Heath Ledger

Known for ActingBorn 1979-04-04Died 2008-01-22Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Heath Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career further. His work consisted of twenty films, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Candy (2006), I'm Not There (2007), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), the latter two being posthumous releases. He also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director. For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the Best International Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute; he was the first actor to win the latter award posthumously. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the eighth-youngest nominee in the category at that time. Posthumously, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director for the film I'm Not There, which was inspired by the life and songs of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. In the film, Ledger portrayed a fictional actor named Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Dylan's life and persona. Ledger died on 22 January 2008 as a result of an accidental overdose of medications. A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. At the time of his death, The Dark Knight was in post-production, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, in which he was playing his last role as Tony, was in the midst of filming. His death affected the subsequent promotion of The Dark Knight. His performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight earned him universal acclaim and popularity from fans and critics alike. Ledger also received numerous posthumous awards for his work on The Dark Knight, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards, the 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.Read more

Movies & web series

A Knight's Tale: Making Of

Teen Choice Awards

The Dark Knight

Joker: Put on a Happy Face

E! True Hollywood Story

Brokeback Mountain

10 Things I Hate About You

I Am Heath Ledger

Rove

Too Young to Die

Clowning Around

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Heath Ledger: A Tragic Tale

The Patriot

Candy

Lords of Dogtown

The Brothers Grimm: Bringing the Fairytale to Life

The Patriot: The Art of War

The Making of 'Lords of Dogtown'

Hollywood Demons

A Knight's Tale

Monster's Ball

The Four Feathers

I'm Not There

Two Hands

The Oscars

Casanova

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Roar

Home and Away

Ned Kelly

The Brothers Grimm

The Order

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Blackrock

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Celebrities Uncensored

The Reichen Show

Paws

Ship to Shore

Sweat

I Am

Clowning Around