Heath Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 in Pert, Australia, into the family of a French teacher and a racing driver and mining engineer. He himself went in a completely different direction and became interested in acting already in primary school, where one of his first roles was the character of Peter Pan. Even as a little boy, Heath was a big fan of the legend of American cinema, dancer and choreographer Gene’a Kelly’ego.
Wanting to fully devote himself to acting, at the age of 16 he decided to abandon his studies, and in 1992 he received his first role in an Australian children’s series. Clowning Around. The following years saw further small roles in Australian television programs, until 1997, i.e. until her feature debut. The first film Ledger starred in was Blackrock. It was thanks to his participation in this production that the young actor was noticed enough to be cast in an American romantic comedy A shrew in love from 1999. Heath played the role of school hooligan Patrick, who tries to make the title shrew, Katarina, fall in love with him (played by Julia Stiles). The production achieved a colossal success and turned out to be a gateway to a career for all the young actors who appeared in it.
Actors who resembled murderers. These roles are a masterpiece! | It Goes Around #29
We develop our website by displaying advertisements.
Disable AdBlock and refresh the page.
Career development and world fame
The beginning of the 2000s turned out to be crucial for the Australian’s further career. In 2000, he starred alongside Mel Gibson in the film Patriot, and a year later he appeared as a son Billy’ego Boba Thorntona in a loud drama Waiting for the verdict. He reminded a slightly younger audience of his role in an adventure comedy knight mad, and already in 2005, he won the hearts of the mainly female audience for good, playing the role of the legendary seducer, Casanovę. In the same year, a film was released in cinemas around the world that changed not only Heath’s career, but also the film community in general.
Tajemnica Brokeback Mountain premiered in September 2005. Drama telling the unhappy love story of Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (respectively Jake Gyllenhaal i Ledger) sparked widespread discussion and became almost a new beginning in modern romance. For his role, Heath was nominated for the most important industry awards: BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar. A breakthrough in your career is one thing, but working on production has also become an important chapter in your private life. It’s on set Brokeback Mountain Mysteries Heath recognized Michelle Williams – the couple had a daughter, matilda, They moved in together, but they broke up in 2007. A year earlier, there were rumors that the actor had problems with substances; the press reported that they led to Williams leaving Ledger, who left their shared home. Although such rumors were regularly denied at the time, unfortunately, in the end it was a problem with taking various medications that led to the death of the actor, who was already considered the hope of modern cinema…
Flea and John Frusciante – do the members of Red Hot Chili Peppers have anything in common?
Heath Ledger’s death
Another project after The Mysteries of Broukback Mountain it’s an Australian production Candy, telling the story of a couple addicted to heroin. A year later, the actor played one of the characters Bob Dylan in a cult film Todd Haynes, I’m Not There. Where else am I? When it premiered, Ledger was already preparing for the next two roles – as it turned out, the last ones in his career.
In 2007 Christopher Nolan began filming the next installment of the adventures of “The Dark Knight”, and the role of the Joker in the film was entrusted to Heath. He approached his task with full commitment, he wanted to create a demonic, psychotic, terrifying, strange and disturbing character. In order to prepare for the role as best as possible, he isolated himself from everyone, and his problems with insomnia became more and more serious, which he tried to cope with with a combination of various medications. At the same time, he took part in the first photos of another film, Parnassus: The Man Who Deceived the Devil – However, he did not complete these.
On January 22, 2008, the actor’s housekeeper and his masseuse Diane Wolozin, found him unconscious in bed in his apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo district of Manhattan. However, instead of asking for a card, Wolozin called… Mary-Kate Olsen, who sent her security guard to the scene, and only then professional help was called. The dispatchers ordered the actor to be given first aid, but this was ineffective, and the paramedics did not restore Ledger’s vital functions, and he was pronounced dead. At the time of his death, Heath Ledger was only 28 years old.
Posthumous recognition
A day later, an autopsy was performed, the results of which were presented in early February 2008. It showed that the actor died as a result of poisoning from a combination of drugs that he had been taking for a long time and that had been destroying his body for months – his death was classified as an accident.
Photos for Parnassus were then about halfway through, and the production, wanting to complete the film, decided to change the script so that it would be credible for the viewer that the main character was played by four actors: apart from Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel i Jude Law. The gentlemen donated their fees to the deceased actor’s daughter to secure her future.
dark Knight hit theaters in July 2008, seven months after Ledger’s death. The character of Joker that he played in the film was well received by viewers and critics, and today he is one of the key characters in world pop culture. For his work in the film, Heath was posthumously awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Below, try your hand at the quiz about foreign cinema of the 2000s.
How well do you know foreign cinema from the 2000s? QUIZ
Question 1 of 10
During which emperor’s reign was Maximus, the main character of the movie “Gladiator” (2000) a general?
Next
