Born: 4th April 1979

Died: 22nd January 2008 (aged 28)

This is a Neighbours or Home and Away question and having watched one of them from day one I can tell you quite categorically that he definitely wasn’t in Neighbours – Heath Andrew Ledger was a Home and Away boy at the age of 18! Born in Perth, to a French teacher and a race car driver, Heath is named after the character Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (his older sister, Kate, is also named after a character from the same book). Heath started his acting career at the age of 10 in a school production of Peter Pan – three years later had his first screen role in a TV Movie called Clowning Around. He took his graduation exams early, at the age of 16, and left school to pursue an acting career making his first feature film, Blackrock, two years later. Two years after that he made his American film debut in 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern take on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.

I’m guessing it will come as no surprise to anyone that knows Heath Ledger’s acting that his number one character is the only one he won an Oscar for – The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Now personally I didn’t think that anyone could play The Joker better than Jack Nicholson (Batman 1989) but I was proved wrong. Ledger’s portrayal is not only more twisted but there is more of a sense of humanity in him – whether this is because there is less of a comic-book feel about this film than the 1989 Joker but he plays the role along that fine line between genius and madness. There is a complete juxtaposition between the Joker and his next role of Gabriel Martin in The Patriot, a gentle young man who joins to fight against the English during the American Revolution. This is an Australian portraying an American with a hint of an English accent playing the son of an Australian actor portraying an American with an Australian accent! That doesn’t distract from the performance Ledger puts in as Gabriel who matures throughout the film from sensitive young man to the anger fuelled new husband. Another contrast in characters is for his role in Brokeback Mountain. Ennis Del Mar is a cowboy who starts a relationship with a fellow cowboy. Right before I continue I have to admit that this film never interested me for no other reason than the talk that surrounded it at the time was released (I’m quite adverse to seeing movies that are talked up – hell I’ve only just seen Titanic!) but I have to admit I quite enjoyed it more because of Ennis than Jack. I found Heath’s portrayal, at times, heart-breaking. I could believe that this was a man struggling with his feelings the only problem I did have though was his voice, he should have been nicknamed ‘Mumbles’, I had to rewind the film a couple of times at the start to catch what he was saying before my ear became accustomed. Next we enter the fairy-tale world of The Brothers Grimm in which Ledger plays Jacob Grimm, alongside Matt Damon as his brother Wilhelm. The two actors play off each other beautifully there is a definite vibe of ‘brotherly’ love between them. Again in A Knights Tale Heath plays the loveable William Thatcher, young squire turned knight, surrounded by another brilliant ensemble. Here his English accent fits beautifully (it’s hard to believe he is Australian), his rambunctious nature is catching he makes me smile every time I watch it. My only problem with this film is Shannyn Sossamon’s portrayal of the love interest, Jocelyn.

Considering Heath only made nineteen films (including his TV Movie, I am Heath Ledger, a documentary which used archive footage and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus his final acting credit – he died before the film was finished) three of my favourite Ledger characters appear in his top five; The Joker, Jacob Grimm and William Thatcher. They are so much my favourites that it is difficult to decide which one is my most favourite! To be honest I don’t think I have come across a Heath Ledger film I haven’t liked (I even enjoy the teen romance 10 Things I Hate About You) They each have their own merits and Ledger brings his own to every one so I am not going to choose instead I would like to talk about the film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. From my understanding Heath Ledger died after filming quite a bit of the story, obviously filming stopped after his death but it was resurrected after a few months with the idea of using CGI but several actors stepped forward to help; Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law all played Tony (Ledger’s character) in several scenes as he enters different ‘realities’. The film is dedicated to Ledger and William Vince (one of the producers who died, almost, six months to the day that Ledger passed) and the three actors who took on the role of Tony would only do so if their fees were given to Matilda Ledger, Heath’s daughter, who was four at the time. If Ledger had completed the film it would probably be another one of my favourites – I’m a sucker for a bit of Terry Gilliam fantasy!

Heath Ledger died, in his Manhattan apartment, at the age of 28, after taking a mix of prescription drugs. For a life taken so early he left a legacy of some great films, not only those he starred in but also those he directed as well as several music videos.  His Oscar, received posthumously (only the second actor to receive a posthumous Oscar – the first being Peter Finch in 1977) was collected at the ceremony by his parents and sister, is now his daughter’s as are all the other awards he won for the same role, probably.