-an-accident/ |work=[[The New York Times]] |publisher=''cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com'' |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref><ref name=CNNLedger>{{cite news |author=[[CNN]] |title=Ledger's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |work=CNN.com |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref> His final film performance, uncompleted at the time of his death, is the role of Tony in [[Terry Gilliam]]'s forthcoming film ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''.<ref name=CNNBind/><ref name=Kilpatrick/><ref name=Halbfinger>{{cite news |author=David M. Halbfinger |title=Actor’s Death May Mean Film's End |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/movies/25parn.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=12 (Movies, Performing Arts/Weekend Desk) |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> Posthumously, on [[February 23]], [[2008]], he shared the [[Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit]] [[Robert Altman Award]] with the cast and crew of the film ''[[I'm Not There]]'', in which he portrayed a character named "Robbie Clark", based on a stage in the life of [[Bob Dylan]].<ref name=IMDbAwards/>
In addition to his work as an actor and as a producer and director of [[music video]]s, he also aspired to be a [[film director]].<ref name=Dawtrey>{{cite news |author=Adam Dawtrey |title='Parnassus' Team Faces Dilemma |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979492.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=''Variety.com'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref>
== Family and personal life ==
Heath Ledger was born on [[April 4]], [[1979]], in [[Perth, Western Australia]], the son of Sally Ledger Bell ([[married and maiden names|née]] Ramshaw), a [[French language|French]] teacher, and Kim Ledger, a [[race car]] driver and [[mining]] engineer, whose family established and owned the well-known Ledger Engineering Foundry.<ref name=Wills>{{cite news |author=Dominic Wills | title=Heath Ledger Biography |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/heath_ledger_biog.html |date=2008 |accessdate=2008-04-22 |work=[[Tiscali TV|tiscali.film & tv]] |publisher=''tiscali.co.uk'' |quote=The Ledger name was well-known in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], the family having run a foundry that provided much of the raw material for the famous Perth to [[Kalgoorlie, Western Australia|Kalgoorlie]] [[Goldfields Water Supply Scheme|Pipeline]], which ran 557 kilometres east out into the desert and, beginning to pump [water] back in 1903, first supplied the Western Australian goldfields and now served over 100,000 people and 6 million sheep in 44,000 square miles. The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust, named after Heath's great-grandfather, was renowned for granting funds to the area's universities, paying for visiting lecturers and scholarships for gifted students.}}</ref><ref name=filmref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/15/Heath-Ledger.html | title=Heath Ledger Biography (1979-) |year=2007 |accessdate=2008-04-22 | publisher=''Filmreference.com''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/welcomewalls/search_viewlisting.asp?PID=504&PN=8&SearchKey=B&SearchType=2 |title="Banks, Frederick & Annie" |accessdate=2008-02-07 |work=WA Maritime Museum Welcome Walls |publisher=[[Western Australian Museum]] |quote=The Ledger Foundry made most of the pipes, etc. for the [[Goldfields Water Supply Scheme|Kalgoorlie Pipe Line]]. Fred worked as a partner in the Foundry & also made tools for the prospectors on the Goldfields.}}</ref> The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust is named after his great-grandfather.<ref name=Wills/> Ledger attended Mary's Mount Primary School, in [[Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia|Gooseberry Hill]],<ref name=Ripper>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger among WA's Finest Sons, Says Eric Ripper |work=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] (PerthNow) |url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23096806-948,00.html |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-02-08 |quote=Heath was one of the best actors the nation had produced and his death at age 28 had shocked the community, he said. ... 'I understand he was a former student at both Mary’s Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill and later at Guildford Grammar,' Mr [[Eric Ripper|Ripper]] said. ... 'Apparently he left school at 16 to pursue his passion for acting. There is no doubt his wonderful work in that field in such a comparatively short time will endure.' ... Mr Ripper said Western Australians everywhere would be proud of Ledger’s work and his legacy.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Michael Bodey |title=Rocked by the System |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23098145-15803,00.html |work=[[The Australian]] |page=13 (Features) |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-02-08 |quote=1985: Attends Mary's Mount Primary School in the Perth Hills and Guildford Grammar, excelling in drama and sport.}}</ref> and later [[Guildford Grammar School]], where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as [[Peter Pan]] at age 10.<ref name=Wills/><ref name=Timesobit/> His parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11.<ref name=Lipsky>{{cite news | author=David Lipsky | title=Heath Ledger's Lonesome Trail |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9448111/heath_ledgers_lonesome_trail | date=2006-03-23 |accessdate=2008-04-21 |work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] | publisher=''rollingstone.com'' | quote=His dad wanted him to race cars. Hollywood wanted him to play Spider-Man. But he wanted to play a gay cowboy. Now he's a huge star, and he's not happy about it.}}</ref> Ledger's older sister, Kate, an actress and later a [[publicist]], with whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage, and his love of [[Gene Kelly]] inspired his successful [[choreography]] leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the [[Rock Eisteddfod Challenge]].<ref name=Wills/><ref name=Sessums3>{{Cite news | author=[[Kevin Sessums]] | title=We're Having a Heath Wave | url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008?currentPage=4 | work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] | publisher=''vanityfair.com'' | date=[[August]] [[2000]] | accessdate=2008-04-21 | page=4 |quote=[Dispensing with 'romantic' notions promulgated by some biographies (including Wills's in ''[[Tiscali TV|tiscali.film & tv]]'') that he and his sister are named after characters [[Katherine|Catherine]] and [[Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)|Heathcliff]] in [[Emily Brontë]]'s novel ''[[Wuthering Heights]]''], he's asked if Heath is a shortened version of Heathcliff. 'No, just Heath. But I do have an older sister named Kathy,' he says. 'Well, Kate.' }}</ref><ref name=Sessums3>{{Cite news |author=[[Kevin Sessums]] | title=We're Having a Heath Wave | url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008?currentPage=3 |work=Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] publisher=''vanityfair.com'' |date=[[August]] [[2000]] |accessdate=2008-04-23 |page=3}}</ref><ref name=Wills/><ref name=Kent>{{Cite news | author=Melissa Kent | title=Tears, Tributes Accompany Heath Ledger to His Final Rest | url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/09/1202234231953.html?from=top5 | work=[[The Age]] | publisher=''theage.com.au'' | date=2008-02-09 | accessdate=2008-04-21}}</ref> Heath's and Kate's other siblings include two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell (b. 1989), his mother's daughter with her second husband and his stepfather Roger Bell, and Olivia Ledger (b. 1997), his father's daughter with second wife and his stepmother Emma Brown.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018553/bio |title=Heath Ledger Biography |work=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-14}}</ref>
Ledger was an avid [[chess]] player, winning Western Australia's junior chess championship at the age of 10.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary of Heath Ledger Actor who thought deeply about his craft and won widespread praise for Brokeback Mountain |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/23/wledger823.xml |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |page=25 |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-02-07 |quote=At the same time he showed promise in other areas, as a junior go-kart racing champion and, aged only 10, as Western Australia's junior chess champion.}}</ref><ref name="chess2">{{cite news |author=Brian Pendreigh |title='My friend Heath would never commit suicide' |url=http://news.scotsman.com/uk/39My-friend-Heath-would-never.3715399.jp |work=[[The Scotsman|Scotland on Sunday]] |publisher=''news.scotsman.com'' |date=2008-01-24 accessdate=2008-02-14}}</ref> As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at [[Washington Square Park]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Christina Tapper and Natasha Stoyoff |title=Heath Ledger's Passion for Chess |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173995,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |publisher=''people.com'' |date=2008-01-26 |accessdate=2008-02-03 |quote=No stranger to the New York Washington Square Park chess world, Heath Ledger found joy by screaming the occasional 'checkmate!'}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Josh Horowitz |title=Heath Ledger Discusses Delving Into Dylan for 'I'm Not There': Channeling Sid Vicious for 'Dark Knight' |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1574035/20071112/story.jhtml |work=[[MTV]] |publisher=''mtv.com'' |date=2007-11-12 |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]]'s film adaptation of the chess-related 1983 novel ''The [[Queen's Gambit]]'', by [[Walter Tevis]], which at the time of his death he was planning both to perform in and to direct, would have been Ledger's first [[feature film]] as a director.<ref name=Dawtrey/><ref name=Cazzulino2>{{Cite news |author=Michelle Cazzulino | title=Heath Ledger's Gambit to Be a Director |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23446583-5006013,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=news.com.au |date=2008-03-29 |accessdate=2008-04-24 |quote=It was an opportunity tailor-made for Ledger, Scott said. 'The movie is about chess, and what is a little known fact is Heath was very close to being on the grandmaster level. He was a chess whiz, and he intended to get his grandmaster rating before he started shooting the picture.' }}</ref>{{See|#Directorial work}}
Among his most-notable romantic relationships, Ledger dated actress [[Heather Graham (actress)|Heather Graham]], from [[October]] [[2000]] to [[June]] [[2001]].<ref name=IMDb>"Trivia" sec. of "mini-biography" for "Heath Ledger", in ''{{imdb name|id=0005132|name=Heath Ledger}}''.</ref> He had a serious longterm relationship with actress [[Naomi Watts]], whom he met during the filming of ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]''.<ref>{{cite news |author=Gary Susman |title=Naomi Watts and Heath Ledger split |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,491620,00.html |work=EW.com |publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=2003-10-01 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref><ref name=McShaneexcerpt>{{Cite news | author=John McShane | title=Loves of Heath Ledger's Life |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23564492-5007191,00.html |work=[[The Courier-Mail]] | publication=news.com.au |date =2008-04-20 |accessdate=2008-04-24 |quote=IN the first book since Heath Ledger's death, Fleet Street's John McShane looks at the actor's legacy. In this extract, he examines Ledger's relationships.}}</ref> He met and began dating actress [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]] on the set of ''Brokeback Mountain'', and their daughter, Matilda Rose, was born on [[October 28]], [[2005]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Kiki King, Eva Simpson, and Caroline Hedley |title=The Heath Is On |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2006/03/08/the-heath-is-on-89520-16786391/ |work=3AM |publisher=[[Daily Mirror]] |page=16 |date=2006-03-03 |accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref> Matilda Rose's godparents are Ledger's ''Brokeback'' co-star [[Jake Gyllenhaal]] and Williams' ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'' castmate [[Busy Philipps]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Godfather Jake Gillenhaal's Silent Agony |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23105747-5001021,00.html |work=news.com.au |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=First Picture: Michelle Williams and Matilda Arrive in Brooklyn |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/michelle_williams_and_matilda_arrive_in_brooklyn |work=Usmagazine.com |publisher=[[Us Weekly]] |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> Problems with [[paparazzi]] in Australia prompted Ledger to sell his residence in [[Bronte, New South Wales]] and move to the United States, where he shared an apartment with Williams, in [[Boerum Hill]], [[Brooklyn]], from 2005 to 2007.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sarah Grant |title=Soaking Left my lad Heath in Tears |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,20281,19396781-5001026,00.html |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |page=9 |date=2006-06-08 |accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref><ref name=NYTBarron/><ref>{{cite news |title=Ledger hopes for $3m profit on beach house |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ledger-hopes-for-3m-profit-on-beach-house/2006/02/10/1139542406285.html |work=theage.com.au |publisher=[[The Age]] |date=2006-02-11 |accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Angela Saurine |title=Why the Rich Are Kings of the Castle |url=http://www.realestate.com.au/review/apr06/article4.html |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |page=19 |date=2006-04-15 |accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref><ref name=AWilliams>{{cite news |author=Alex Williams |title=Brooklyn's Fragile Eco-System |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/fashion/30brooklyn.html |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 |date=2007-09-30 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> In [[September 2007]], Williams' father, [[Larry Williams (trader)|Larry Williams]], confirmed to Sydney's ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|Daily Telegraph]]'' that Ledger and Williams had ended their relationship.<ref>{{cite news |title=Williams' Father Confirms Ledger Split |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Williams_Father_Confirms_Ledger_Split/4753467 |work=Hollywood.com |publisher=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |date=2007-09-04 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref> After his break up with Williams, in late 2007 and early 2008, the [[tabloid press]] and other [[mass media|public media]] linked Ledger romantically with [[supermodel]]s [[Helena Christensen]] and [[Gemma Ward]] and with former [[child actor|child star]], [[actor|actress]] [[Mary-Kate Olsen]].<ref name=Supermodel>{{cite news |title=Supermodel's Last Call to Heath |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23100669-5015809,00.html |work=news.com.au |publisher=[[Herald Sun]] |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-01-26}}</ref><ref name=Stansfield>{{cite news |author=Robert Stansfield |title=Helena Christensen Was On Way to See Heath Ledger |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2008/01/24/helena-christensen-was-on-way-to-see-heath-ledger-86908-20296307/ |publisher=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Scottish Daily Record]] |page=6 |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-01-26}}</ref><ref name=SidConf>{{cite news |author=Holly Byrnes, Sarah Grant, and Angela Saurine |title=Are Gemma Ward and Heath Ledger Dating? |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23001070-7485,00.html |work=Sydney Confidential |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''news.com.au'' |page=31 |date=2008-01-03 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref><ref name=FifeYeomans>{{cite news |author=Janet Fife-Yeomans |title=Sorrow of Heath Ledger's Secret Love |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23105983-5001021,00.html |publisher= [[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |page=4 |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== 1990s ===
At 16, Ledger sat for early graduation exams and left school to pursue an acting career.<ref name=Lipsky/> With his best friend, Trevor DiCarlo, Ledger made the cross-country drive to [[Sydney]]. He returned to [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] for the TV series ''[[Sweat (TV series)|Sweat]]'' (1996), in which he played a [[gay]] cyclist.<ref name=Wills/>
In 1996, prior to his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie ''[[Blackrock (film)|Blackrock]]'', Ledger was involved in the short-lived [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] fantasy-drama ''[[Roar (television series)|Roar]]''. This was immediately followed by a part on ''[[Home and Away]]'', one of Australia's most successful television shows. In 1999, Ledger starred in the teen comedy ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]'' and also had the lead role in the acclaimed Australian movie ''[[Two Hands (1999 film)|Two Hands]]'', directed by [[Gregor Jordan]].<ref name=Wills/>
=== 2000s ===
From 2000 to 2005, he starred in ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'', ''[[Monster's Ball]]'', ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]'', ''[[The Four Feathers (2002 film)|The Four Feathers]]'', ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]'', ''[[The Order (2003 film)|The Order]]'', and ''[[The Brothers Grimm (film)|The Brothers Grimm]]''. In 2001, he won a [[National Association of Theatre Owners|ShoWest Award]] for the Male Star of Tomorrow based on his performance in ''The Patriot'', and worldwide release of ''A Knight's Tale''.
Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the [[New York Film Critics Circle]] and the [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle]] for his performance in ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'', in which he plays [[Wyoming]] ranch hand [[Ennis Del Mar]], who has a love affair with aspiring [[rodeo]] rider [[Jack Twist]], played by [[Jake Gyllenhaal]]. He also received a nomination for [[Golden Globe]] Best Actor in a Drama and a nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for this performance. At age 26, Ledger became one of [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest nominees_2|the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar]]. In ''[[The New York Times]]'' review of the film, critic Stephen Holden writes: "Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Sean Penn]]."<ref>{{cite news |author=Stephen Holden |title=Film Review - Brokeback Mountain - Riding the High Country, Finding and Losing Love |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/movies/09brok.html |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 |date=2005-12-09 |accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref> In a review in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Peter Travers]] states: "Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."<ref>{{cite news |author=Peter Travers |title=Review: Brokeback Mountain |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/6169704/review/8878365/brokeback_mountain |work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] |publisher=''rollingstone.com'' |date=2005-12-01 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>
Also in 2005, Ledger portrayed a fictionalised version of [[Giacomo Casanova]] in ''[[Casanova (film)|Casanova]]'', a [[romantic comedy]] which co-starred [[Sienna Miller]].
[[Image:HeathJoker.png|thumb|upright|Ledger as the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] in ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'']]
In 2006, Ledger was invited to join the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite news |author=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2006/06.07.01a.html |title=Press Releases: Academy Invites 120 to Membership |publisher=''oscars.org'' |accessdate=2007-08-17 |date=2006-07-05 |}}</ref>
In 2007, he was one of six actors to portray different stages in the life of [[Bob Dylan]] in the film ''[[I'm Not There]]''. Before [[Brad Pitt]] accepted the lead after Ledger reportedly withdrew from the project, in December 2007, Ledger was to star, opposite [[Sean Penn]] in a supporting role, in ''[[Tree of Life (film)|Tree of Life]]'', directed by [[Terrence Malick]].<ref name=PN2007>{{Cite news | title = Heath Ledger to Star in Tree of Life with Sean Penn | url = http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22692240-5014243,00.html | work =[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times (PerthNow)]]'', ''news.com.au'' |date=2007-11-01 |accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref><ref name=Fleming>{{Cite news |author=Michael Fleming |title=Pitt in Talks to Star in 'Tree of Life': Sean Penn to Co-star in Malick Drama |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977922.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |work=[[Variety]] |publisher=''variety.com'' |date=2007-12-18 |accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref><ref name=CorcoranBroyles>{{Cite news |author=Michael Corcoran, with Adrianna Broyles (comp.) |title=Newsmakers: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn Move to Begin filming in Central Texas in March ... Pitt, Penn to Film in Smithville |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/02/13/0213makers.html |work=[[The Austin American-Statesman]] |publisher=''statesman.com'' |date=2008-02-13 |accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref>
Ledger plays [[Joker (comics)|the Joker]] in ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'', directed by [[Christopher Nolan]], the sequel to the 2005 film ''[[Batman Begins]]'', which is to be released on [[July 18]], [[2008]].<ref name=DKBOM>{{Cite web |title=The Dark Knight |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=The%20Dark%20Knight&p=.htm |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=''boxofficemojo.com'' |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> ''The Dark Knight'' was in post-production at the time of Ledger's death.<ref name=Brady>{{cite news |author=Matt Brady |title=Heath Ledger Dies |url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144093 |publisher=[[Newsarama]] |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-01-22}}</ref> Nolan has praised Ledger's performance as "[[icon]]ic".<ref name=Halbfinger2/><ref name=Carroll>{{cite news | author = Larry Carroll | title = 'Dark Knight' Stars, Director Want Film To 'Celebrate' Heath Ledger's Work url = http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1583563/story.jhtml |work=[[MTV]] |publisher=''mtv.com'' |date=[[2008-03-18]] |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>
''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'', in which Ledger had been cast in a major supporting role, was still in production at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gilliam, Ledger Reteam for Film |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975156.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=''Variety.com'' |date=2007-10-31 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>
=== Directorial work ===
Ledger had aspirations to become a film director and made some [[music video]]s. In 2006 he debuted as a director with the music videos for the title track on Australian [[hip-hop]] artist [[1200 Techniques|N'fa]]'s [[Compact Disc|CD]] debut solo album ''Cause an Effect''<ref name=musicrev>{{cite news |title=Music: Cause An Effect – N'Fa |url=http://www.thescene.com.au/Music/Reviews/Cause-An-Effect---NFa/ |work=thescene.com.au |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref> and for the single "Seduction Is Evil (She's Hot)".<ref name=Inertiacat>{{cite news |title=Seduction Is Evil |url=http://www.inertia-music.com/catalogue/41236/Nfa/Seduction_Is_Evil/ |work=Inertia Catalogue |publisher=''inertia.net'' |date=2006-10-28 |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref><ref name=Drever>{{cite news |author=Andrew Drever |title=N'Fa: Frontman for 1200 Techniques May Be Doing Solo Work, But Everything's Cool |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/nfa/2006/08/21/1156012452247.html |work=[[The Age]] |publisher=''theage.com.au'' |date=2006-08-21 |accessdate=2008-03-05 |page=2}}</ref>
Later in 2006, Ledger started a new record label, Masses Music, with singer [[Benjamin Chase Harper|Ben Harper]] and also directed a music video for Harper's song "Morning Yearning".<ref name=Lyall/><ref name=Starpulse>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Teams Up with Ben Harper to Launch New Record Label |url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/14/heath_ledger_teams_up_with_ben_harper_to |work=Starpulse Entertainment News [[Blog]] |publisher=''starpulse.com'' |date=2007-02-14 |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref><ref name=IMDbTrivia>"Trivia", ''{{imdb name |id=0005132 |name=Heath Ledger}}''. Retrieved on [[2008-03-05]].</ref>
At a news conference at the 2007 [[Venice Film Festival]], Ledger spoke of his desire to make a documentary film about the British [[singer-songwriter]] [[Nick Drake]], who died in 1974, at the age of 26, from an overdose of an [[tricyclic antidepressant|antidepressant]].<ref name=FraenkelPerez>{{cite news |author=Jim Fraenkel and Rodrigo Perez |title=Heath Ledger's Video for Nick Drake Song: Eerie Postscript to Actor's Death |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580085/20080122/drake_nick.jhtml |work=MTV.com |publisher=[[MTV]] |date=2008-01-22 |accessdate=2008-03-18 |quote=The video [for 'Black Eyed Dog'], which has not been released commercially and has apparently not yet leaked to the Web, has been screened just twice, once last Labor Day weekend [2007] at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle and a second time in October [2007] at 'A Place to Be,' an event honoring Drake held in Los Angeles.}}</ref> Ledger created and acted in a music video set to Drake's recording of the singer's 1974 song about depression "Black Eyed Dog"–a title "inspired by [[Winston Churchill]]’s descriptive term for depression" (''black dog'')<ref name=Storr>{{cite book |author=[[Anthony Storr]] |title=Churchill's Black Dog and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] Publishers Ltd, 1997 |isbn=9780006375661}}</ref>; it was shown publicly only twice, first at the Bumbershoot Festival, in [[Seattle, Washington]], held from [[September 1]] to [[September 3]], [[2007]]; and secondly as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of ''Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake'', "a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake" (including Ledger's), sponsored by [[American Cinematheque]], at the [[Grauman's Egyptian Theatre]], in [[Hollywood]], on [[October 5]], [[2007]].<ref name=AC>{{cite web |title=Egyptian Theatre Programming |url=http://www.americancinematheque.com/CalendarPDF/2007/Oct2007/CalendarTEXTOctober2007.pdf |publisher=[[American Cinematheque]] Film Calendar |date=2007-10-05 |accessdate=2008-03-18 |quote=This very special evening celebrating [Drake's] life and music includes films, guests and a unique art and photographic exhibit. It includes the World Theatrical Premiere of 'Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake', 2007, Bryter Music, 30 min. Various Directors - a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake - created by admirers including Heath Ledger, [[Jonas Mekas]] and [[Tim Pope]]. (NOT ON DVD!) ...}}</ref> After Ledger's death, his music video for "Black Eyed Dog" was shown on the internet and excerpted in news clips distributed via ''[[YouTube]]''.<ref name=FraenkelPerez/><ref name=Kreps>{{cite news |author=Daniel Kreps |title=Footage from Heath Ledger's Nick Drake Video Surfaces |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/02/29/footage-from-heath-ledgers-nick-drake-video-surfaces/ |work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] |publisher=''rollingstone.com'' (Rock & Roll Daily) |date=2008-02-29 |accessdate=2008-03-18 |quote=The video, for Drake’s posthumously released song 'Black Eyed Dog,' was filmed by the actor in late 2007 and included in a multimedia installment about Drake called 'A Place to Be.' The project was only screened publicly twice before the actor's death, and the Ledger family said the 'Black Eyed Dog' video would not be released.}}</ref><ref name=Place>{{cite web |title=A Place To Be: Reflections Of Nick Drake |url=http://www.aplacetobe.cc/ |accessdate=2008-03-18 |quote=''A Place To Be'': a collection, a celebration, in film, photography, painting, drawing and prose, of the impact the music of [[Nick Drake]] has had on other artists}} ("Introductory film" includes excerpts of the music video, ''Black Eyed Dog'', by Heath Ledger, among others.)</ref>
He was also working with [[Scotland|Scottish]] screenwriter and producer [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]] on an adaptation of the 1983 novel ''The [[Queen's Gambit]]'', by [[Walter Tevis]]; he was planning both to act in and to direct it, and it would have been his first [[feature film]] as a director.<ref name=Dawtrey/><ref name=Indep>{{cite news |author=Rob Sharp and [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Shiach]] |title=Heath Ledger–A Prophetic Tragedy |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/heath-ledger--a-prophetic-tragedy-795344.html |work=[[The Independent]] |publisher=independent.co.uk (Arts: Entertainment: Film and TV: Features) |date=2008-03-18 |accessdate=2008-03-20 |quote=Until last month [January 2008] he [Allan Schiach, aka [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]],] was working with the late Heath Ledger on a film adaptation of Walter Tevis's 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit, about a [[chess prodigy]]'s chequered history. The Australian actor was pencilled in to direct and star alongside the [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-nominated actress [[Ellen Page]].}}</ref><ref name=Cazzulino2/>
== Press controversies ==
Ledger's relationship with the press in [[Australia]] was sometimes turbulent, and it led to his relocating to [[New York City]].<ref name=WENN2006>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Ledger Slams Spitting Claims |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=2527 |publisher=SFGate.com |date=2006-01-12 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref><ref name=SutherlandMoor>{{cite news |author=Claire Sutherland and Mark Moor |title=Heath Ledger Angry At Ban |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,17786057-2902,00.html |publisher=[[Herald Sun]] |page=3 |date=2006-01-11 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref> In 2004 he strongly denied press reports alleging that "he spat at journalists on the [[Sydney]] set of the movie ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]''," or that one of his relatives had done so later, outside Ledger's Sydney home.<ref name=WENN2006/><ref name=SutherlandMoor/> On [[January 13]], [[2006]], "Several members of the [[paparazzi]] retaliated ... squirting Ledger and Williams with water pistols on the [[red carpet]] at the Sydney premiere of ''[[Brokeback Mountain (film)|Brokeback Mountain]]''."<ref name=Sprayed>{{cite news |title=Sprayed Heath flies out |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/14/1137118993564.html?from=rss |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |publisher=[[Australian Associated Press|AAP]] |date=2006-01-14 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref><ref name=DunnJinman>{{cite news |author=Emily Dunn and Richard Jinman |title=How a Triumphant Return Turned Sour |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/heath-ledger/how-a-triumphant-return-turned-sour/2008/01/24/1201024994356.html |publisher=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |page=1 |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref>
After his performance on stage at the [[2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards]], when he had giggled in presenting ''Brokeback Mountain'' as a nominee for [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]], the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' referred to his presentation as an "apparent [[gay]] spoof."<ref name=Snead1>{{cite news |author=Elizabeth Snead |title=Ledger's Strange SAG Behavior |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/01/ledgers-strange.html |work=The Dish Rag ([[blog]]) |publisher=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |accessdate=2008-01-23 |date=2006-01-30}}</ref> Ledger called the ''Times'' later and explained that his levity resulted from [[stage fright]], saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers."<ref name=Snead2>{{cite news |author=Elizabeth Snead |title=Heath Explains His SAG Giggles |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/02/heath-explains-.html |work=The Dish Rag ([[blog]]) |publisher=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=2006-02-03 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref><ref name=damagecontrol>{{cite news |title=Ledger in Damage Control |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/ledger-in-damage-control/2006/02/12/1139679468944.html |publisher=[[The Age]] |date=2006-02-12 |accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref>
Ledger was quoted in [[January 2006]] in Melbourne's ''[[Herald Sun]]'' as saying that he heard that [[West Virginia]] had banned ''Brokeback Mountain'', which it had not; actually, a cinema in [[Utah]] had banned the film.<ref name=SutherlandMoor/> He had also referred mistakenly to West Virginia's having had [[lynchings]] as recently as the 1980s, but state scholars disputed his statement, observing that, whereas lynchings did occur in [[Alabama]] as recently as 1981, according to "the director of state archives and history" quoted in ''[[The Charleston Gazette]]'', "The last documented lynching in West Virginia took place in Lewisburg in 1931."<ref name=Morris>{{cite news |author=Joe Morris |title='Brokeback' Actor Has W. Va. All Wrong |url=http://www.joemorris.info/brokeback.html |work=[[The Charleston Gazette]] |publisher=''wvgazette.com'' via ''joemorris.info'' |date=2006-01-16 |accessdate=2008-02-24}} </ref> Yet ''The Gazz'' qualifies its newspaper's report somewhat further in adding, "though you have to wonder what the [[Ku Klux Klan|Klan]] was up to in the decades after that."<ref>{{cite news |title=When'd We Stop Stringing 'Em Up in West Virginia? |url=http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/gazznotes/2006/01/whend-we-stop-stringing-em-up-in-west.html |work=The Gazz: What's Going On: The Entertainment Guide of [[The Charleston Gazette]] |publisher=''thegazz.com'' ([[blog]]) |date=2006-01-16 |accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref>
== Effects of work on health: sleep disturbances ==
In a ''[[New York Times]]'' interview with [[Sarah Lyall]] published on [[November 4]], [[2007]], Ledger stated that his recently-completed roles in ''The Dark Knight'' and ''I'm Not There'' had taken a toll on his ability to sleep: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two [[Ambien]] pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in "a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing."<ref name=Lyall>{{cite news |author=[[Sarah Lyall]] |title=In Stetson or Wig, He’s Hard to Pin Down |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |work=[[The New York Times]] (Arts & Leisure Desk) |date=2007-11-04 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref><ref name=Halbfinger2/><ref name=APMSNBC/>
Prior to his return to New York from his last film assignment, in London, in January 2008, while he was apparently suffering from some kind of [[respiratory illness]], he reportedly complained to his co-star [[Christopher Plummer]] that he was continuing to have difficulty sleeping and taking pills to help with that problem: "Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadn't been feeling well on set, Plummer says, 'we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.… [sic] I think what he did have was the [[walking pneumonia]].'" ... On top of that, 'He was saying all the time, "dammit, I can't sleep"… [sic] and he was taking all these pills [to help him] [sic].'"<ref name=Stoynoff/>
In talking with ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'' magazine after his death, Ledger's former fiancée [[Michelle Williams]] "also confirmed reports the actor had experienced trouble sleeping. 'For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with [[insomnia]],' she said. 'He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning turning always turning.'"<ref name=UPI>{{cite news |author=[[United Press International|UPI]] |title=Williams Recalls Ledger As Vulnerable |url=http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2008/03/13/williams_recalls_ledger_as_vulnerable/2025/ |work=NewsTrack/Entertainment |publisher=''upi.com'' |date=2008-03-16 |accessdate=2008-03-16}}</ref>
== Death ==
{{wikinews|Memorial service takes place for Heath Ledger}}
At about 2:45 PM on [[January 22]], [[2008]], Ledger was found unconscious in his fourth-floor loft apartment, at 421 Broome Street, in the [[SoHo]] neighborhood of [[New York City|Manhattan]].<ref name=NYTBarron/><ref name=Timesobit/> Emergency crews arrived soon after but were unable to revive him..<ref name=NYTBarron/><ref name=NewmanBaker>{{cite news |author=Andy Newman and Al Baker |title=Autopsy on Actor Is Inconclusive as Calls for Help Are Revealed |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/nyregion/24celeb.htm |work=[[The New York Times]] |publisher=''nytimes.com'' |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> He was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m., and his body removed from the apartment, while crowds of onlookers began gathering outside throughout that night.<ref name=NYTBarron/><ref name=NewmanBaker/>
After two weeks of intense media speculation about possible causes of his death, on [[6 February]], [[2008]], the [[Coroner|Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York]] released its conclusions, based on an initial [[autopsy]] of [[January 23]], [[2008]], and a subsequent complete [[toxicology|toxicological analysis]].<ref name=Lieberman>{{cite news |author=Paul Lieberman |title=Heath Ledger's Death Ruled Accidental Overdose |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-na-ledger7feb07,1,2852903.story |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |publisher=LATimes.com |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref><ref name=Chan/><ref name=CNNLedger/><ref name=LKLLedger>{{cite news |author=[[Larry King]] |url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/02/06/lkl.heath.ledger.death.cnn |title=Video: Ledger Death |work=[[Larry King Live]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> The report concludes, in part, "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of [[oxycodone]], [[hydrocodone]], [[diazepam]], [[temazepam]], [[alprazolam]] and [[doxylamine]]."<ref name=Chan/><ref name=APMSNBC/> It also states definitively: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."<ref name=Chan/><ref name=APMSNBC/> The medications found in the toxicological analysis are commonly prescribed in the United States for [[insomnia]], [[anxiety]], [[clinical depression|depression]], [[pain]], and/or [[common cold|cold]] symptoms.<ref name=Chan/><ref name=APMSNBC>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Heath Ledger Died of Accidental Overdose: 28-Year-Old Actor Had Oxycodone, Anti-Anxiety, Sleep Aids in His System |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23029566/ |work=[[MSNBC]] (Entertainment) |publisher=''msnbc.msn.com'' |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-03-17}}</ref> The Medical Examiner's Office also announced that it would not be publicly disclosing the official estimated time of death.<ref name=PN2>{{cite news | author = [[Australian Associated Press|AAP]] | title = Heath Ledger's Family Returns to Perth | url = http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23163266-948,00.html | work = [[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] (PerthNow) | publisher = ''news.com.au'' | date = 2008-02-06 | accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref><ref name=Mitchell>{{cite news |author = Peter Mitchell | title = Heath Ledger Death Results Delayed | url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23168241-1702,00.html | work = [[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] | publisher = ''news.com.au'' | date = 2008-02-07 | accessdate = 2008-02-05}}</ref> The official announcement of the cause of Ledger's death heightened concerns about general "abuse of prescription medications."<ref name=CNNLedger>{{cite news |title=Ledger's death caused by accidental overdose |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |work=CNN.com |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref><ref name=LKLLedger>[http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/02/06/lkl.heath.ledger.death.cnn Video segment on "Ledger Death"], ''[[Larry King Live]]'', [[February 6]], [[2008]].</ref> Late in February 2008, a still-ongoing [[Drug Enforcement Agency|DEA]] investigation of medical professionals "cleared" two American [[medic]]s, who practice in [[Los Angeles]] and [[Houston]], of "any wrongdoing," determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications–not the pills that killed him."<ref name=Hollywoodnews>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Heath Ledger Doctors Cleared |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Heath_Ledger_Doctors_Cleared/5091865 |work=Hollywood.com |date=2008-02-29 |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref><ref name=Egan>{{cite news |author=Nicole Weisensee Egan |title=Report: Doctors Cleared in Ledger Investigation |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20181179,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |publisher=''people.com'' |date=2008-02-28 |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref>
=== Memorial tributes ===
[[Image:LedgerMemorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial for Heath Ledger outside 421 Broome Street, [[SoHo]], [[New York City|Manhattan]]]]
On [[January 23]], [[2008]], Ledger's parents and sister appeared outside his mother's house in [[Applecross, Western Australia|Applecross]], a riverside suburb of [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], and read a short statement to the media expressing their grief and desire for privacy.<ref name=DTfam>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Loved Life, Family Tell |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23096240-5001021,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-01-23 |accessdate=2008-01-23}}</ref> Within the next few days, memorial tributes were communicated by family members, [[Prime Minister of Australia]] [[Kevin Rudd]], [[Premier of Western Australia|Deputy Premier of Western Australia]] [[Eric Ripper]], [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] (distributor of ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'', his final completed film), and thousands of Ledger's fans around the world.<ref name=PM>{{cite news |author=Office of the [[Prime Minister of Australia]] |title=Media Release |url=http://www.pm.gov.au/news/releases/2008/media_release_00012.cfm |accessdate=2008-02-05 |date=2008-01-22 |publisher=''pm.gov.au''}}</ref><ref name=Ripper/><ref name=Pendrill>{{cite news |author=Lisa Pendrill |title=Heath's Family Writes of Heartache |url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23106731-948,00.html |work=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] (PerthNow) |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref><ref name=WB>{{cite news |author=[[Warner Bros.]] |url=http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/HeathMemorial.html |title=Heath Memorial |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-05 |publisher=''thedarkknight.warnerbros.com''}}</ref><ref name=Online>{{cite news |title=Online Community Pays Tribute to Heath Ledger |url=http://www.901am.com/2008/online-community-pays-tribute-to-heath-ledger.html |work=901am.com |date=2008-01-25 |accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref>
Numerous actors have made statements expressing their sorrow at Ledger's death, including [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] who dedicated his [[Screen Actors Guild Award]] to Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting; Day-Lewis praised Ledger's performances in ''[[Monster's Ball]]'' and [[Brokeback Mountain (film)|''Brokeback Mountain'']], describing the latter as "unique, perfect."<ref>{{cite news |author=Amy Diluna and Joe Neumaier |title=Daniel Day-Lewis Honors Heath Ledger during Screen Actors Guild Awards |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2008/01/27/2008-01-27_daniel_daylewis_honors_heath_ledger_duri.html |work=[[New York Daily News]] |publisher=''nydailynews.com'' |date=2008-01-27 |accessdate=2008-02-16}}</ref><ref name=Harris>{{cite news |author=Beth Harris ([[Associated Press|AP]] Writer) |title=Day-Lewis Dedicates Award to Ledger: Daniel Day-Lewis Dedicates His Screen Actors Guild Award to Heath Ledger |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=4198499 |work=[[ABC News]] |publisher=''abcnews.go.com'' (Entertainment) |date=2008-02-28 |accessdate=2008-03-16 |quote=That scene in the trailer at the end of the film is as moving as anything I think I've ever seen.}}</ref>
On [[February 1]] [[2008]], Michelle Williams' first public statement on the death expressed her heartbreak and described her seeing Ledger's spirit surviving in their daughter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Michelle Wiliams: Heath Ledger has broken my heart |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23147754-5001021,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-02-01 |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref><ref name=People>{{cite news |title=Michelle Williams Breaks Silence on Heath's Death |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20175486,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People Magazine]] |publisher=''people.com'' |date=2008-02-01 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref>
After attending private memorial ceremonies in [[Los Angeles]], Ledger's family members returned with his body to [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]]. On [[February 9]] [[2008]], a memorial service attended by several hundred invited guests was held at [[Penrhos College, Perth|Penhros College]]. After that service, Ledger's body was cremated at [[Fremantle Cemetery]], followed by a private service attended only by "10 closest family members",<ref name=Kent/> with his ashes to be "scattered in a family plot at [[Karrakatta Cemetery]], next to two of his grandparents."<ref name=Silverman>{{cite news |author=Stephen M. Silverman |title=Heath Ledger's Family Heads Home |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176033,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People Magazine]] |publisher=''People.com'' |date=2008-02-04 |accessdate=2008-02-04}}</ref><ref name=Rodriguez>{{cite news |author=Brenda Rodriguez |title=A Sorrowful Return to Australia for Heath Ledger's Family |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176124,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People Magazine]] |publisher=''People.com'' |date=2008-02-05 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref><ref name=PN2/><ref name=LKLLedger/><ref name=IHT>{{cite news |author=[[Associated Press]] |title=Reports: Michelle Williams Arrives in Perth for Heath Ledger's Funeral |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/06/arts/AS-A-E-CEL-Australia-Ledger.php |work=[[International Herald Tribune]] |date=2008-02-06 |accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref><ref name=funeral>{{cite news |author=[[Australian Associated Press|AAP]] |title=Heath Ledger Farewelled at Perth Funeral |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23184908-2,00.html |work=news.com.au |date=2008-02-09 |accessdate=2008-02-09}}</ref><ref name=HammondPrior>{{cite news |author=Jane Hammond and Phillipa Prior |title=Celebrities, Friends and Family Remember a Local Star |url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=22&ContentID=57786 |work=[[The West Australian]] |publication=''thewest.com.au'' |date=2008-02-09 |accessdate=2008-02-09}}</ref><ref name=swim>{{cite news |author=Michelle Cazzulino and Stephen Corby |title=Entertainment: Top Stories: Star Swim at Heath Ledger's Farewell: Ledger Wake Held in Perth |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23189271-10388,00.html |work=www.news.com |date=2008-02-10 |accessdate=2008-02-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Michelle Cazzalino (in Perth) and Ellen Connolly |title=Last, Sad Farewell for Heath |work=[[The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)|The Sunday Telegraph]] |page=5 (Local; State Ed. and Country Main Ed.) |publisher=''[[LexisNexis|LexisNexis.com]]'' |date=2008-02-10 |accessdate=2008-02-12}}</ref> Later that night, his family and friends gathered for a [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]] on [[Cottesloe, Western Australia|Cottesloe Beach]].<ref name=Kent/><ref name=beach>{{cite news |author=Wendy Caccetta and Nicole Cox |title=Beach Tribute to Heath Ledger |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23184885-952,00.html?from=mostpop |work=[[The Courier Mail]] |publisher=''www.news.com.au'' |date=2008-02-10 |accessdate=2008-02-09 |quote=Friends and family of actor Heath Ledger washed away their pain with a spontaneous splash in the West Australian surf last night. ... Ledger's former fiancee Michelle Williams and his sister Kate left his wake to join dozens of others at an uplifting farewell at the Perth beach the star had loved so much.}}</ref><ref name=swim/><ref name=swim2>{{cite news |author=Michelle Cazzulino and Stephen Corby |title=Michelle Williams Swims at Heath Ledger's Wake |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23188937-5001021,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-02-10 |accessdate=2008-02-10}}</ref>
=== "The Last Days of Heath Ledger" ===
A posthumous fictionalized account of "The Last Days of Heath Ledger," by Lisa Taddeo ("an associate editor at ''Golf Magazine'' and an aspiring [[fiction]] writer, [who] spent four days in restaurants and cafes and parks near where Mr. Ledger died,")<ref name=Taddeo>{{cite news |author=Lisa Taddeo |title=The Last Days of Heath Ledger |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/heath-ledger-last-days |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |publisher=''esquire.com'' |date=2008-03-05 |accessdate=2008-03-06 |quote=To write a conceivable chronicle of Heath Ledger's final days, writer Lisa Taddeo visited the actor's neighborhood, talked to the store owners and bartenders who may have seen him during his last week, and read as many accounts and rumors about the events surrounding his death as possible. She filled in the rest with her imagination. The result is what we call reported fiction. Some of the elements are true. (Ledger was in [[London]]. He was a regular at the Beatrice Inn and the Mirö Cafe. And he was infatuated with [[Nick Drake]]). Others are not. [Italics deleted.]}}</ref> has raised some controversy prior to its print publication in the April 2008 issue of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]''.<ref name=Arango>{{cite news |author=Tim Arango |title=Esquire Publishes a Diary That Isn’t |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/books/06esqu.html |work=[[The New York Times]] (Books) |date=2008-03-06 |accessdate=2008-03-06 |quote=After Mr. Ledger died from what was later found to be an accidental overdose of prescription medications, [Esquire editor-in-chief] Mr. Granger said he was surprised at the public's outpouring of grief for someone who, in Mr. Granger’s view, was not a huge movie star. 'It was born out of curiosity,' he said of the assignment. 'I didn’t understand what the fuss was all about.' Mr. Granger said he had read an unpublished novel written by Ms. Taddeo and had been looking for the right work to give her. When she first got the Ledger assignment it was unclear if the final product would be fiction or nonfiction. Mr. Granger simply wanted a writer on the scene. Some of what she wrote is true. Mr. Ledger was in London three days before his death. He did return to New York. He did like banana nut muffins from Miro Café, though it’s not certain he ate one for his last meal.}}</ref> It covers Ledger's final four days, from [[January 19]] through [[January 22]], [[2008]], the day he died, whose entry is subtitled "The Final Curtain."<ref name=Taddeo/> According to Edward Wasserman, Knight professor of journalism at [[Washington and Lee University]], in [[Lexington, Virginia]], "The risk of a piece like 'The Last Days of Heath Ledger' is that the work winds up in a literary no-man’s land. The biggest problem I see is you are sacrificing the biggest strengths from each of the genres. You are losing the veracity of journalism, and you are losing the imaginative license of fiction. You run the risk of ending up with something that is neither true nor interesting."<ref name=Arango/>
=== Controversy over will ===
After Heath Ledger's death, in response to some press reports about his [[will (law)|will]], filed in [[New York City]] on [[February 28]], [[2008]],<ref name=will>{{Cite web | author=Heath Ledger | title=Last will & testament | url=http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0327_heath_will_wm.pdf | publisher=''[[TMZ.com]]'', [[2008-02-28]] | date=2003-04-12 | accessdate=2008-04-23}}</ref><ref name=TMZ>{{Cite news | author=TMZ staff | title=Heath's Will -- No Joke | url=http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/27/heaths-will-no-joke/ | publisher=''[[TMZ.com]]'' ([[blog]]) | date=2008-03-27 |accessdate=2008-04-23}}</ref> and his daughter's access to his financial legacy, his father, Kim, said that he considered the financial well-being of his granddaughter Matilda Rose the Ledger family's "absolute priority" and her mother, [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]], "an integral part of our family," adding in his public "statement:" "They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be."<ref name=Keatinge>{{cite news |title=Ledger's Uncles: Michelle Williams May Have to Fight for Matilda’s Inheritance |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336280,00.html |work=[[Fox News]] |publisher=''foxnews.com'' |date=2008-03-10 |accessdate=2008-04-23 |quote=Kim Ledger moved quickly to deny his granddaughter and Michelle Williams would be left without an inheritance and said Matilda was his family's absolute priority. 'Matilda is our absolute priority and Michelle is an integral part of our family ... They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be,' Kim Ledger says in the statement.}}</ref> Some relatives of Heath Ledger may be challenging the legal status of his will signed in 2003 prior to the birth of his daughter, which was filed in New York and divides half of his [[Australian dollar|$]]60 million estate between his parents and half among his siblings; they claim that there is a second, unsigned will, which leaves most of that estate to Matilda Rose.<ref name=Cowan>{{cite news |author=Sean Cowan |title=Ledger Feud Grows Over 'second' Will |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/15/1205472100775.html |work=[[The Age]] |publisher=''theage.com.au'' |date=2008-03-15 |accessdate=2008-03-15 |quote=Some of Heath Ledger's relatives may be planning a legal challenge against his will after it emerged the actor may have written a second will after his daughter was born, leaving most of his multimillion-dollar fortune to her. ... Ledger's second will, which is understood to be unsigned, was reportedly drawn up after Matilda's birth. ... The looming battle over which of Ledger's wills should be used to divide his [reputed [[Australian dollar|$]]60 million] estate has caused waves on this side of the Pacific, with his uncles Mike and Haydn Ledger accusing their brother—and Heath's father—Kim of mismanaging their late grandfather's [[Australian dollar|$]]2 million estate. ... Kim Ledger hit back this week, issuing a statement claiming his estranged brothers did not know what they were talking about. ... Under the terms of the first will, the division of the estate will be managed by Kim Ledger's former business colleague Robert John Collins and [[Geraldton, Western Australia|Geraldton]] accountant William Mark Dyson.}}</ref> Williams' father, Larry, has also joined the controversy about Ledger's will as it was filed in [[New York City]] soon after his death.<ref name=Castellanos>{{Cite news | author = Melissa Castellanos | title = Williams' Dad Questions Ledger's Will: Larry Williams Wants Kim Ledger To Explain Why Estate Is Valued At Only [[United States dollar|$]]145,000 | url = http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/24/people_hot_water/main3964602.shtml | work=Showbuzz | publisher = ''[[CBS|cbsnews.com]]'' | date = 2008-03-24 | accessdate = 2008-03-30}}</ref> On [[March 31]], [[2008]], an "Exclusive" report published in Australia stated that "Heath Ledger's family believe the late actor may have fathered a secret love child" when he was 17 and that "If it is confirmed that Ledger is the girl's biological father, it could split his multi-million dollar estate between" Matilda Rose and this "secret love child."<ref name=JonesFifeYeomans>{{Cite news |author=Gemma Jones and Janet Fife-Yeomans |title=Did Heath Ledger Father a Secret Love Child? | work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph]] |publisher=''news.com.au'' |date=2008-03-31 |accessdate=2008-03-30 |quote=The April will lists only [[United States dollar|$]]145,000 in assets and names the late actor's father, Kim, mother Sally Bell, sister Kate Ledger and half sisters Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell as the only beneficiaries. The New York documents also acknowledge Matilda Rose, as Ledger's only known child, as an interested party.}}</ref><ref name=Maddox>{{Cite news |author=Garry Maddox |title=Good Will Hunting | url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/28/1206207397015.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2009-03-29 |accessdate=2008-03-30|quote=Beyond the tangled web of Heath Ledger's estate, two final films and his celebrated Brokeback performance ensure the money will keep flowing.}}</ref>
=== Forthcoming films ===
Ledger's death has affected the marketing campaign for [[Christopher Nolan]]'s ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]''<ref name=Halbfinger/><ref name=Halbfinger2/> and also both the production and marketing of [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'', and both directors intend their films to celebrate and pay tribute to Ledger's work in them.<ref name=Halbfinger/><ref name=CNNBind>{{cite news |author=[[CNN]] |title=Ledger's Death Puts Last Films in a Bind |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/24/ledger.films/index.html |work=CNN.com |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref><ref name=Kilpatrick>{{cite news |author=Christine Kilpatrick |title=Production Suspended on Heath Ledger's Latest Movie |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173511,00.html |work=People.com |publisher=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-01-24}}</ref><ref name=Carroll/> Although Gilliam temporarily suspended production on the latter film,<ref name=Kilpatrick/> he expressed determination to "salvage" it, perhaps using [[computer-generated imagery]] (CGI), and plans to dedicate it to the memory of Heath Ledger.<ref name=Gilliam>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Gilliam Trying to Save Last Ledger Film |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Gilliam_Trying_to_Save_Last_Ledger_Film/5055155 |work=Hollywood.com |date=2008-01-28 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref><ref name=Stoynoff>{{cite news |author=Natasha Stoynoff |title=Show Will Go On for Heath's Last Movie, Says CoStar |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20174404,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |publisher=''people.com'' |date=2008-01-28 |accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> In February 2008 actors [[Johnny Depp]], [[Jude Law]], and [[Colin Farrell]] signed on to take over Ledger's role, becoming multiple incarnations of his character, Tony, transformed in the "magical" world of the film, in part as a "tribute" to Ledger.<ref name=AICN>{{cite news |author=[[Drew McWeeny|"Moriarty"]] |url=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35623 |title=AICN exclusive! We Know Who’s Paying Tribute To Heath Ledger In Dr. Parnassus Now! |publisher=''[[Ain't It Cool News]]'' |date=2008-02-15 |accessdate=2008-02-17 |quote=...we’re going to see Heath Ledger’s work in Terry Gilliam’s new film, and that we’re also going to see three very interesting actors step up to offer interpretations of him...now we’ve got the names verified... [[Johnny Depp]]. ... [[Jude Law]]. ... [[Colin Farrell]].}}</ref><ref name=Adler2>{{cite news |author=Shawn Adler |title=Heath Ledger's Final Film To Go Forward - With Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell in His Role |publisher=[[MTV]] |url=http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=7086 |date=2008-02-15 |accessdate=2008-02-15 |quote=Report: The three actors have signed on to complete film. ... Heath Ledger died last month at the age of 28, but his final performance will live on - thanks to a little creativity and some famous friends. ... [[Johnny Depp]], [[Jude Law]] and [[Colin Farrell]] have all signed on to film scenes as Ledger's character in Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' a magical re-telling of the Faust story, according to Aintitcoolnews.com. The announcement serves as a tribute to the man many have called one of the best actors of his generation.}}</ref><ref name=NYTAB>{{cite news |title=Arts Briefly: Three Actors Replace Heath Ledger |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/arts/19arts-THREEACTORSR_BRF.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2008-02-19 |accessdate=2008-02-19 |quote=Jude Law, Colin Farrell, and Johnny Depp ... will replace Heath Ledger ... in the film he was starring in when he died last month, [[Ain't It Cool News]] reported. ... Mr. Ledger was playing a character who is transported into three separate dimensions. These will now be inhabited, instead, by Mr. Depp, Mr. Law and Mr. Farrell.}}</ref><ref name=Maddox/>
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width=2% | #
! width=3% | Year
! width=20% | Title
! width=20% | Role
! width=40% | Notes
! width=3% | Country
|-
| 1
| <center> [[1992 in film|1992]] </center>
| ''[[Clowning Around]]''
|
|
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 2
| rowspan="2" | <center>[[1997 in film|1997]]</center>
| ''[[Blackrock (film)|Blackrock]]''
| Toby
|
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 3
| ''[[Paws (film)|Paws]]''
| [[Oberon]]
|
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 4
|rowspan="2"| <center>[[1999 in film|1999]]</center>
| ''[[Two Hands (1999 film)|Two Hands]]''
| Jimmy
| [[Australian Film Institute Awards|AFI Award nominee]] (Best Actor in a Leading Role)
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 5
| ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]''
| [[Petruchio|Patrick Verona]]
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 6
| <center>[[2000 in film|2000]]</center>
| ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]''
| Gabriel Martin
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 7
| rowspan="2" | <center>[[2001 in film|2001]]</center>
| ''[[Monster's Ball]]''
| Sonny Grotowski
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 8
| ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]''
| Sir William Thatcher / Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 9
| <center>[[2002 in film|2002]]</center>
| ''[[The Four Feathers (2002 film)|The Four Feathers]]''
| Harry Faversham
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 10
| rowspan="2" | <center>[[2003 in film|2003]]</center>
| ''[[The Order (2003 film)|The Order]]''
| Alex Bernier
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 11
| ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]''
| [[Ned Kelly]]
| [[Australian Film Institute Awards|AFI Award nominee]] (Best Actor in a Leading Role)
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 12
| rowspan="4" | <center>[[2005 in film|2005]]</center>
| ''[[Casanova (film)|Casanova]]''
| [[Giacomo Casanova]]
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 13
| ''[[The Brothers Grimm (film)|The Brothers Grimm]]''
| [[Jacob Grimm]]
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
|14
|''[[Lords of Dogtown]]''
| [[Skip Engblom]]
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 15
| ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
| [[Ennis del Mar]]
| [[78th Academy Awards nominees|Academy Award nominee]] (Best Lead Actor)<br>[[63rd Golden Globe Awards nominees|Golden Globe nominee]] (Best Lead Actor - Drama)<br>[[BAFTA Award|BAFTA Award nominee]] (Best Lead Actor)<br>[[Screen Actors Guild|SAG nominee]] (Best Lead Actor, Best Ensemble Cast)<br>AFI Award (Best Lead Actor)
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 16
| <center>[[2006 in film|2006]]</center>
| ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]''
| Dan
| [[Australian Film Institute Awards|AFI Award nominee]] (Best Actor in a Leading Role)<br>[[Inside Film Awards|IF Award nominee]] (Best Actor)<br>[[Film Critics Circle of Australia|FCCA Award nominee]] (Best Actor)
| {{flagicon|AUS}}
|-
| 17
| rowspan="1" | <center>[[2007 in film|2007]]</center>
| ''[[I'm Not There]]''
| [[Bob Dylan|Robbie Clark]]
|
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 18
| <center>[[2008 in film|2008]]</center>
| ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]''
| [[Joker (comics)|The Joker]]
| ''post-production''
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
| 19
| <center>[[2009 in film|2009]]</center>
| ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''
| Tony<ref name=cinematical>{{cite news |author=Christopher Campbell |title=Details About Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus' |url=http://www.cinematical.com/2007/10/09/details-about-terry-gilliams-the-imaginarium-of-dr-parnassus/ |work=Cinematical.com |date=2007-10-09 |accessdate=2008-01-24}}</ref>
| ''post-production''
| {{flagicon|USA}}
|-
|}
===Music videos and shorts===
*(2006) "Cause an Effect" and "Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)" songs by [[1200 Techniques|N'fa]], music videos directed by Ledger.
*(2006) "Morning Yearning," song by [[Ben Harper]], video directed by Ledger.
*(2007) "Black Eyed Dog," directed by and featuring Ledger. Short film set to 1974 song about depression written by [[Nick Drake]]
*(2007) "[[King Rat (song)|King Rat]]" by [[Modest Mouse]], directed by [[Terry Gilliam]] and featuring Ledger.
=== Television ===
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width=3%; align=center | Year
! width=20% | Title
! width=20% | Role
! width=40% | Notes
|-
| align="center"|[[1993 in television|1993]]
| ''[[Ship to Shore]]''
| Cyclist
|
|-
| align=center|[[1996 in television|1996]]
| ''[[Sweat (TV series)|Sweat]]''
| Snowy Bowles
| Series regular
|-
| rowspan="2"| <center>[[1997 in television|1997]]</center>
| ''[[Home and Away]]''
| Scott Irwin
| Guest
|-
| ''[[Roar (TV series)|Roar]]''
| Conor
| Series regular
|}
== Awards and nominations ==
* '''[[Academy Award]]s'''
** 2006 - [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[Australian Film Institute Awards]]'''
** 1999 - [[Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Lead Actor]], ''[[Two Hands (1999 film)|Two Hands]]'' (Nominated)
** 2003 - [[Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Lead Actor]], ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]'' (Nominated)
** 2006 - [[Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Lead Actor]], ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]]'''
** 2006 - [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[Golden Globe Award]]s'''
** 2006 - [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama|Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[Independent Spirit Award]]s'''
** 2008 - [[Robert Altman Award]], ''[[I'm Not There.]]'' '''(Won)''' *shared w/ cast and crew.
** 2006 - [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor|Best Male Lead]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[MTV Movie Awards]]'''
** 2006 - Best Kiss, ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' '''(Won)''' *shared w/ [[Jake Gyllenhaal]]
** 2002 - Best Kiss, ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]'' (Nominated) *shared w/ [[Shannyn Sossamon]]
** 2002 - Best Musical Sequence ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]'' (Nominated)*shared w/ [[Shannyn Sossamon]]
** 2000 - Best Musical Sequence ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]'' (Nominated)
* '''[[Screen Actors Guild Awards]]'''
** 2006 - [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
** 2006 - [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role]], ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (Nominated)
== See also ==
* [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest nominees_2|List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees - Youngest Nominees for Best Actor]]
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
*Adler, Shawn.[http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580086/20080122/story.jhtml "Heath Ledger Said He Hoped To Evolve As An Actor And Person In 2005 Interview]: Late actor was intelligent, self-aware during 'Brokeback Mountain' chat." ''[[MTV|mtv.com]]'', [[January 22]], [[2008]]. Accessed [[March 18]], [[2008]]. (Excerpts from transcript of interview with Heath Ledger conducted by [[John Norris (MTV News reporter)|John Norris]] in 2005.)
*McShane John. ''[[Heath Ledger: His Beautiful Life and Mysterious Death]]''. London: John Blake, 2008. ISBN 1844546330 (10). ISBN 978-1844546336 (13). (Excerpt listed below.)
*–––. [http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23564492-5007191,00.html "Loves of Heath Ledger's Life"]. ''[[The Courier-Mail]]'', [[April 20]], [[2008]]. Accessed [[April 21]], [[2008]]. (Book excerpt.)
*Norris, Chris. [http://nymag.com/news/features/44217/ "(Untitled Heath Ledger Project)]: In Which the Protagonist Dies Mysteriously, and the Audience Analyzes His Final Days for Clues to His Real Character". ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', [[February 18]], [[2008]]. Accessed [[April 21]], [[2008]].
*Robb, Brian J. ''[[Heath Ledger: Hollywood's Dark Star]]''. London: [[Plexus Publishing Ltd]], forthcoming [[July 1]], [[2008]]. ISBN 0859654273 (10). ISBN 978-0859654272 (13). (Forthcoming on [[August 1]], [[2008]] in the [[United States|U.S.]].)
*[[Kevin Sessums|Sessums, Kevin]], with photographs by [[Bruce Weber (photographer)|Bruce Weber]]. [http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008 "We're Having a Heath Wave"]. ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', [[August]] [[2000]]. (4 pages.) Accessed [[April 21]], [[2008]]. (Interview with Heath Ledger; illustrations in "Perth Album", by Bruce Weber.)
*[[Peter Travers|Travers, Peter]].[http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/01/sundance-shock.php "Sundance: Shock"]. ''The Travers Take: News and Reviews from Rolling Stone's Movie Critic'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ([[Blog]]), ''rollingstone.com'', [[January 22]], [[2008]]. Includes hyperlinked feature: ''[http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/02/video-review-pass-on-hannah-mo.php Video Review: A Look at Heath Ledger's Best Performances]'' (video by Jennifer Hsu, with audio commentary provided by Travers), [[February 1]], [[2008]]. Accessed [[April 21]], [[2008]].
== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/confidential/indepth/feature/0,22045,5015791,00.html "Heath Ledger: April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)]]''. Accessed [[February 2]], [[2008]]. (Tabloid newspaper.)
* ''{{imdb name|id=0005132|name=Heath Ledger}}''. Accessed [[February 18]], [[2008]].
* ''{{people.com}}''. Accessed [[February 2]], [[2008]].
* ''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7203860.stm In Pictures: Heath Ledger's Life]''. ''[[BBC]]''. Accessed [[February 11]], [[2008]]. (Features menu: "Heath Ledger: 1979–2008".)
* ''[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/heath_ledger/index.html Times Topics: Heath Ledger]''. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Accessed [[February 5]], [[2008]].
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| DATE OF DEATH = [[January 22]] [[2008]]
| PLACE OF DEATH = {{flagicon|Australia}} [[New York City]], [[New York|NY]], [[United States]]
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Revision as of 02:06, 28 April 2008
Heath Ledger | |
---|---|
Born | Heath Andrew Ledger |
Occupation | Film Actor |
Years active | 1996–2008 |
Partner(s) | Michelle Williams (2005–2007) |
Awards | NYFCC Award For Best Actor 2005 Brokeback Mountain |
Heath Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008) was an Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and SAG Award-nominated Australian film actor who lived in New York City. After appearing in television roles during the 1990s, Ledger developed a movie career, appearing in nearly 20 films. He starred in both critical and box-office successes, including 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, Monster's Ball, A Knight's Tale, and Brokeback Mountain.[1][2][3] For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger was nominated for a 2005 Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role"[1][2][3] and also was nominated and won "Best Actor" awards for that role from BAFTA and the Australian Film Institute and the New York Film Critics Circle, respectively, as well as won an MTV Movie Award with Jake Gyllenhaal for their "best kiss" in the film.[4]
He completed filming his role as the Joker in the forthcoming movie The Dark Knight,[5] shortly before dying from an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28.[1][2][6][7] His final film performance, uncompleted at the time of his death, is the role of Tony in Terry Gilliam's forthcoming film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.[8][9][10] Posthumously, on February 23, 2008, he shared the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the cast and crew of the film I'm Not There, in which he portrayed a character named "Robbie Clark", based on a stage in the life of Bob Dylan.[4]
In addition to his work as an actor and as a producer and director of music videos, he also aspired to be a film director.[11]
Family and personal life
Heath Ledger was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, the son of Sally Ledger Bell (née Ramshaw), a French teacher, and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer, whose family established and owned the well-known Ledger Engineering Foundry.[12][13][14] The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust is named after his great-grandfather.[12] Ledger attended Mary's Mount Primary School, in Gooseberry Hill,[15][16] and later Guildford Grammar School, where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as Peter Pan at age 10.[12][2] His parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11.[17] Ledger's older sister, Kate, an actress and later a publicist, with whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage, and his love of Gene Kelly inspired his successful choreography leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge.[12][18][18][12][19] Heath's and Kate's other siblings include two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell (b. 1989), his mother's daughter with her second husband and his stepfather Roger Bell, and Olivia Ledger (b. 1997), his father's daughter with second wife and his stepmother Emma Brown.[20]
Ledger was an avid chess player, winning Western Australia's junior chess championship at the age of 10.[21][22] As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park.[23][24] Allan Scott's film adaptation of the chess-related 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit, by Walter Tevis, which at the time of his death he was planning both to perform in and to direct, would have been Ledger's first feature film as a director.[11][25]
Among his most-notable romantic relationships, Ledger dated actress Heather Graham, from October 2000 to June 2001.[26] He had a serious longterm relationship with actress Naomi Watts, whom he met during the filming of Ned Kelly.[27][28] He met and began dating actress Michelle Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain, and their daughter, Matilda Rose, was born on October 28, 2005 in New York City.[29] Matilda Rose's godparents are Ledger's Brokeback co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and Williams' Dawson's Creek castmate Busy Philipps.[30][31] Problems with paparazzi in Australia prompted Ledger to sell his residence in Bronte, New South Wales and move to the United States, where he shared an apartment with Williams, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, from 2005 to 2007.[32][1][33][34][35] In September 2007, Williams' father, Larry Williams, confirmed to Sydney's Daily Telegraph that Ledger and Williams had ended their relationship.[36] After his break up with Williams, in late 2007 and early 2008, the tabloid press and other public media linked Ledger romantically with supermodels Helena Christensen and Gemma Ward and with former child star, actress Mary-Kate Olsen.[37][38][39][40]
Career
1990s
At 16, Ledger sat for early graduation exams and left school to pursue an acting career.[17] With his best friend, Trevor DiCarlo, Ledger made the cross-country drive to Sydney. He returned to Perth for the TV series Sweat (1996), in which he played a gay cyclist.[12]
In 1996, prior to his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie Blackrock, Ledger was involved in the short-lived Fox Broadcasting Company fantasy-drama Roar. This was immediately followed by a part on Home and Away, one of Australia's most successful television shows. In 1999, Ledger starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You and also had the lead role in the acclaimed Australian movie Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan.[12]
2000s
From 2000 to 2005, he starred in The Patriot, Monster's Ball, A Knight's Tale, The Four Feathers, Ned Kelly, The Order, and The Brothers Grimm. In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow based on his performance in The Patriot, and worldwide release of A Knight's Tale.
Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he plays Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He also received a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor in a Drama and a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance. At age 26, Ledger became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. In The New York Times review of the film, critic Stephen Holden writes: "Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn."[41] In a review in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers states: "Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."[42]
Also in 2005, Ledger portrayed a fictionalised version of Giacomo Casanova in Casanova, a romantic comedy which co-starred Sienna Miller.
In 2006, Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[43]
In 2007, he was one of six actors to portray different stages in the life of Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There. Before Brad Pitt accepted the lead after Ledger reportedly withdrew from the project, in December 2007, Ledger was to star, opposite Sean Penn in a supporting role, in Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick.[44][45][46]
Ledger plays the Joker in The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins, which is to be released on July 18, 2008.[47] The Dark Knight was in post-production at the time of Ledger's death.[48] Nolan has praised Ledger's performance as "iconic".[5][49]
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, in which Ledger had been cast in a major supporting role, was still in production at the time of his death.[50]
Directorial work
Ledger had aspirations to become a film director and made some music videos. In 2006 he debuted as a director with the music videos for the title track on Australian hip-hop artist N'fa's CD debut solo album Cause an Effect[51] and for the single "Seduction Is Evil (She's Hot)".[52][53]
Later in 2006, Ledger started a new record label, Masses Music, with singer Ben Harper and also directed a music video for Harper's song "Morning Yearning".[54][55][56]
At a news conference at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, Ledger spoke of his desire to make a documentary film about the British singer-songwriter Nick Drake, who died in 1974, at the age of 26, from an overdose of an antidepressant.[57] Ledger created and acted in a music video set to Drake's recording of the singer's 1974 song about depression "Black Eyed Dog"–a title "inspired by Winston Churchill’s descriptive term for depression" (black dog)[58]; it was shown publicly only twice, first at the Bumbershoot Festival, in Seattle, Washington, held from September 1 to September 3, 2007; and secondly as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake, "a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake" (including Ledger's), sponsored by American Cinematheque, at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, in Hollywood, on October 5, 2007.[59] After Ledger's death, his music video for "Black Eyed Dog" was shown on the internet and excerpted in news clips distributed via YouTube.[57][60][61]
He was also working with Scottish screenwriter and producer Allan Scott on an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit, by Walter Tevis; he was planning both to act in and to direct it, and it would have been his first feature film as a director.[11][62][25]
Press controversies
Ledger's relationship with the press in Australia was sometimes turbulent, and it led to his relocating to New York City.[63][64] In 2004 he strongly denied press reports alleging that "he spat at journalists on the Sydney set of the movie Candy," or that one of his relatives had done so later, outside Ledger's Sydney home.[63][64] On January 13, 2006, "Several members of the paparazzi retaliated ... squirting Ledger and Williams with water pistols on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain."[65][66]
After his performance on stage at the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards, when he had giggled in presenting Brokeback Mountain as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the Los Angeles Times referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof."[67] Ledger called the Times later and explained that his levity resulted from stage fright, saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers."[68][69]
Ledger was quoted in January 2006 in Melbourne's Herald Sun as saying that he heard that West Virginia had banned Brokeback Mountain, which it had not; actually, a cinema in Utah had banned the film.[64] He had also referred mistakenly to West Virginia's having had lynchings as recently as the 1980s, but state scholars disputed his statement, observing that, whereas lynchings did occur in Alabama as recently as 1981, according to "the director of state archives and history" quoted in The Charleston Gazette, "The last documented lynching in West Virginia took place in Lewisburg in 1931."[70] Yet The Gazz qualifies its newspaper's report somewhat further in adding, "though you have to wonder what the Klan was up to in the decades after that."[71]
Effects of work on health: sleep disturbances
In a New York Times interview with Sarah Lyall published on November 4, 2007, Ledger stated that his recently-completed roles in The Dark Knight and I'm Not There had taken a toll on his ability to sleep: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two Ambien pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in "a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing."[54][5][72]
Prior to his return to New York from his last film assignment, in London, in January 2008, while he was apparently suffering from some kind of respiratory illness, he reportedly complained to his co-star Christopher Plummer that he was continuing to have difficulty sleeping and taking pills to help with that problem: "Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadn't been feeling well on set, Plummer says, 'we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.… [sic] I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia.'" ... On top of that, 'He was saying all the time, "dammit, I can't sleep"… [sic] and he was taking all these pills [to help him] [sic].'"[73]
In talking with Interview magazine after his death, Ledger's former fiancée Michelle Williams "also confirmed reports the actor had experienced trouble sleeping. 'For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with insomnia,' she said. 'He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning turning always turning.'"[74]
Death
At about 2:45 PM on January 22, 2008, Ledger was found unconscious in his fourth-floor loft apartment, at 421 Broome Street, in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.[1][2] Emergency crews arrived soon after but were unable to revive him..[1][75] He was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m., and his body removed from the apartment, while crowds of onlookers began gathering outside throughout that night.[1][75]
After two weeks of intense media speculation about possible causes of his death, on 6 February, 2008, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York released its conclusions, based on an initial autopsy of January 23, 2008, and a subsequent complete toxicological analysis.[76][6][7][77] The report concludes, in part, "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."[6][72] It also states definitively: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."[6][72] The medications found in the toxicological analysis are commonly prescribed in the United States for insomnia, anxiety, depression, pain, and/or cold symptoms.[6][72] The Medical Examiner's Office also announced that it would not be publicly disclosing the official estimated time of death.[78][79] The official announcement of the cause of Ledger's death heightened concerns about general "abuse of prescription medications."[7][77] Late in February 2008, a still-ongoing DEA investigation of medical professionals "cleared" two American medics, who practice in Los Angeles and Houston, of "any wrongdoing," determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications–not the pills that killed him."[80][81]
Memorial tributes
On January 23, 2008, Ledger's parents and sister appeared outside his mother's house in Applecross, a riverside suburb of Perth, and read a short statement to the media expressing their grief and desire for privacy.[82] Within the next few days, memorial tributes were communicated by family members, Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, Deputy Premier of Western Australia Eric Ripper, Warner Brothers (distributor of The Dark Knight, his final completed film), and thousands of Ledger's fans around the world.[83][15][84][85][86]
Numerous actors have made statements expressing their sorrow at Ledger's death, including Daniel Day-Lewis who dedicated his Screen Actors Guild Award to Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting; Day-Lewis praised Ledger's performances in Monster's Ball and Brokeback Mountain, describing the latter as "unique, perfect."[87][88]
On February 1 2008, Michelle Williams' first public statement on the death expressed her heartbreak and described her seeing Ledger's spirit surviving in their daughter.[89][90]
After attending private memorial ceremonies in Los Angeles, Ledger's family members returned with his body to Perth. On February 9 2008, a memorial service attended by several hundred invited guests was held at Penhros College. After that service, Ledger's body was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery, followed by a private service attended only by "10 closest family members",[19] with his ashes to be "scattered in a family plot at Karrakatta Cemetery, next to two of his grandparents."[91][92][78][77][93][94][95][96][97] Later that night, his family and friends gathered for a wake on Cottesloe Beach.[19][98][96][99]
"The Last Days of Heath Ledger"
A posthumous fictionalized account of "The Last Days of Heath Ledger," by Lisa Taddeo ("an associate editor at Golf Magazine and an aspiring fiction writer, [who] spent four days in restaurants and cafes and parks near where Mr. Ledger died,")[100] has raised some controversy prior to its print publication in the April 2008 issue of Esquire.[101] It covers Ledger's final four days, from January 19 through January 22, 2008, the day he died, whose entry is subtitled "The Final Curtain."[100] According to Edward Wasserman, Knight professor of journalism at Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia, "The risk of a piece like 'The Last Days of Heath Ledger' is that the work winds up in a literary no-man’s land. The biggest problem I see is you are sacrificing the biggest strengths from each of the genres. You are losing the veracity of journalism, and you are losing the imaginative license of fiction. You run the risk of ending up with something that is neither true nor interesting."[101]
Controversy over will
After Heath Ledger's death, in response to some press reports about his will, filed in New York City on February 28, 2008,[102][103] and his daughter's access to his financial legacy, his father, Kim, said that he considered the financial well-being of his granddaughter Matilda Rose the Ledger family's "absolute priority" and her mother, Michelle Williams, "an integral part of our family," adding in his public "statement:" "They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be."[104] Some relatives of Heath Ledger may be challenging the legal status of his will signed in 2003 prior to the birth of his daughter, which was filed in New York and divides half of his $60 million estate between his parents and half among his siblings; they claim that there is a second, unsigned will, which leaves most of that estate to Matilda Rose.[105] Williams' father, Larry, has also joined the controversy about Ledger's will as it was filed in New York City soon after his death.[106] On March 31, 2008, an "Exclusive" report published in Australia stated that "Heath Ledger's family believe the late actor may have fathered a secret love child" when he was 17 and that "If it is confirmed that Ledger is the girl's biological father, it could split his multi-million dollar estate between" Matilda Rose and this "secret love child."[107][108]
Forthcoming films
Ledger's death has affected the marketing campaign for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight[10][5] and also both the production and marketing of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and both directors intend their films to celebrate and pay tribute to Ledger's work in them.[10][8][9][49] Although Gilliam temporarily suspended production on the latter film,[9] he expressed determination to "salvage" it, perhaps using computer-generated imagery (CGI), and plans to dedicate it to the memory of Heath Ledger.[109][73] In February 2008 actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell signed on to take over Ledger's role, becoming multiple incarnations of his character, Tony, transformed in the "magical" world of the film, in part as a "tribute" to Ledger.[110][111][112][108]
Filmography
Film
Music videos and shorts
- (2006) "Cause an Effect" and "Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)" songs by N'fa, music videos directed by Ledger.
- (2006) "Morning Yearning," song by Ben Harper, video directed by Ledger.
- (2007) "Black Eyed Dog," directed by and featuring Ledger. Short film set to 1974 song about depression written by Nick Drake
- (2007) "King Rat" by Modest Mouse, directed by Terry Gilliam and featuring Ledger.
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | Ship to Shore | Cyclist | |
1996 | Sweat | Snowy Bowles | Series regular |
Home and Away | Scott Irwin | Guest | |
Roar | Conor | Series regular |
Awards and nominations
- Academy Awards
- 2006 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
- Australian Film Institute Awards
- 1999 - Best Lead Actor, Two Hands (Nominated)
- 2003 - Best Lead Actor, Ned Kelly (Nominated)
- 2006 - Best Lead Actor, Candy (Nominated)
- BAFTA
- 2006 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
- Golden Globe Awards
- 2006 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
- Independent Spirit Awards
- 2008 - Robert Altman Award, I'm Not There. (Won) *shared w/ cast and crew.
- 2006 - Best Male Lead, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
- MTV Movie Awards
- 2006 - Best Kiss, Brokeback Mountain (Won) *shared w/ Jake Gyllenhaal
- 2002 - Best Kiss, A Knight's Tale (Nominated) *shared w/ Shannyn Sossamon
- 2002 - Best Musical Sequence A Knight's Tale (Nominated)*shared w/ Shannyn Sossamon
- 2000 - Best Musical Sequence 10 Things I Hate About You (Nominated)
- Screen Actors Guild Awards
- 2006 - Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
- 2006 - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Brokeback Mountain (Nominated)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g James Barron (2008-01-23). "Heath Ledger, Actor, Is Found Dead at 28". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e "Heath Ledger: The Times Obituary". The Times. timesonline.co.uk. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ a b AP (2008-01-23). "Timeline of Heath Ledger's Career". GMA Network. GMANews.tv. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ a b "Awards for Heath Ledger". The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b c d David M. Halbfinger (2008-03-09). "Batman's Burden: A Director Confronts Darkness and Death". The New York Times (Arts & Leisure: Film). nytimes.com. pp. 1, 16. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
Heath Ledger's death raised the stakes surrounding Christopher Nolan's Batman sequel. The director Christopher Nolan ... worked with Heath Ledger (playing the Joker) and Christian Bale (as Batman) ... on the coming 'Dark Knight'.... [photo captions] ... Rebooting the Batman franchise may be behind him, but he still has to improve upon it. Sequels are always trickier. And now he must also navigate the aftermath of the Jan. 22 death of Mr. Ledger. ... It [Ledger's death] came well into editing, and only after the studio had introduced Mr. Ledger's Joker through posters, trailers and a six-minute Imax short. But it automatically raised the stakes: the acclaimed actor's final role would be ... [sic] a comic-book grotesque? Worse, though Mr. Ledger had finished work on 'The Dark Knight' in October and was already halfway through another film, news that the prescription drugs that killed him included sleep aids — along with narcotics — prompted Internet chatter about whether his intense performance as the Joker, styled after Malcolm McDowell's in 'A Clockwork Orange,' had been a factor in his demise. ... Mr. Ledger, however, also called it 'the most fun I've ever had, or probably ever will have, playing a character.' But his fatigue was obvious, said Michael Caine, who briefly overlapped with him. 'He was exhausted, I mean he was really tired. I remember saying to him, "I'm too old to have the bloody energy to play that part." And I thought to myself, I didn't have the energy when I was his age.' ... Mr. [Wally] Pfister, the cinematographer, said Mr. Ledger seemed 'like he was busting blood vessels in his head,' he was so intense. 'It was like a séance, where the medium takes on another person and then is so completely drained.' ... Will Mr. Ledger's death cast a pall over 'The Dark Knight,' whose tragic plot turns already make it much darker than 'Batman Begins'? 'We'll see,' said Mr. [Jeff] Robinov, of Warner Brothers. Mr. Nolan, for his part, said he felt a 'massive sense of responsibility' to do right by Mr. Ledger's 'terrifying, amazing' performance. ... 'It's stunning, it's iconic,' he said. 'It's going to just blow people away.'
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ a b c d e Sewell Chan (2008-02-06). "City Room: Heath Ledger's Death Is Ruled an Accident". The New York Times. cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
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(help) - ^ a b c CNN (2008-02-06). "Ledger's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose". CNN.com. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
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has generic name (help) Cite error: The named reference "CNNLedger" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b CNN (2008-01-24). "Ledger's Death Puts Last Films in a Bind". CNN.com. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
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has generic name (help) - ^ a b c Christine Kilpatrick (2008-01-24). "Production Suspended on Heath Ledger's Latest Movie". People.com. People. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ a b c David M. Halbfinger (2008-01-25). "Actor's Death May Mean Film's End". The New York Times. p. 12 (Movies, Performing Arts/Weekend Desk). Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ a b c Adam Dawtrey (2008-01-23). "'Parnassus' Team Faces Dilemma". Variety. Variety.com. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Dominic Wills (2008). "Heath Ledger Biography". tiscali.film & tv. tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
The Ledger name was well-known in Perth, the family having run a foundry that provided much of the raw material for the famous Perth to Kalgoorlie Pipeline, which ran 557 kilometres east out into the desert and, beginning to pump [water] back in 1903, first supplied the Western Australian goldfields and now served over 100,000 people and 6 million sheep in 44,000 square miles. The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust, named after Heath's great-grandfather, was renowned for granting funds to the area's universities, paying for visiting lecturers and scholarships for gifted students.
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(help) - ^ "Heath Ledger Biography (1979-)". Filmreference.com. 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
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(help) - ^ ""Banks, Frederick & Annie"". WA Maritime Museum Welcome Walls. Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
The Ledger Foundry made most of the pipes, etc. for the Kalgoorlie Pipe Line. Fred worked as a partner in the Foundry & also made tools for the prospectors on the Goldfields.
- ^ a b "Heath Ledger among WA's Finest Sons, Says Eric Ripper". The Sunday Times (PerthNow). news.com.au. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
Heath was one of the best actors the nation had produced and his death at age 28 had shocked the community, he said. ... 'I understand he was a former student at both Mary's Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill and later at Guildford Grammar,' Mr Ripper said. ... 'Apparently he left school at 16 to pursue his passion for acting. There is no doubt his wonderful work in that field in such a comparatively short time will endure.' ... Mr Ripper said Western Australians everywhere would be proud of Ledger's work and his legacy.
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(help) - ^ Michael Bodey (2008-01-24). "Rocked by the System". The Australian. p. 13 (Features). Retrieved 2008-02-08.
1985: Attends Mary's Mount Primary School in the Perth Hills and Guildford Grammar, excelling in drama and sport.
- ^ a b David Lipsky (2006-03-23). "Heath Ledger's Lonesome Trail". Rolling Stone. rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
His dad wanted him to race cars. Hollywood wanted him to play Spider-Man. But he wanted to play a gay cowboy. Now he's a huge star, and he's not happy about it.
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(help) - ^ a b Kevin Sessums (August 2000). "We're Having a Heath Wave". Vanity Fair. vanityfair.com. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
[Dispensing with 'romantic' notions promulgated by some biographies (including Wills's in tiscali.film & tv) that he and his sister are named after characters Catherine and Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights], he's asked if Heath is a shortened version of Heathcliff. 'No, just Heath. But I do have an older sister named Kathy,' he says. 'Well, Kate.'
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "Sessums3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c Melissa Kent (2008-02-09). "Tears, Tributes Accompany Heath Ledger to His Final Rest". The Age. theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
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(help) - ^ "Heath Ledger Biography". Yahoo! Movies. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Obituary of Heath Ledger Actor who thought deeply about his craft and won widespread praise for Brokeback Mountain". The Daily Telegraph. 2008-01-24. p. 25. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
At the same time he showed promise in other areas, as a junior go-kart racing champion and, aged only 10, as Western Australia's junior chess champion.
- ^ Brian Pendreigh (2008-01-24 accessdate=2008-02-14). "'My friend Heath would never commit suicide'". Scotland on Sunday. news.scotsman.com.
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(help) - ^ Christina Tapper and Natasha Stoyoff (2008-01-26). "Heath Ledger's Passion for Chess". People. people.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
No stranger to the New York Washington Square Park chess world, Heath Ledger found joy by screaming the occasional 'checkmate!'
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(help) - ^ Josh Horowitz (2007-11-12). "Heath Ledger Discusses Delving Into Dylan for 'I'm Not There': Channeling Sid Vicious for 'Dark Knight'". MTV. mtv.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) - ^ a b Michelle Cazzulino (2008-03-29). "Heath Ledger's Gambit to Be a Director". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
It was an opportunity tailor-made for Ledger, Scott said. 'The movie is about chess, and what is a little known fact is Heath was very close to being on the grandmaster level. He was a chess whiz, and he intended to get his grandmaster rating before he started shooting the picture.'
- ^ "Trivia" sec. of "mini-biography" for "Heath Ledger", in Heath Ledger at IMDb.
- ^ Gary Susman (2003-10-01). "Naomi Watts and Heath Ledger split". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ John McShane (2008-04-20). "Loves of Heath Ledger's Life". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
IN the first book since Heath Ledger's death, Fleet Street's John McShane looks at the actor's legacy. In this extract, he examines Ledger's relationships.
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ignored (help) - ^ Kiki King, Eva Simpson, and Caroline Hedley (2006-03-03). "The Heath Is On". 3AM. Daily Mirror. p. 16. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Godfather Jake Gillenhaal's Silent Agony". news.com.au. The Daily Telegraph. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "First Picture: Michelle Williams and Matilda Arrive in Brooklyn". Usmagazine.com. Us Weekly. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ Sarah Grant (2006-06-08). "Soaking Left my lad Heath in Tears". The Daily Telegraph. p. 9. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ "Ledger hopes for $3m profit on beach house". theage.com.au. The Age. 2006-02-11. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ Angela Saurine (2006-04-15). "Why the Rich Are Kings of the Castle". The Daily Telegraph. p. 19. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ Alex Williams (2007-09-30). "Brooklyn's Fragile Eco-System". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "Williams' Father Confirms Ledger Split". Hollywood.com. WENN (World Entertainment News Network). 2007-09-04. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ "Supermodel's Last Call to Heath". news.com.au. Herald Sun. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ Robert Stansfield (2008-01-24). "Helena Christensen Was On Way to See Heath Ledger". Scottish Daily Record. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ Holly Byrnes, Sarah Grant, and Angela Saurine (2008-01-03). "Are Gemma Ward and Heath Ledger Dating?". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. p. 31. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Janet Fife-Yeomans (2008-01-25). "Sorrow of Heath Ledger's Secret Love". The Daily Telegraph. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ Stephen Holden (2005-12-09). "Film Review - Brokeback Mountain - Riding the High Country, Finding and Losing Love". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ Peter Travers (2005-12-01). "Review: Brokeback Mountain". Rolling Stone. rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2006-07-05). "Press Releases: Academy Invites 120 to Membership". oscars.org. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
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(help) - ^ "Heath Ledger to Star in Tree of Life with Sean Penn". The Daily Telegraph. The Sunday Times (PerthNow), news.com.au. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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(help) - ^ Michael Fleming (2007-12-18). "Pitt in Talks to Star in 'Tree of Life': Sean Penn to Co-star in Malick Drama". Variety. variety.com. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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(help) - ^ Michael Corcoran, with Adrianna Broyles (comp.) (2008-02-13). "Newsmakers: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn Move to Begin filming in Central Texas in March ... Pitt, Penn to Film in Smithville". The Austin American-Statesman. statesman.com. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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(help) - ^ "The Dark Knight". Box Office Mojo. boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
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(help) - ^ Matt Brady (2008-01-23). "Heath Ledger Dies". Newsarama. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ a b Larry Carroll (2008-03-18). "'Dark Knight' Stars, Director Want Film To 'Celebrate' Heath Ledger's Work url = http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1583563/story.jhtml". MTV. mtv.com.
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(help) - ^ "Gilliam, Ledger Reteam for Film". Variety. Variety.com. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Music: Cause An Effect – N'Fa". thescene.com.au. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ "Seduction Is Evil". Inertia Catalogue. inertia.net. 2006-10-28. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
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(help) - ^ Andrew Drever (2006-08-21). "N'Fa: Frontman for 1200 Techniques May Be Doing Solo Work, But Everything's Cool". The Age. theage.com.au. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
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(help) - ^ a b Sarah Lyall (2007-11-04). "In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down". The New York Times (Arts & Leisure Desk). Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ "Heath Ledger Teams Up with Ben Harper to Launch New Record Label". Starpulse Entertainment News Blog. starpulse.com. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
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(help) - ^ "Trivia", Heath Ledger at IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b Jim Fraenkel and Rodrigo Perez (2008-01-22). "Heath Ledger's Video for Nick Drake Song: Eerie Postscript to Actor's Death". MTV.com. MTV. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
The video [for 'Black Eyed Dog'], which has not been released commercially and has apparently not yet leaked to the Web, has been screened just twice, once last Labor Day weekend [2007] at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle and a second time in October [2007] at 'A Place to Be,' an event honoring Drake held in Los Angeles.
- ^ Anthony Storr. Churchill's Black Dog and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1997. ISBN 9780006375661.
- ^ "Egyptian Theatre Programming" (PDF). American Cinematheque Film Calendar. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
This very special evening celebrating [Drake's] life and music includes films, guests and a unique art and photographic exhibit. It includes the World Theatrical Premiere of 'Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake', 2007, Bryter Music, 30 min. Various Directors - a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake - created by admirers including Heath Ledger, Jonas Mekas and Tim Pope. (NOT ON DVD!) ...
- ^ Daniel Kreps (2008-02-29). "Footage from Heath Ledger's Nick Drake Video Surfaces". Rolling Stone. rollingstone.com (Rock & Roll Daily). Retrieved 2008-03-18.
The video, for Drake's posthumously released song 'Black Eyed Dog,' was filmed by the actor in late 2007 and included in a multimedia installment about Drake called 'A Place to Be.' The project was only screened publicly twice before the actor's death, and the Ledger family said the 'Black Eyed Dog' video would not be released.
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(help) - ^ "A Place To Be: Reflections Of Nick Drake". Retrieved 2008-03-18.
A Place To Be: a collection, a celebration, in film, photography, painting, drawing and prose, of the impact the music of Nick Drake has had on other artists
("Introductory film" includes excerpts of the music video, Black Eyed Dog, by Heath Ledger, among others.) - ^ Rob Sharp and Allan Shiach (2008-03-18). "Heath Ledger–A Prophetic Tragedy". The Independent. independent.co.uk (Arts: Entertainment: Film and TV: Features). Retrieved 2008-03-20.
Until last month [January 2008] he [Allan Schiach, aka Allan Scott,] was working with the late Heath Ledger on a film adaptation of Walter Tevis's 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit, about a chess prodigy's chequered history. The Australian actor was pencilled in to direct and star alongside the Oscar-nominated actress Ellen Page.
- ^ a b WENN (World Entertainment News Network) (2006-01-12). "Ledger Slams Spitting Claims". SFGate.com. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ a b c Claire Sutherland and Mark Moor (2006-01-11). "Heath Ledger Angry At Ban". Herald Sun. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ "Sprayed Heath flies out". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 2006-01-14. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ Emily Dunn and Richard Jinman (2008-01-24). "How a Triumphant Return Turned Sour". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ Elizabeth Snead (2006-01-30). "Ledger's Strange SAG Behavior". The Dish Rag (blog). The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ Elizabeth Snead (2006-02-03). "Heath Explains His SAG Giggles". The Dish Rag (blog). The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ "Ledger in Damage Control". The Age. 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ^ Joe Morris (2006-01-16). "'Brokeback' Actor Has W. Va. All Wrong". The Charleston Gazette. wvgazette.com via joemorris.info. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
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(help) - ^ "When'd We Stop Stringing 'Em Up in West Virginia?". The Gazz: What's Going On: The Entertainment Guide of The Charleston Gazette. thegazz.com (blog). 2006-01-16. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Associated Press (2008-02-06). "Heath Ledger Died of Accidental Overdose: 28-Year-Old Actor Had Oxycodone, Anti-Anxiety, Sleep Aids in His System". MSNBC (Entertainment). msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
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(help) - ^ a b Natasha Stoynoff (2008-01-28). "Show Will Go On for Heath's Last Movie, Says CoStar". People. people.com. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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(help) - ^ UPI (2008-03-16). "Williams Recalls Ledger As Vulnerable". NewsTrack/Entertainment. upi.com. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
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(help) - ^ a b Andy Newman and Al Baker (2008-01-24). "Autopsy on Actor Is Inconclusive as Calls for Help Are Revealed". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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(help) - ^ Paul Lieberman (2008-02-06). "Heath Ledger's Death Ruled Accidental Overdose". The Los Angeles Times. LATimes.com. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ a b c Larry King (2008-02-06). "Video: Ledger Death". Larry King Live. CNN. Retrieved 2008-02-05. Cite error: The named reference "LKLLedger" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b AAP (2008-02-06). "Heath Ledger's Family Returns to Perth". The Sunday Times (PerthNow). news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
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(help) - ^ Peter Mitchell (2008-02-07). "Heath Ledger Death Results Delayed". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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(help) - ^ WENN (World Entertainment News Network) (2008-02-29). "Heath Ledger Doctors Cleared". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ Nicole Weisensee Egan (2008-02-28). "Report: Doctors Cleared in Ledger Investigation". People. people.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
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(help) - ^ "Heath Ledger Loved Life, Family Tell". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
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(help) - ^ Office of the Prime Minister of Australia (2008-01-22). "Media Release". pm.gov.au. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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(help) - ^ Lisa Pendrill (2008-01-25). "Heath's Family Writes of Heartache". The Sunday Times (PerthNow). news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
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(help) - ^ Warner Bros. (2008-01-25). "Heath Memorial". thedarkknight.warnerbros.com. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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(help) - ^ "Online Community Pays Tribute to Heath Ledger". 901am.com. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ Amy Diluna and Joe Neumaier (2008-01-27). "Daniel Day-Lewis Honors Heath Ledger during Screen Actors Guild Awards". New York Daily News. nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
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(help) - ^ Beth Harris (AP Writer) (2008-02-28). "Day-Lewis Dedicates Award to Ledger: Daniel Day-Lewis Dedicates His Screen Actors Guild Award to Heath Ledger". ABC News. abcnews.go.com (Entertainment). Retrieved 2008-03-16.
That scene in the trailer at the end of the film is as moving as anything I think I've ever seen.
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(help) - ^ "Michelle Wiliams: Heath Ledger has broken my heart". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
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(help) - ^ "Michelle Williams Breaks Silence on Heath's Death". People Magazine. people.com. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
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(help) - ^ Stephen M. Silverman (2008-02-04). "Heath Ledger's Family Heads Home". People Magazine. People.com. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
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(help) - ^ Brenda Rodriguez (2008-02-05). "A Sorrowful Return to Australia for Heath Ledger's Family". People Magazine. People.com. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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(help) - ^ Associated Press (2008-02-06). "Reports: Michelle Williams Arrives in Perth for Heath Ledger's Funeral". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
- ^ AAP (2008-02-09). "Heath Ledger Farewelled at Perth Funeral". news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ Jane Hammond and Phillipa Prior (2008-02-09). "Celebrities, Friends and Family Remember a Local Star". The West Australian. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
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ignored (help) - ^ a b Michelle Cazzulino and Stephen Corby (2008-02-10). "Entertainment: Top Stories: Star Swim at Heath Ledger's Farewell: Ledger Wake Held in Perth". www.news.com. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ Michelle Cazzalino (in Perth) and Ellen Connolly (2008-02-10). "Last, Sad Farewell for Heath". The Sunday Telegraph. LexisNexis.com. p. 5 (Local; State Ed. and Country Main Ed.).
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(help) - ^ Wendy Caccetta and Nicole Cox (2008-02-10). "Beach Tribute to Heath Ledger". The Courier Mail. www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
Friends and family of actor Heath Ledger washed away their pain with a spontaneous splash in the West Australian surf last night. ... Ledger's former fiancee Michelle Williams and his sister Kate left his wake to join dozens of others at an uplifting farewell at the Perth beach the star had loved so much.
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(help) - ^ Michelle Cazzulino and Stephen Corby (2008-02-10). "Michelle Williams Swims at Heath Ledger's Wake". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
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(help) - ^ a b Lisa Taddeo (2008-03-05). "The Last Days of Heath Ledger". Esquire. esquire.com. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
To write a conceivable chronicle of Heath Ledger's final days, writer Lisa Taddeo visited the actor's neighborhood, talked to the store owners and bartenders who may have seen him during his last week, and read as many accounts and rumors about the events surrounding his death as possible. She filled in the rest with her imagination. The result is what we call reported fiction. Some of the elements are true. (Ledger was in London. He was a regular at the Beatrice Inn and the Mirö Cafe. And he was infatuated with Nick Drake). Others are not. [Italics deleted.]
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(help) - ^ a b Tim Arango (2008-03-06). "Esquire Publishes a Diary That Isn't". The New York Times (Books). Retrieved 2008-03-06.
After Mr. Ledger died from what was later found to be an accidental overdose of prescription medications, [Esquire editor-in-chief] Mr. Granger said he was surprised at the public's outpouring of grief for someone who, in Mr. Granger's view, was not a huge movie star. 'It was born out of curiosity,' he said of the assignment. 'I didn't understand what the fuss was all about.' Mr. Granger said he had read an unpublished novel written by Ms. Taddeo and had been looking for the right work to give her. When she first got the Ledger assignment it was unclear if the final product would be fiction or nonfiction. Mr. Granger simply wanted a writer on the scene. Some of what she wrote is true. Mr. Ledger was in London three days before his death. He did return to New York. He did like banana nut muffins from Miro Café, though it's not certain he ate one for his last meal.
- ^ Heath Ledger (2003-04-12). "Last will & testament" (PDF). TMZ.com, 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
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(help) - ^ TMZ staff (2008-03-27). "Heath's Will -- No Joke". TMZ.com (blog). Retrieved 2008-04-23.
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(help) - ^ "Ledger's Uncles: Michelle Williams May Have to Fight for Matilda's Inheritance". Fox News. foxnews.com. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
Kim Ledger moved quickly to deny his granddaughter and Michelle Williams would be left without an inheritance and said Matilda was his family's absolute priority. 'Matilda is our absolute priority and Michelle is an integral part of our family ... They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be,' Kim Ledger says in the statement.
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(help) - ^ Sean Cowan (2008-03-15). "Ledger Feud Grows Over 'second' Will". The Age. theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
Some of Heath Ledger's relatives may be planning a legal challenge against his will after it emerged the actor may have written a second will after his daughter was born, leaving most of his multimillion-dollar fortune to her. ... Ledger's second will, which is understood to be unsigned, was reportedly drawn up after Matilda's birth. ... The looming battle over which of Ledger's wills should be used to divide his [reputed $60 million] estate has caused waves on this side of the Pacific, with his uncles Mike and Haydn Ledger accusing their brother—and Heath's father—Kim of mismanaging their late grandfather's $2 million estate. ... Kim Ledger hit back this week, issuing a statement claiming his estranged brothers did not know what they were talking about. ... Under the terms of the first will, the division of the estate will be managed by Kim Ledger's former business colleague Robert John Collins and Geraldton accountant William Mark Dyson.
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(help) - ^ Melissa Castellanos (2008-03-24). "Williams' Dad Questions Ledger's Will: Larry Williams Wants Kim Ledger To Explain Why Estate Is Valued At Only [[United States dollar|$]]145,000". Showbuzz. cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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(help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ Gemma Jones and Janet Fife-Yeomans (2008-03-31). "Did Heath Ledger Father a Secret Love Child?". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au.
The April will lists only $145,000 in assets and names the late actor's father, Kim, mother Sally Bell, sister Kate Ledger and half sisters Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell as the only beneficiaries. The New York documents also acknowledge Matilda Rose, as Ledger's only known child, as an interested party.
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(help) - ^ a b Garry Maddox (2009-03-29). "Good Will Hunting". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
Beyond the tangled web of Heath Ledger's estate, two final films and his celebrated Brokeback performance ensure the money will keep flowing.
- ^ WENN (World Entertainment News Network) (2008-01-28). "Gilliam Trying to Save Last Ledger Film". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ "Moriarty" (2008-02-15). "AICN exclusive! We Know Who's Paying Tribute To Heath Ledger In Dr. Parnassus Now!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
...we're going to see Heath Ledger's work in Terry Gilliam's new film, and that we're also going to see three very interesting actors step up to offer interpretations of him...now we've got the names verified... Johnny Depp. ... Jude Law. ... Colin Farrell.
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(help) - ^ Shawn Adler (2008-02-15). "Heath Ledger's Final Film To Go Forward - With Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell in His Role". MTV. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
Report: The three actors have signed on to complete film. ... Heath Ledger died last month at the age of 28, but his final performance will live on - thanks to a little creativity and some famous friends. ... Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell have all signed on to film scenes as Ledger's character in Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' a magical re-telling of the Faust story, according to Aintitcoolnews.com. The announcement serves as a tribute to the man many have called one of the best actors of his generation.
- ^ "Arts Briefly: Three Actors Replace Heath Ledger". The New York Times. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
Jude Law, Colin Farrell, and Johnny Depp ... will replace Heath Ledger ... in the film he was starring in when he died last month, Ain't It Cool News reported. ... Mr. Ledger was playing a character who is transported into three separate dimensions. These will now be inhabited, instead, by Mr. Depp, Mr. Law and Mr. Farrell.
- ^ Christopher Campbell (2007-10-09). "Details About Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus'". Cinematical.com. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
Further reading
- Adler, Shawn."Heath Ledger Said He Hoped To Evolve As An Actor And Person In 2005 Interview: Late actor was intelligent, self-aware during 'Brokeback Mountain' chat." mtv.com, January 22, 2008. Accessed March 18, 2008. (Excerpts from transcript of interview with Heath Ledger conducted by John Norris in 2005.)
- McShane John. Heath Ledger: His Beautiful Life and Mysterious Death. London: John Blake, 2008. ISBN 1844546330 (10). ISBN 978-1844546336 (13). (Excerpt listed below.)
- –––. "Loves of Heath Ledger's Life". The Courier-Mail, April 20, 2008. Accessed April 21, 2008. (Book excerpt.)
- Norris, Chris. "(Untitled Heath Ledger Project): In Which the Protagonist Dies Mysteriously, and the Audience Analyzes His Final Days for Clues to His Real Character". New York, February 18, 2008. Accessed April 21, 2008.
- Robb, Brian J. Heath Ledger: Hollywood's Dark Star. London: Plexus Publishing Ltd, forthcoming July 1, 2008. ISBN 0859654273 (10). ISBN 978-0859654272 (13). (Forthcoming on August 1, 2008 in the U.S..)
- Sessums, Kevin, with photographs by Bruce Weber. "We're Having a Heath Wave". Vanity Fair, August 2000. (4 pages.) Accessed April 21, 2008. (Interview with Heath Ledger; illustrations in "Perth Album", by Bruce Weber.)
- Travers, Peter."Sundance: Shock". The Travers Take: News and Reviews from Rolling Stone's Movie Critic, Rolling Stone (Blog), rollingstone.com, January 22, 2008. Includes hyperlinked feature: Video Review: A Look at Heath Ledger's Best Performances (video by Jennifer Hsu, with audio commentary provided by Travers), February 1, 2008. Accessed April 21, 2008.
External links
- "Heath Ledger: April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). Accessed February 2, 2008. (Tabloid newspaper.)
- Heath Ledger at IMDb. Accessed February 18, 2008.
- Heath Ledger at People.com. Accessed February 2, 2008.
- In Pictures: Heath Ledger's Life. BBC. Accessed February 11, 2008. (Features menu: "Heath Ledger: 1979–2008".)
- Times Topics: Heath Ledger. The New York Times. Accessed February 5, 2008.
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