Line #9 Creator/HeathLedger


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% Per Administrivia/CreatorPageGuidelines, only tropes associated to a Creator's works are allowed on this wiki's pages, and tropes that apply to the Creator's personal life as if the Creator is a fictional character are not allowed. Please do not apply tropes about the Creator's personal life as if they are a fictional character.
4	%%
5	%%
6	[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ledger_heath.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:303:''[[Film/TheDarkKnight "You wanna know how I got this Oscar?"]]'']]
8	->''"I never took an acting class, so I've made all my mistakes on film."''
9
10	Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director.
11
12	At the outset of his career, Ledger acted in several Australian TV and film productions during the 1990s. He eventually moved to America in 1998 to further his film career was cast in several roles as a handsome young heartthrob in films such as ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' and ''Film/AKnightsTale''. Eventually, he broke out as a well-respected actor, particularly for his performances as Ennis del Mar in ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' and [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyTheJoker the Joker]] in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
13
14	Ledger was a {{method act\|ing}}or who really liked to get into the heads of his characters, with no performance of his likely being a better showcase of this than his take on the Joker. He stated that his process of developing the character included secluding himself in a hotel room for a month, forming a diary in the Joker's likeness, and experimenting with voices "to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh." He also said that director Creator/ChristopherNolan gave him absolute freedom with his interpretation of the character. Despite the lengths of his methods, Ledger was never really twisted by this role; during the filming of ''The Dark Knight'', he could be seen skateboarding and having regular conversations with cast and crew in his Joker ensemble. Needless to say, Ledger was considered very friendly, and ''The Dark Knight'' co-stars such as Creator/ChristianBale had nothing but nice things to say about him.[[note]]Interestingly, prior to ''The Dark Knight'', Ledger and Bale were also two of the actors who, alongside others, portrayed different public personas of Music/BobDylan in the biopic/musical ''Film/ImNotThere''.[[/note]]
15
16	Unfortunately, Ledger developed insomnia during and after the completion of his roles in ''Film/ImNotThere'' and ''The Dark Knight''. He used various sleeping pills to try to curb the insomnia, but when that didn't work, he combined different pills together, which sadly resulted in his death from an accidental overdose on January 22, 2008. He was only 28 at the time of his death, and had completed only half of his work as the character Tony in ''Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus''.
17
18	Ledger's death threw the production of ''Parnassus'' into chaos, as his participation was one of the selling points to getting financial backing for the film. In order to compensate for Ledger's death, Tony would also be portrayed by Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/JudeLaw, and Creator/ColinFarrell, playing the character one at a time as he changes appearance during his bizarre, fantastical journey. All three of Ledger's replacements donated their salaries to Matilda Ledger, the daughter Ledger had with actress Creator/MichelleWilliams.
19
20	Ledger also dabbled in directing music videos with plans of eventually becoming a film director. However, his only major video, an animated one for Music/ModestMouse's "King Rat", was not released until a year and a half after his death. Another video he did, for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_55ZdsfNqlI "Cause and Effect"]] by rapper N'fa, was also not released until after his death.
21
22	For ''The Dark Knight'', Ledger became the second of two actors to win an MediaNotes/AcademyAward posthumously[[note]]the first being Creator/PeterFinch, a fellow Australian, for ''Film/{{Network}}''[[/note]], receiving the [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInASupportingRole Oscar for Best Supporting Actor]] (which was presented to his family). Prior to that, he was also nominated for a [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInALeadingRole Best Actor Oscar]] thanks to his performance in ''Brokeback Mountain''. Due to the circumstances of his death and the films he had at various stages of development at the time, Ledger is the first actor to be eligible for an Oscar in each three consecutive ceremonies after his death (''I'm Not There'' in 2008, ''The Dark Knight'' in 2009, and ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' in 2010).
23	----
24	!!Notable Roles:
25	* Connor, ''Series/{{Roar}}'' (1997)
26	* Patrick Verona, ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' (1999)
27	* Jimmy, ''Film/TwoHands'' (1999)
28	* Gabriel Martin, ''Film/{{The Patriot\|2000}}'' (2000)
29	* Sonny Grotowski, ''Film/MonstersBall'' (2001)
30	* Sir William Thatcher, ''Film/AKnightsTale'' (2001)
31	* Harry Faversham, ''Film/TheFourFeathers'' (2002)
32	* UsefulNotes/NedKelly, ''[[Film/NedKelly2003 Ned Kelly]]'' (2003)
33	* Skip Engblom, ''Film/LordsOfDogtown'' (2003)
34	* Father Alex, ''Film/TheOrder'' (2003)
35	* Giacomo Casanova, ''Film/{{Casanova}}'' (2005)
36	* Jacob Grimm, ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'' (2005)
37	* Ennis del Mar, ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' (2005)
38	* Dan, ''Film/{{Candy\|2006}}'' (2006)
39	* Robbie Clark, ''Film/ImNotThere'' (2007)
40	* [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyTheJoker The Joker]], ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' (2008)
41	* Tony, ''Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus'' (2009)
42	----
43	!!Tropes invoked by this actor's works:
44	* ActorInspiredElement:[[invoked]] ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' made Patrick an Australian to accommodate him. It was one of the few Hollywood films of his career where he got to use his own accent.
45	* AwesomeDearBoy:[[invoked]] After reading the script for ''Film/BrokebackMountain'', he said he would have flown out all the way to Taiwan just to audition for Ang Lee.
46	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Out of respect for Ledger, Creator/ChristopherNolan decided against having any glimpses or mentions of The Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', even though the film makes reference to almost every other aspect of the two movies that came before.
47	* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Gil Junger recalls Heath coming in to read for ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' and going "I hope this man can act because he's gorgeous".
48	* FakeAmerican:[[invoked]] ''Film/MonstersBall'', ''Film/{{The Patriot\|2000}}'', ''Film/BrokebackMountain'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' to name a few.
49	* FakeBrit:[[invoked]] Most famously in ''Film/AKnightsTale'', and in ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'' (though his character is technically not English).
50	* MaleFrontalNudity: Famously in ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' when Ennis jumps into a lake. The nudity was supposed to be edited out of the movie, but {{Papparazzi}} had already taken photos of it - so it appears in the Australian and European editions.
51	* NoStuntDouble:[[invoked]] Did all his own stunts in ''Film/{{The Patriot\|2000}}''.
52	* ProductionPosse:[[invoked]] He starred with Shannyn Sossomon and Mark Addy in the Brian Helgeland films ''Film/AKnightsTale'' and ''The Sin Eater''. The former two play love interests in both.
53	* RomanceOnTheSet:[[invoked]]
54	** He and Creator/JuliaStiles dated briefly after ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou''.
55	** He also dated Creator/MichelleWilliams after ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' and had a daughter with her, but they split up in 2007.
56	* ShortLivedBigImpact: First got fame in 1999 and had already passed away by 2008, but is still fondly remembered to this day - thanks to starring in films considered classics now such as ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Nostalgia for ''Film/AKnightsTale'' and ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' has certainly helped.
57	* StarMakingRole: ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' got the ball rolling, but ''Film/{{The Patriot\|2000}}'' and ''Film/AKnightsTale'' solidified it.
58	* VocalDissonance: He had a very deep voice that was a sharp contrast to his youthful good looks.
59	* YoungerThanTheyLook: Although only 28 when he died, he was noted to look like he was already in his thirties, mainly due to his noticeably receding hairline. In ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' he actually played his character over twenty years.
60	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:[[invoked]]
61	** In ''Film/MonstersBall'', he was a last minute replacement for Wes Bentley, who pulled out due to his heroin problems.
62	** He was offered the lead in ''Film/SpiderMan1'', but he turned it down because he wasn't interested in doing any more heartthrob roles.
63	** He and Matt Damon were supposed to play the other's role in ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'' but asked to swap.
64	** Had he not tragically passed away after filming ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', the third film in the trilogy would have had him reprise the role of the Joker.
65	** Creator/GeorgeMiller was interested in casting him for Film/MadMaxFuryRoad.
66	** At the time of his death, he was preparing for his feature film directing debut.

Context Creator / HeathLedger