Heath Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 in Perth, Western Australian, the son of Sally Ledger Bell, a French teacher, and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer.
After appearing in television roles in the early 1990s, Ledger began a movie career appearing in nearly 20 films. He starred in both critical and box-office successful movies, such as The Patriot, Monster's Ball, and Brokeback Mountain. With his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Moutain, Ledger was nominated in 2005 for an "Best Actor in a Leading Role" at the Academy Awards. Heath Ledger was also nominated and won "Best Actor" awards for the same role from BAFTA, Australian Film Institute, and the New York Film Critics Circle.
Heath Ledger completed his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight shortly before dying on January 22, 2008 from an accidental prescription drug overdose. His final performance, uncompleted at the time of his death, was the role of Tony in Terry Gillia's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Pamassus.
I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away?.
I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.
It transcends a label. It's a story of two human beings that are in love; get over the fact that it's two men — that's the point.
It's not a disease. It's not contagious. They should understand that it's a story of pure love. They don't have to be a hero. They don't have to be brave like us. I guess a little bit of maturity is being asked for because society has been immature in the past. That's about it.
We had a good sense of humor about it, because we knew what we were holding on to and how it was going to exceed expectations and [labels]. We weren't running around naked in chaps swinging pink guns in the air. We knew that, and we found it funny that no one else did.
Aren't we at the stage these days when it just doesn't ... matter? It's a story of love and it's a story between two people. If people can't get over that and just accept it as a story, then that's their problem. I'm big enough and brave enough to do it.
I'm still a kid. I'm like six years old. But it's just a matter of wanting to get up, it's just a big journey. I felt like when I left home that I was on a journey, and I still am.
I still find it personally disappointing that people kind of go out of their way to voice their disgust or their opinions against the ways in which two people choose to love one another. I think that's really unfortunate.
I had a dear friend of mine, who's my uncle. He's a big guy. He goes to bare-knuckle fighting out in the Nevada desert, and he's gay.
It was an opportunity to tell a story that hadn't been put on the screen. The character is so tragic. I really enjoyed how little words he had to express his battle and express his inability to love.