View source for Heath Ledger

{{short description|Australian actor (1979–2008)}}
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{{Use Australian English|date=February 2021}}
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{{Infobox person
| name               = Heath Ledger
| image              = File:Heath Ledger (2).jpg
| caption            = Ledger at the [[56th Berlin International Film Festival|2006 Berlin International Film Festival]]
| birth_name         = Heath Andrew Ledger
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1979|4|4|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Perth]], [[Western Australia]], Australia
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2008|1|22|1979|4|4|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[New York City]], US<!--No boroughs/neighbourhoods, just cities per format.-->
| death_cause        = {{nowrap|[[Combined drug intoxication|Accidental poisoning]]}} from prescription medicine
| resting_place      =
| occupation         = {{hlist|Actor|music video director}}
| years_active       = 1991–2008
| partner            = [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]] (2004–2007)
| children           = 1
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by Heath Ledger|Full list]]
| signature          = Heath Ledger's signature.svg
}}

'''Heath Andrew Ledger''' (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an<!--STOP: Per Guidelines We Do Not Add "Academy Award" or any other variation to the lead sentence of the article. Thank You.!--> Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film career. His work consisted of 20 films in a variety of genres, including ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]'' (1999), ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'' (2000), ''[[A Knight's Tale]]'' (2001), ''[[Monster's Ball]]'' (2001), ''[[Casanova (2005 film)|Casanova]]'' (2005), ''[[Lords of Dogtown]]'' (2005), ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005), ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]'' (2006), ''[[I'm Not There]]'' (2007), ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' (2008), and ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'' (2009), the latter two of which were posthumously released.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/153347/ |title=Heath Ledger |website=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=25 April 2016 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210517172304/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/3030400602/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.<ref name="Dawtrey"/>

For his portrayal of [[Ennis Del Mar]] in [[Ang Lee]]'s ''Brokeback Mountain,'' he received nominations for the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award]],<ref name="bafta">{{cite web |url=http://www.bafta.org/awards-database.html?sq=Heath+Ledger |title=Awards Database |publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] |access-date=16 October 2009 |archive-date=28 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128100720/http://www.bafta.org/awards-database.html?sq=Heath+Ledger |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role|Screen Actors Guild Award]], [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe Award]] and the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]], becoming the [[list of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Actor in a Leading Role|eighth-youngest]] nominee in the category at that time.<ref name=Timesobit /> In 2007, he played a fictional actor, Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of [[Bob Dylan]]'s life and persona in [[Todd Haynes]]' ''I'm Not There''.<ref name=ETOnline>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Honored at Independent Spirit Awards |url=http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/02/58948/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217173522/http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/02/58948/ |archive-date=17 December 2008 |work=[[Entertainment Tonight]] |date=23 February 2008 |access-date=8 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ledger was found dead in January 2008<ref name=NYTBarron>{{cite news |last=Barron |first=James |title=Heath Ledger, actor, Is Found Dead at 28 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/movies/23ledger.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 January 2008 |access-date=1 January 2021 |author-link=James Barron (journalist) |url-access=registration |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518115323/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/movies/23ledger.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Timesobit>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger: The Times Obituary |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3237974.ece |work=[[The Times]] |location=UK |date=23 January 2008 |access-date=27 April 2008 |first=Michael |last=Savage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726153415/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3237974.ece |archive-date=26 July 2008}}</ref> from an accidental overdose as a result of [[prescription drug abuse]].<ref name=Chan>{{cite news |author1-link=Sewell Chan |last1=Chan |first1=Sewell |author2-link=James Barron (journalist) |author2=James Barron |title=City Room: Heath Ledger's Death Is Ruled an Accident |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/heath-ledgers-death-is-ruled-an-accident/ |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=17 August 2008 |archive-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131208025126/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/heath-ledgers-death-is-ruled-an-accident/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CNNLedger>{{cite news |title=Ledger's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=17 August 2008 |archive-date=10 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110062154/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="APMSNBC">{{Cite news |url=http://www.today.com/id/23029566 |title=Heath Ledger Died of Accidental Overdose: 28-Year-Old Actor Had Oxycodone, Anti-Anxiety, Sleep Aids in His System |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=17 March 2008 |work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]] |archive-date=19 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019201805/http://www.today.com/id/23029566 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A few months before his death, he had finished filming his role as the [[Joker (The Dark Knight)|Joker]] in ''The Dark Knight''; the performance brought him praise and popularity, and numerous posthumous awards, including an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Academy Award]], a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|BAFTA Award]], a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Golden Globe]], a [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role|SAG Award]], and a [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor|Critics' Choice Award]], all for Best Supporting Actor.<ref name=PeopleLedger>{{cite news |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20245919,00.html |title=Golden Globes: Heath Ledger's Family 'So Proud' of Globe Nod |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=11 December 2008 |access-date=11 December 2008 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008155901/https://people.com/people/article/0,,20245919,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bafta" /><ref name=Halbfinger2>{{cite news |first=David M. |last=Halbfinger |title=Batman's Burden: A Director Confronts Darkness and Death |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/movies/09halb.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 March 2008 |pages=1, 16 |access-date=1 January 2021 |url-access=registration |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629171630/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/movies/09halb.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Ledger was born on 4 April 1979 in [[Perth]], Western Australia, to Sally Ramshaw, a French teacher, and Kim Ledger, a racing car driver and mining engineer whose family established and owned the Ledger Engineering Foundry.<ref name=Wills>{{cite news |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/heath_ledger_biog.html |first=Dominic |last=Wills |title=Heath Ledger Biography |year=2008 |access-date=22 April 2008 |publisher=Tiscali TV |location=US |quote=The Ledger name was well-known in Perth, the family having run a foundry that provided much of the raw material for the famous Perth to Kalgoorlie Pipeline ... The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust, named after Heath's great-grandfather, was renowned for granting funds to the area's universities, paying for visiting lecturers and scholarships for gifted students. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416193932/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/heath_ledger_biog.html |archive-date=16 April 2008}}</ref> The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust is named after his great-grandfather [[Frank Ledger]].<ref name=Wills /> He had English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.<ref>'Heath: A Family's Tale' by Janet Fife-Yeomans (2009), p.32: "Ledger was a descendant of the Ledger family of Leeds, Yorkshire who arrived in Western Australia from England in 1880."</ref> Ledger attended Mary's Mount Primary School in [[Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia|Gooseberry Hill]],<ref name=Ripper>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger among WA's Finest Sons, Says Eric Ripper |url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23096806-948,00.html |work=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] |location=Australia |date=22 January 2008 |access-date=16 January 2012 |quote='I understand he was a former student at both Mary's Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill and later at Guildford Grammar,' Mr [[Eric Ripper|Ripper]] said. |archive-date=28 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070728091913/http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23096806-948,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and later [[Guildford Grammar School]], where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as [[Peter Pan]] at age ten.<ref name=Timesobit /><ref name=Wills /> His parents separated when he was ten and divorced when he was eleven.<ref name=Lipsky>{{cite magazine |author=Lipsky, David |title=Heath Ledger's Lonesome Trail |url=http://www.heathledgerplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=47874#p47874 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222193037/http://www.heathledgerplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=47874#p47874 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 February 2014 |date=23 March 2006 |access-date=21 April 2008 |magazine=Rolling Stone |quote=His dad wanted him to race cars. Hollywood wanted him to play Spider-Man. Now he's a huge star, and he's not happy about it. |author-link=David Lipsky}}</ref> Ledger's older sister Kate, an actress and later a publicist, with whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage; and his love of [[Gene Kelly]] inspired his successful choreography, leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the [[Rock Eisteddfod Challenge]].<ref name=Wills /><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Sessums, Kevin |title=We're Having a Heath Wave |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008 |journal=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=23 January 2008 |issue=August 2000 |access-date=21 April 2008 |author-link=Kevin Sessums |archive-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121024425/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ledger's two half-sisters are Ashleigh Bell (born 1990), his mother's daughter with her second husband Roger Bell; and Olivia Ledger (born 1996), his father's daughter with his second wife Emma Brown.<ref>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Biography |work=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018553/bio |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=14 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216052636/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018553/bio |archive-date=16 December 2007}}</ref>

== Acting career ==
=== 1990s ===
After sitting for early graduation exams at age 16 to get his diploma, Ledger left school to pursue an acting career.<ref name=Lipsky /> With Trevor DiCarlo, his best friend since the age of three, Ledger drove across Australia from Perth to Sydney, returning to Perth to take a small role in ''[[Clowning Around]]'' (1991), the first part of a two-part television series, and to work on the TV series ''[[Sweat (Australian TV series)|Sweat]]'' (1996), in which he played a cyclist.<ref name=Wills /> From 1993 to 1997, Ledger also had parts in the Perth television series ''[[Ship to Shore (TV series)|Ship to Shore]]'' (1993); Ledger also had parts in the short-lived [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] fantasy-drama ''[[Roar (1997 TV series)|Roar]]'' (1997); in ''[[Home and Away]]'' (1997), one of Australia's most successful television shows; and in the Australian film ''[[Blackrock (film)|Blackrock]]'' (1997), his feature film debut.<ref name=Wills /> In 1999, he starred in the teen comedy ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]'' and in the acclaimed Australian crime film ''[[Two Hands (1999 film)|Two Hands]]'', directed by [[Gregor Jordan]].<ref name=Wills />

=== 2000s ===
In the early 2000s, he starred in supporting roles as Gabriel Martin, the eldest son of Benjamin Martin ([[Mel Gibson]]), in ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'' (2000), and as Sonny Grotowski, the son of Hank Grotowski ([[Billy Bob Thornton]]), in ''[[Monster's Ball]]'' (2001); as well as leading or title roles in ''[[A Knight's Tale]]'' (2001), ''[[The Four Feathers (2002 film)|The Four Feathers]]'' (2002), ''[[The Order (2003 film)|The Order]]'' (2003), ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]'' (2003), ''[[Casanova (2005 film)|Casanova]]'' (2005), ''[[The Brothers Grimm (film)|The Brothers Grimm]]'' (2005), and ''[[Lords of Dogtown]]'' (2005).<ref name="filmography">{{cite web |url=https://tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/153347/ |title=Heath Ledger |work=TV Guide |access-date=5 April 2017 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210517172304/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/3030400602/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, he won a [[National Association of Theatre Owners|ShoWest]] Award as "Male Star of Tomorrow".<ref name=Showest>{{cite web |url=http://www.showest.com/filmexpo/showest/general/past_winners.jsp |title=Showest Awards: Past Award Winners |work=showest.com |publisher=[[National Association of Theatre Owners|ShoWest]] ([[Nielsen Company|Nielsen Business Media Film Group]]) |access-date=18 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517060340/http://www.showest.com/filmexpo/showest/general/past_winners.jsp |archive-date=17 May 2008}}</ref>

Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the [[New York Film Critics Circle]] and the [[San Francisco Film Critics Circle]] for his performance in ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/13/golden.globes/ |title='Brokeback Mountain' leads Golden Globe nominations |access-date=17 July 2008 |date=13 December 2005 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402183532/http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/13/golden.globes/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sffcc.splicedwire.com/2005awards.html |title=The San Francisco Film Critics Circle |access-date=17 July 2008 |date=12 December 2005 |website=splicedwire.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724033954/http://sffcc.splicedwire.com/2005awards.html |archive-date=24 July 2008}}</ref> in which he plays [[Wyoming]] ranch hand [[Ennis Del Mar]], who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider [[Jack Twist]], played by [[Jake Gyllenhaal]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jen |last=Chaney |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121500491_pf.html |title='Mountain' Man Ledger's Steady Climb to the Top |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=15 December 2005 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=3 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103211536/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121500491_pf.html |url-status=live}}</ref> He also received the nominations for a [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] Award for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor — Motion Picture Drama]], a [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role]], a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]], and an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for this performance,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/30863 |title=HFPA – Awards Search |work=[[Golden Globes]] Official Website |access-date=17 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905114837/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/30863 |archive-date=5 September 2008}}</ref> making him, at age 26, the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Actor in a Leading Role|eighth-youngest]] nominee in the category.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1216319365795 |title=Results Page – Academy Awards Database |access-date=17 July 2008 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112110100/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1216319365795 |archive-date=12 January 2012}}</ref> In ''[[The New York Times]]'' review of the film, critic [[Stephen Holden]] writes: "Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Sean Penn]]."<ref>{{cite news |author=Holden, Stephen |title=Film Review – Brokeback Mountain – Riding the High Country, Finding and Losing Love |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/movies/09brok.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419181558/http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/movies/09brok.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 April 2013 |work=The New York Times |page=1 |date=9 December 2005 |access-date=17 August 2007 |author-link=Stephen Holden |url-access=registration}}</ref> In a review in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Peter Travers]] states: "Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Travers, Peter |title=Review: Brokeback Mountain |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/brokeback-mountain-20091202 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=1 December 2005 |access-date=27 April 2008 |author-link=Peter Travers |archive-date=3 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003075742/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/brokeback-mountain-20091202 |url-status=live}}</ref>

After ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ledger costarred with fellow Australian [[Abbie Cornish]] in the 2006 Australian film ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]],'' an adaptation of the 1998 novel ''[[Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction]],'' as young heroin addicts in love attempting to break free of their addiction, whose mentor is played by [[Geoffrey Rush]]; for his performance as sometime poet Dan, Ledger was nominated for three "Best Actor" awards, including one of the [[Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2006|Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards]], which both Cornish and Rush won in their categories. Shortly after the release of ''Candy'', Ledger was invited to join the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Sciences invites 120 new members |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-07-05-academy_x.htm |date=5 July 2006 |work=USA Today |access-date=23 January 2009 |archive-date=20 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320014427/http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-07-05-academy_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> As one of six actors embodying different aspects of the life of [[Bob Dylan]] in the 2007 film ''[[I'm Not There]]'', directed by [[Todd Haynes]], Ledger "won praise for his portrayal of 'Robbie [Clark],' a moody, counter-culture actor who represents the romanticist side of Dylan, but says accolades are never his motivation".<ref name=Stevens>{{cite news |author=Honie Stevens |title=Squaring the Ledger |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22763328-5006011,00.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia |date=18 November 2007 |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121000519/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22763328-5006011,00.html |archive-date=21 November 2007}}</ref> Posthumously, on 23 February 2008, he shared the [[Independent Spirit Awards 2007#Robert Altman Award|2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award]] with the rest of the film's ensemble cast, its director, and its casting director.<ref name=Haynes />

In his penultimate film role, Ledger played the [[Joker (The Dark Knight)|Joker]] in [[Christopher Nolan]]'s 2008 film ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', which was released nearly six months after his death. While working on the film in London, Ledger told [[Sarah Lyall]] in their ''New York Times'' interview that he viewed ''The Dark Knight''{{'}}s Joker as a "[[psychopathy|psychopathic]], [[mass murder]]ing, [[schizophrenia|schizophrenic]] [[clown]] with zero [[empathy]]".<ref name=Lyall>{{cite news |author=Lyall, Sarah |title=Movies: In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |work=The New York Times |date=4 November 2007 |access-date=18 August 2008 |author-link=Sarah Lyall |archive-date=10 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510070341/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> For his performance in ''The Dark Knight'', Ledger posthumously won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] (becoming the fourth-youngest winner of the award) which his family accepted on his behalf, as well as numerous other posthumous awards, including the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor]], which Nolan accepted for him.<ref name=accolades /><ref name=Posthumous /> At the time of his death on 22 January 2008, Ledger had completed about half of the work for his final film role as Tony in [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''.<ref name=Halbfinger>{{cite news |first=David M. |last=Halbfinger |title=Actor's Death May Mean Film's End |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/movies/25parn.html |work=The New York Times |page=12 |date=25 January 2008 |access-date=1 January 2021 |url-access=registration |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125194136/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/movies/25parn.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Kilpatrick>{{cite news |author=Christine Kilpatrick |title=Production Suspended on Heath Ledger's Latest Movie |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173511,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=24 January 2008 |access-date=24 January 2008 |archive-date=20 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420103139/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173511,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gilliam chose to adapt the film after his death by having fellow actors (and friends of Ledger) [[Johnny Depp]], [[Jude Law]], and [[Colin Farrell]] play "fantasy transformations" of his character so that Ledger's final performance could be seen in theatres.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Gilliam: The 'Imaginarium' That Almost Wasn't |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121636569&t=1609539604980 |date=19 December 2009 |publisher=NPR |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814143846/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121636569&t=1609539604980 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Directorial work ===
[[File:Director and actors of I'm not there at the 64th Venice Film Festival-01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|295px|upright|Ledger (''far right'') posing with the cast and the director of ''[[I'm Not There]]'' at the 64th [[Venice Film Festival]] in September 2007, just four months before his death]]
Ledger had aspirations to become a film director and had made some music videos with his production company [[The Masses (Collective)|The Masses]], which director [[Todd Haynes]] praised highly in his tribute to Ledger upon accepting the [[Independent Spirit Awards 2007#Robert Altman Award|ISP Robert Altman Award]], which Ledger posthumously shared, on 23 February 2008.<ref name=Haynes>{{cite web |title=Todd Haynes Dedicates Robert Altman Award to Heath Ledger |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fI7KcDKGLo |via=YouTube |format=[[digital video|video clip]] |date=23 February 2008 |access-date=8 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724115151/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fI7KcDKGLo |archive-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="laweekly-masses">{{cite news |url=http://www.laweekly.com/film/heath-ledgers-final-days-among-the-masses-2154340 |first=RANDALL |last=ROBERTS |work=LA Weekly |date=9 July 2008 |access-date=23 June 2018 |title=Heath Ledger's Final Days Among the Masses |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613185157/http://www.laweekly.com/film/heath-ledgers-final-days-among-the-masses-2154340 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, Ledger directed music videos for the title track on Australian [[hip hop music|hip hop]] artist [[N'fa]]'s CD debut solo album ''[[Cause An Effect]]''<ref name="musicrev">{{Cite web |url=http://www.spin.com/2010/07/rapper-nfa-release-heath-ledger-directed-video/ |title=Rapper N'FA to Release Heath Ledger-Directed Video {{!}} SPIN |date=12 July 2010 |access-date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=6 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206063552/http://www.spin.com/2010/07/rapper-nfa-release-heath-ledger-directed-video/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and for the single "Seduction Is Evil (She's Hot)".<ref name=Inertiacat>{{cite web |title=Seduction Is Evil |url=http://www.inertia-music.com/catalogue/41236/Nfa/Seduction_Is_Evil/ |work=Inertia Catalogue |publisher=inertia.net |date=28 October 2006 |access-date=5 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914185433/http://www.inertia-music.com/catalogue/41236/Nfa/Seduction_Is_Evil/ |archive-date=14 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=Drever>{{cite news |author=Andrew Drever |title=N'Fa: Frontman for 1200 Techniques May Be Doing Solo Work, But Everything's Cool |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/nfa/2006/08/21/1156012452247.html |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |date=21 August 2006 |access-date=5 March 2008 |page=2 |archive-date=20 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820083817/http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/nfa/2006/08/21/1156012452247.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Ledger inaugurated a new record label, [[The Masses (Collective)|The Masses Music]], with singer [[Ben Harper]] and also directed a music video for Harper's song "Morning Yearning".<ref name=Lyall /><ref name=Starpulse>{{cite web |title=Heath Ledger Teams Up with Ben Harper to Launch New Record Label |url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/14/heath_ledger_teams_up_with_ben_harper_to |work=Starpulse Entertainment News Blog |date=14 February 2007 |access-date=5 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304110332/http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/14/heath_ledger_teams_up_with_ben_harper_to |archive-date=4 March 2008}}</ref>

At a news conference at the 2007 [[Venice Film Festival]], Ledger spoke of his desire to make a documentary film about the British singer-songwriter [[Nick Drake]], who died in 1974, at the age of 26, from an overdose of an [[tricyclic antidepressant|antidepressant]].<ref name=FraenkelPerez>{{cite news |author=Jim Fraenkel and Rodrigo Perez |title=Heath Ledger's Video for Nick Drake Song: Eerie Postscript to Actor's Death |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580085/20080122/drake_nick.jhtml |publisher=MTV |date=22 January 2008 |access-date=18 March 2008 |archive-date=28 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228102329/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580085/20080122/drake_nick.jhtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ledger created and acted in a music video set to Drake's recording of the singer's 1974 song about depression, "Black Eyed Dog" — a title "inspired by [[Winston Churchill]]'s descriptive term for depression" (''black dog'');<ref name=Storr>{{cite book |author=Anthony Storr |title=Churchill's Black Dog and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-00-637566-1 |year=1990 |author-link=Anthony Storr}}</ref> it was shown publicly only twice, first at the Bumbershoot Festival, in Seattle, held from 1 to 3 September 2007; and secondly as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of ''Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake'', "a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake" (including Ledger's), sponsored by [[American Cinematheque]], at the [[Grauman's Egyptian Theatre]], in Hollywood, on 5 October 2007.<ref name=AC>{{cite web |title=Egyptian Theatre Programming |url=http://www.americancinematheque.com/CalendarPDF/2007/Oct2007/CalendarTEXTOctober2007.pdf |work=[[American Cinematheque]] Film Calendar |publisher=americacinematheque.com |date=5 October 2007 |access-date=18 March 2008 |quote=This very special evening celebrating [Drake's] life and music includes films, guests and a unique art and photographic exhibit. It includes the World Theatrical Premiere of 'Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake', 2007, Bryter Music, 30 min. Various Directors – a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake – created by admirers including Heath Ledger, [[Jonas Mekas]] and [[Tim Pope]]. (NOT ON DVD!) ... |archive-date=25 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225162617/http://www.americancinematheque.com/CalendarPDF/2007/Oct2007/CalendarTEXTOctober2007.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> After Ledger's death, his music video for "Black Eyed Dog" was shown on the Internet and excerpted in news clips distributed via YouTube.<ref name=FraenkelPerez /><ref name=Kreps>{{cite magazine |author=Daniel Kreps |title=Footage from Heath Ledger's Nick Drake Video Surfaces |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/02/29/footage-from-heath-ledgers-nick-drake-video-surfaces/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304152223/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/02/29/footage-from-heath-ledgers-nick-drake-video-surfaces/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2008 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=29 February 2008 |access-date=18 March 2008 |quote=The video, for Drake's posthumously released song 'Black Eyed Dog,' was filmed by the actor in late 2007 and included in a multimedia instalment about Drake called 'A Place to Be.' The project was only screened publicly twice before the actor's death, and the Ledger family said the 'Black Eyed Dog' video would not be released.}}</ref><ref name=Place>{{cite web |title=A Place To Be: Reflections Of Nick Drake |url=http://www.aplacetobe.cc/ |work=A Place To Be |access-date=18 March 2008 |quote=''A Place To Be'': a collection, a celebration, in film, photography, painting, drawing and prose, of the impact the music of [[Nick Drake]] has had on other artists |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218213049/http://aplacetobe.cc/ |archive-date=18 February 2009}} ("Introductory film" includes excerpts of the music video, ''Black Eyed Dog'', by Heath Ledger, among others.)</ref>{{efn|Drake's song "Black Eyed Dog" is featured as track number five on the soundtrack album for the 1998 film ''[[Practical Magic#Music|Practical Magic]]'', directed by [[Griffin Dunne]] and starring [[Sandra Bullock]] and [[Nicole Kidman]].}}

He was working with Scottish screenwriter and producer [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]] on an adaptation of the 1983 novel ''[[The Queen's Gambit (novel)|The Queen's Gambit]]'' by [[Walter Tevis]], which would have been his first feature film as a director. He also intended to act in the film, with Canadian actor [[Elliot Page]] proposed in the lead role.<ref name="Dawtrey">{{cite web |last1=Dawtrey |first1=Adam |url=http://variety.com/2008/film/news/parnassus-team-faces-dilemma-1117979492/ |title='Parnassus' team faces dilemma |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=23 January 2008 |access-date=22 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123205337/http://variety.com/2008/film/news/parnassus-team-faces-dilemma-1117979492/ |archive-date=23 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Cazzulino2>{{cite news |first=Michelle |last=Cazzulino |title=Heath Ledger's Gambit to Be a Director |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23446583-5006013,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |date=29 March 2008 |access-date=24 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403041324/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23446583-5006013,00.html |archive-date=3 April 2008}}</ref><ref name=Indep>{{cite news |author=Rob Sharp and [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Shiach]] |title=Heath Ledger–A Prophetic Tragedy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/heath-ledger--a-prophetic-tragedy-795344.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/heath-ledger--a-prophetic-tragedy-795344.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=18 March 2008 |access-date=20 March 2008 |quote=Until last month [January 2008] he [Allan Schiach, aka [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]],] was working with the late Heath Ledger on a film adaptation of Walter Tevis's 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit, about a [[chess prodigy]]'s chequered history.}}</ref> Ledger's final directorial work, in which he shot two music videos before his death, premiered in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/16/heath-ledger-modest-mouse-music-video |title=Heath Ledger-directed music video to be released |last=Michaels |first=Sean |author-link=Sean Michaels (writer) |date=16 March 2009 |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=17 March 2009 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002172641/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/16/heath-ledger-modest-mouse-music-video |url-status=live}}</ref> The music videos, completed for [[Modest Mouse]] and [[Grace Woodroofe]],<ref name="king rat release">{{cite news |title=Ledger music videos to be aired |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7948439.stm |date=17 March 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=17 March 2009 |archive-date=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929233548/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7948439.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> include an animated feature for Modest Mouse's song "[[King Rat (song)|King Rat]]", and the Woodroofe video for her cover of [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Quicksand (David Bowie song)|Quicksand]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/5things/2009/03/17/heath_ledger_music_v |title=Heath Ledger music videos on the way |date=17 March 2009 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=26 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827072557/http://www.salon.com/5things/2009/03/17/heath_ledger_music_v |archive-date=27 August 2009}}</ref> The "King Rat" video premiered on 4 August 2009.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/04/heath-ledgers-video-for-modest-mouses-king-rat-premieres/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807033654/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/04/heath-ledgers-video-for-modest-mouses-king-rat-premieres |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 August 2009 |title=Heath Ledger's Video For Modest Mouse's "King Rat" Premieres |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=4 August 2009 |access-date=5 August 2009}}</ref>

== Press controversies ==
Ledger's relationship with the Australian press was sometimes turbulent, and it led to his abandonment of plans for his family to reside part-time in Sydney.<ref name=WENN2006>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Ledger Slams Spitting Claims |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=2527 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=12 January 2006 |access-date=23 January 2008 |archive-date=18 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218052245/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=2527 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="SutherlandMoor">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/tale-of-an-untrained-homeboy/2008/01/23/1201024944702.html |title=Tale of an untrained homeboy |last=Hawley |first=Janet |date=23 January 2008 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=13 April 2009 |archive-date=4 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604210303/http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/tale-of-an-untrained-homeboy/2008/01/23/1201024944702.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, he strongly denied press reports alleging that "he spat at journalists on the Sydney set of the film ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]''", or that one of his relatives had done so later, outside Ledger's Sydney home.<ref name=WENN2006 /><ref name=SutherlandMoor /> On 13 January 2006, "Several members of the [[paparazzi]] retaliated ... squirting Ledger and Williams with water pistols on the [[red carpet]] at the Sydney premiere of ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''".<ref name=Sprayed>{{cite news |agency=Australian Associated Press |title=Sprayed Heath Flies Out |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/14/1137118993564.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 January 2006 |access-date=5 February 2008 |author-link=Australian Associated Press |archive-date=3 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803210646/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/14/1137118993564.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=DunnJinman>{{cite news |author=Emily Dunn and Richard Jinman |title=How a Triumphant Return Turned Sour |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/heath-ledger/how-a-triumphant-return-turned-sour/2008/01/24/1201024994356.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |page=1 |date=24 January 2008 |access-date=5 February 2008 |archive-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217135058/http://www.smh.com.au/news/heath-ledger/how-a-triumphant-return-turned-sour/2008/01/24/1201024994356.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

After his performance on stage at the [[12th Screen Actors Guild Awards|2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards]], when he had giggled in presenting ''Brokeback Mountain'' as a nominee for [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]], the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof".<ref name=Snead1>{{cite news |author=Elizabeth Snead |title=The Dish Rag – Ledger's Strange SAG Behavior |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/01/ledgers-strange.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=23 January 2008 |date=30 January 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127134242/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/01/ledgers-strange.html |archive-date=27 January 2008}}</ref> Ledger called the ''Times'' later and explained that his levity resulted from [[stage fright]], saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers."<ref name=Snead2>{{cite news |author=Elizabeth Snead |title=The Dish Rag – Heath Explains His SAG Giggles |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/02/heath-explains-.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=3 February 2006 |access-date=23 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128165353/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2006/02/heath-explains-.html |archive-date=28 January 2008}}</ref><ref name=damagecontrol>{{cite news |title=Ledger in Damage Control |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/ledger-in-damage-control/2006/02/12/1139679468944.html |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |date=12 February 2006 |access-date=17 August 2007 |archive-date=11 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411011508/http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/ledger-in-damage-control/2006/02/12/1139679468944.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

After learning that two cinemas in Utah refused to show ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ledger said: "I don't think the movie is [controversial] but I think maybe the [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah|Mormons in Utah]] do. I think it's hilarious and very immature of a society".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/ledger-lashes-out-utah-west-virginia-wbna10696088 |title=Ledger lashes out at Utah, West Virginia |last=Walls |first=Jeannette |author-link=Jeannette Walls |date=10 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=[[Today.com]] |access-date=13 April 2009 |archive-date=4 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104224212/https://www.today.com/popculture/ledger-lashes-out-utah-west-virginia-wbna10696088 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the same interview with the ''[[Herald-Sun|Herald Sun]]'' newspaper, Ledger mistakenly claimed that [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings]] had occurred in West Virginia as recently as the 1980s; state scholars disputed his statement, asserting that no documented lynchings had occurred in West Virginia since 1931.<ref name=Morris>{{cite news |author=Joe Morris |title='Brokeback' Actor Has W. Va. All Wrong |url=http://www.joemorris.info/brokeback.html |work=[[The Charleston Gazette]] |date=16 January 2006 |access-date=24 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218032400/http://www.joemorris.info/brokeback.html |archive-date=18 December 2008}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Heath Ledger (Berlin Film Festival 2006) revised.jpg|thumb|170px|right|Ledger at the [[56th Berlin International Film Festival]] in February 2006]]
Ledger was an avid [[chess]] player, and had participated in [[chess tournament|tournaments]] when he was young.<ref>''"He played younger groups ... and may have played in the state tournaments, even the state championship," Norbert Muller, a spokesman for the Perth Chess Club, said. But, he added, "I don't really remember him performing that well."'' [http://www.mtv.com/news/1580272/heath-ledger-in-retrospect-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-actor/ Heath Ledger In Retrospect: '10 Things' You Didn't Know About The Actor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804105946/http://www.mtv.com/news/1580272/heath-ledger-in-retrospect-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-actor/ |date=4 August 2018 }}, [[MTV]], 24 January 2008.</ref> As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at [[Washington Square Park]] in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Christina |last1=Tapper |first2=Natasha |last2=Stoyoff |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173995,00.html |title=Heath Ledger's Passion for Chess |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=26 January 2008 |access-date=3 February 2008 |quote=No stranger to the New York Washington Square Park chess world, Heath Ledger found joy by screaming the occasional 'checkmate!' |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204091145/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173995,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> He was a fan of [[West Coast Eagles]], an [[Australian rules football]] team that competes in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) and is based in his hometown of Perth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/ledger-another-great-who-died-too-young-20080125-ge6n9k.html |title=Ledger another great who died too young |first=Martin |last=Flanagan |date=25 January 2008 |website=The Age |access-date=3 May 2019 |archive-date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503031405/https://www.theage.com.au/national/ledger-another-great-who-died-too-young-20080125-ge6n9k.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ledger was an "obsessive" photographer who loved taking stills, then drawing over them with paint, markers or [[nail polish]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2017/05/heath-ledger-artwork-gallery |title=A Rare Look at Heath Ledger's Exclusive Artwork |last=Desta |first=Yohana |date=4 May 2017 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201001300/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2017/05/heath-ledger-artwork-gallery |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Relationships ===
Ledger dated [[Lisa Zane]], Christina Cauchi, [[Heather Graham]], and [[Naomi Watts]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/i-am-heath-ledger-10-things-we-learned-from-spike-tv-doc-w482581 |title='I Am Heath Ledger': 10 Things We Learned From Spike TV Doc |last=Newman |first=Jason |date=18 May 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=8 June 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402072723/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/i-am-heath-ledger-10-things-we-learned-from-spike-tv-doc-w482581 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/heaths-women-secrets-revealed/news-story/0dbffe08d58815028db91da62f7b29f2 |title=The truth about Heath Ledger's women |date=1 September 2009 |website=News.com.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411004412/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/heaths-women-secrets-revealed/news-story/0dbffe08d58815028db91da62f7b29f2 |archive-date=11 April 2017 |url-status=dead |access-date=8 June 2017}}</ref>

In 2004, Ledger began a relationship with actress [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]] after meeting her on the set of ''Brokeback Mountain''. Their daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/all-about-michelle-williams-heath-ledger-daughter-matilda/|title=Michelle Williams' Daughter: Everything She's Said About Motherhood|website=People.com|last=LaCroix |first=Emy |date=4 April 2025}}</ref> was born on 28 October 2005 in New York City.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Kiki |last1=King |first2=Eva |last2=Simpson |first3=Caroline |last3=Hedley |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2006/03/08/the-heath-is-on-89520-16786391/ |title=The Heath Is On |work=Daily Mirror |location=UK |page=16 |date=3 March 2006 |access-date=7 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128160727/http://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2006/03/08/the-heath-is-on-89520-16786391/ |archive-date=28 January 2008}}</ref> Matilda's godparents are ''Brokeback Mountain'' co-star [[Jake Gyllenhaal]] and Williams's ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'' co-star [[Busy Philipps]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Balogh |first=Stefanie |title=Heath Ledger's ex-fiancee Michelle Williams home with baby Matilda |date=24 January 2008 |work=Herald Sun |location=Australia |access-date=8 October 2009 |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/michelle-matilda-back-in-new-york/story-e6frf7jo-1111115389511 |archive-date=23 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523064304/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/michelle-matilda-back-in-new-york/story-e6frf7jo-1111115389511 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2006, Ledger listed his residence in [[Bronte, New South Wales|Bronte]], Sydney, for sale<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ledger-hopes-for-3m-profit-on-beach-house/2006/02/10/1139542406285.html |title=Ledger Hopes for $3m Profit on Beach House |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |date=11 February 2006 |access-date=17 August 2007 |archive-date=11 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411010654/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ledger-hopes-for-3m-profit-on-beach-house/2006/02/10/1139542406285.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and returned to the US, where he shared a house with Williams in [[Boerum Hill]], Brooklyn from 2005 to 2007.<ref name=AWilliams>{{cite news |first=Alex |last=Williams |title=Brooklyn's Fragile Eco-System |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/fashion/30brooklyn.html |work=The New York Times |date=30 September 2007 |access-date=1 January 2021 |url-access=registration |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214035522/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/fashion/30brooklyn.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2007, Williams's father confirmed to ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]'' that Ledger and Williams had broken up.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sarah |last=Grant |url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,,22361117-5012990,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230211954/http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,,22361117-5012990,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2012 |title=Michelle Williams' dad confirms split with Heath Ledger |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |location=Australia |date=4 September 2007 |access-date=17 October 2009}}</ref>

After Ledger's breakup with Williams, the press linked him romantically with supermodel [[Helena Christensen]], actress [[Kate Hudson]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pagesix.com/2007/11/28/heath-adds-two-to-his-ledger/|title=HEATH ADDS TWO TO HIS LEDGER |website=PageSix.com|date=28 November 2007}}</ref> and model [[Gemma Ward]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/gemma-ward-praises-heath-ledger/|title=Gemma Ward Praises Heath Ledger|website=People.com|date=3 March 2008}}</ref> Ward later stated that she had begun dating Ledger in November 2007 and that they and their families had spent that year's Christmas together in their hometown of Perth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/2014012816716/model-gemma-ward-shows-off-baby/|title=First pictures of Gemma Ward and her baby girl|date=28 January 2014|website=HELLO!}}</ref>

=== Health problems and drug use ===
In an interview with [[Sarah Lyall]], published in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on 4 November 2007, Ledger stated that he often could not sleep when taking on roles, and that the role of the Joker in ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) was causing his usual insomnia: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite news |author=Lyall, Sarah |title=In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |work=[[The New York Times]] (Arts & Leisure Desk) |date=4 November 2007 |access-date=1 January 2021 |author-link=Sarah Lyall |url-access=registration |archive-date=10 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510070341/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two [[Ambien]] pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in "a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing".<ref name=Lyall />

Prior to his return to New York City from his last film assignment in London, in January 2008, while he was apparently suffering from some kind of [[respiratory illness]], he reportedly complained to his ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' co-star [[Christopher Plummer]] that he was continuing to have difficulty sleeping and taking pills to help with that problem: "Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadn't been feeling well on set, Plummer said: 'we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the [[antibiotic]]s.... I think what he did have was the [[Atypical pneumonia|walking pneumonia]].' [...] On top of that, 'He was saying all the time, 'dammit, I can't sleep'... and he was taking all these pills to help him'".<ref name=Stoynoff />

Speaking to ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'' magazine after Ledger's death, Michelle Williams confirmed reports that the actor had experienced trouble sleeping: "For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning, turning – always turning".<ref name=UPI>{{cite news |agency=United Press International |title=Williams Recalls Ledger As Vulnerable |url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/03/13/Williams-recalls-Ledger-as-vulnerable/20251205448189/ |work=NewsTrack/Entertainment |date=16 March 2008 |access-date=16 March 2008 |author-link=United Press International |archive-date=28 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128062946/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/03/13/Williams-recalls-Ledger-as-vulnerable/20251205448189 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ledger was "widely reported to have struggled with substance abuse".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ledger-idUSN1144043020080412 |title=Lawsuit says paparazzi gave Heath Ledger drugs |work=[[Reuters]] |date=12 April 2008 |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215010336/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ledger-idUSN1144043020080412 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following Ledger's death, ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' aired video footage from 2006 in which Ledger stated that he "used to smoke five [[Joint (cannabis)|joints]] a day for 20 years" (which would mean he started doing so at the age of just six)<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Oscars2008/story?id=4218070&page=1 |title=Video Shows Ledger at Hollywood Drug Party |date=14 April 2009 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926034526/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Oscars2008/story?id=4218070&page=1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/entertainment-tonight-wont-run-video-of-heath-ledger-at-drug-party |title='Entertainment Tonight' Won't Run Video of Heath Ledger at Drug Party |date=25 March 2015 |publisher=[[Fox News]] |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215010331/https://www.foxnews.com/story/entertainment-tonight-wont-run-video-of-heath-ledger-at-drug-party |url-status=live}}</ref> and news outlets reported that his drug abuse had prompted Williams to request that he move out of their apartment in Brooklyn.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577062/Heath-Ledger-refused-help-for-heroin-abuse.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577062/Heath-Ledger-refused-help-for-heroin-abuse.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-status=live |title=Heath Ledger 'refused help for heroin abuse' |last=Leonard |first=Tom |date=29 January 2008 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=1 January 2021 |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ledger's publicist asserted that reports of Ledger's alleged drug use had been inaccurate.<ref name="auto"/>

== Death ==
At around 3&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Standard Time]] on Tuesday, 22 January 2008, Ledger was found naked and lying face down unresponsive in his bed by his [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|housekeeper]], Teresa Solomon, and his [[massage therapist]], Diana Wolozin, in his [[loft]] at 421 [[Broome Street]] in the [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] neighbourhood of [[Manhattan]].<ref name=NYTBarron /><ref name=Timesobit /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-18 |title=Mary-Kate Olsen's Connection To Heath Ledger Death Revealed {{!}} Access Hollywood |url=http://www.accesshollywood.com/mary-kate-olsens-connection-to-heath-ledger-death-revealed_article_8139 |access-date=2024-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418135347/http://www.accesshollywood.com/mary-kate-olsens-connection-to-heath-ledger-death-revealed_article_8139 |archive-date=18 April 2014 }}</ref>

According to police, Wolozin, who had arrived early for a 3&nbsp;p.m. appointment with Ledger, telephoned his friend [[Mary-Kate Olsen]] for help. Olsen, who was in Los Angeles at the time, directed her New York City private security guard to go to the scene. At 3:26&nbsp;p.m., "less than 15 minutes after she first saw him in bed and only a few moments after the first call to Ms. Olsen", Wolozin dialed 911 "to say that Mr. Ledger was not breathing". At the urging of the 911 operator, Wolozin administered [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]], which was unsuccessful in reviving him.<ref name=NewmanBaker>{{cite news |first1=Andy |last1=Newman |first2=Al |last2=Baker |date=24 January 2008 |title=Autopsy on Actor Is Inconclusive As Calls for Help Are Revealed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/nyregion/24celeb.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=1 January 2021 |url-access=registration |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125194031/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/nyregion/24celeb.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians arrived seven minutes later, at 3:33&nbsp;p.m. but were also unable to revive him.<ref name=NYTBarron /><ref name=NewmanBaker /><ref name=NBCLedger>{{cite news |title=News: Housekeeper, Masseuse Found Ledger's Body |url=http://www.wnbc.com/news/15128669/detail.html |publisher=[[WNBC]] |date=24 January 2008 |access-date=7 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203094833/http://www.wnbc.com/news/15128669/detail.html |archive-date=3 February 2008 |url-status=dead}} (As updated 25 January 2008.)</ref> At 3:36&nbsp;p.m., Ledger was pronounced dead, and his body was removed from the apartment.<ref name=NYTBarron /><ref name=NewmanBaker /> He was 28 years old.

=== Autopsy and toxicology report ===
On 6 February 2008, the [[Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York]] released its conclusions. Those conclusions were based on an initial [[autopsy]] that occurred 23 January 2008, and a subsequent complete [[toxicology|toxicological analysis]].<ref name=Chan /><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |title=Ledger's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=7 February 2008 |archive-date=10 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110062154/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=LKLLedger>{{cite news |first=Larry |last=King |url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/02/06/lkl.heath.ledger.death.cnn |title=Video: Larry King Live: Ledger Death |work=[[Larry King Live]] |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=5 February 2008 |quote=CNN's Larry King talks to guests about the finding that actor Heath Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose. |author-link=Larry King |archive-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831124519/http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/02/06/lkl.heath.ledger.death.cnn |url-status=dead}}</ref> The report concluded that Ledger died "as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of [[oxycodone]], [[hydrocodone]], [[diazepam]], [[temazepam]], [[alprazolam]] and [[doxylamine]]". It added: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident[al], resulting from the abuse of [[Medical prescription|prescribed]] medications."<ref name=Chan /><ref name="APMSNBC" />

Although the [[Associated Press]] and other outlets reported that police estimated Ledger's death occurred between 1&nbsp;p.m. and 2:45&nbsp;p.m. on 22 January 2008,<ref name=ChrisHarris>{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Harris |title=Heath Ledger's Last Hours: New Details Emerge |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580240/20080124/story.jhtml |work=MTV Movie News |date=24 January 2008 |access-date=8 August 2008 |archive-date=12 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212172321/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580240/20080124/story.jhtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> the Medical Examiner's Office announced that it would not publicly disclose the official estimated time of death.<ref name=PN2>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger's Family Returns to Perth |url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/ledgers-family-back-in-perth/story-fna7dq6e-1111115478834 |work=[[The Sunday Telegraph]] |date=6 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615213821/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/ledgers-family-back-in-perth/story-e6frg12c-1111115478834 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |access-date=6 February 2008 |agency=[[Australian Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Kathy Ehrich |last=Dowd |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176337,00.html |title=Heath Ledger Toxicology Test Results Delayed |date=5 February 2008 |access-date=3 December 2009 |work=People |archive-date=20 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420103518/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176337,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The official announcement of the cause and manner of Ledger's death heightened concerns about the growing problems of [[prescription drug abuse]] or misuse and [[combined drug intoxication]] (CDI).<ref name=CNNLedger /><ref name=LKLLedger /><ref name=CNNHome>{{cite news |title=Home deaths from Drug Errors Soar |url=http://stateschronicle.com/home-deaths-drug-errors-soar-6337.html |publisher=CNN |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=28 July 2008 |access-date=4 August 2008 |quote=Deaths from medication mistakes at home, such as actor Heath Ledger's accidental overdose, rose dramatically during the past two decades, an analysis of U.S. death certificates finds. ... The findings, based on nearly 50&nbsp;million U.S. death certificates, are published in Monday [4 August 2008]'s Archives of Internal Medicine. Of those, more than 224,000 involved fatal medication errors, including overdoses and mixing prescription drugs with alcohol or street drugs. ... Deaths from medication mistakes at home increased from 1,132 deaths in 1983 to 12,426 in 2004. Adjusted for population growth, that amounts to an increase of more than 700 percent during that time. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322180942/http://stateschronicle.com/home-deaths-drug-errors-soar-6337.html |archive-date=22 March 2014}}</ref>

In 2017, Jason Payne-James, a forensic pathologist, asserted that Ledger might have survived if hydrocodone and oxycodone had been left out of the combination of drugs that the actor took just prior to his death. He furthermore stated that the mixture of drugs, combined with a possible chest infection, caused Ledger to stop breathing.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Autopsy: The Last Hours of Heath Ledger |series=Autopsy |network=[[Reelz]] |season=5 |number=2 |date=5 October 2017}}</ref>

=== Federal investigation ===
Late in February 2008, a [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] investigation of medical professionals relating to Ledger's death exonerated two American physicians, who practice in Los Angeles and [[Houston]], of any wrongdoing, determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications – not the pills that killed him."<ref name=WENN2>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Heath Ledger Doctors Cleared |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Heath_Ledger_Doctors_Cleared/5091865 |work=Hollywood.com |date=29 February 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008<!--needs replaced archive link; can't use the archive dot is service any more--> |archive-date=3 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103032840/http://www.hollywood.com/news/Heath_Ledger_Doctors_Cleared/5091865 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Egan>{{cite news |first=Nicole Weisensee |last=Egan |title=Report: Doctors Cleared in Ledger Investigation |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20181179,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=28 February 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008155354/https://people.com/people/article/0,,20181179,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 4 August 2008, Mary-Kate Olsen's attorney Michael Miller issued a statement denying that Olsen supplied Ledger with the drugs causing his death and asserting that she did not know their source.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |title=Mary-Kate Olsen Denies Supplying Heath Ledger with Drugs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/05/heath.ledger |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 August 2008 |access-date=5 August 2008 |archive-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204221000/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/05/heath.ledger |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BBCOlsen>{{cite news |title=Olsen Seeks Immunity over Ledger |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7542260.stm |work=BBC News |date=5 August 2008 |access-date=5 August 2008 |archive-date=27 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227212143/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7542260.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> In his statement, Miller said specifically, "Despite tabloid speculation, Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body, and she does not know where he obtained them."<ref name=PeopleMiller>{{cite news |title=Lawyer: Mary-Kate Olsen Had 'Nothing to Do' with Heath Ledger's Drugs |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20216830,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=4 August 2008 |access-date=5 August 2008 |archive-date=9 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709180333/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20216830,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

After a flurry of further media speculation, on 6 August 2008, the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|US Attorney's Office]] in Manhattan closed its investigation into Ledger's death without filing any charges and rendering [[Mootness|moot]] its [[subpoena]] of Olsen.<ref name=Egan2>{{cite news |author=Nicole Weisensee Egan |title=Source: Feds Officially Close Heath Ledger Investigation |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20217421,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=6 August 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |archive-date=8 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808021400/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20217421,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=AdlerLedger>{{cite news |first=Shawn |last=Adler |title=Heath Ledger Investigation Reportedly Closed; Mary-Kate Olsen Won't Have to Testify: U.S. Attorney's Office Filed No Charges Before Closing Probe into Actor's Overdose Death |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1592309/story.jhtml |publisher=MTV |date=6 August 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |archive-date=18 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218201911/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1592309/story.jhtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> With the clearing of the two doctors and Olsen, and the closing of the investigation because the prosecutors in the Manhattan US Attorney's Office "don't believe there's a viable target," it is still not known how Ledger obtained the oxycodone and hydrocodone in the [[Combined drug intoxication|lethal drug combination]] that killed him.<ref name=AdlerLedger /><ref name=FoxAP>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Investigation into Heath Ledger's Death Closed |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/investigation-into-heath-ledgers-death-closed |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=6 August 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |archive-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217235548/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,399081,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Estate ===
Ledger's [[will (law)|will]] was filed in New York City on 28 February 2008.<ref name=will>{{cite web |author=Heath Ledger |title=Last Will & Testament |url=http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0327_heath_will_wm.pdf |work=aolcdn.com (reposted on 12 April 2008) |date=27 March 2008 |access-date=23 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527195235/http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0327_heath_will_wm.pdf |archive-date=27 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=TMZ>{{cite news |title=Celebrity Justice: Heath's Will – No Joke |url=http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/27/heaths-will-no-joke/ |publisher=tmz.com |date=27 March 2008 |access-date=23 April 2008 |archive-date=6 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106195219/http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/27/heaths-will-no-joke/ |url-status=live}}</ref> His father, Kim Ledger, said that he considered the financial well-being of Heath's daughter Matilda Rose an "absolute priority," whilst also stating that her mother, Michelle Williams, was "an integral part of our family". He added, "They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be".<ref name=FoxNewsUncles>{{cite news |title=Ledger's Uncles: Michelle Williams May Have to Fight for Matilda's Inheritance |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336280,00.html |publisher=Fox News |date=10 March 2008 |access-date=23 April 2008 |quote=Kim Ledger moved quickly to deny his granddaughter and Michelle Williams would be left without an inheritance and said Matilda was his family's absolute priority. 'Matilda is our absolute priority and Michelle is an integral part of our family ... They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be,' Kim Ledger says in the statement. ... The uncles estimated their nephew's estate would be worth [[Australian dollar|Australian $]]20&nbsp;million after his earnings from the latest 'Batman' movie were calculated. |archive-date=2 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202091432/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336280,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Ledger's will was signed in 2003, prior to his involvement with Williams and the birth of their daughter; the will divided half of his [[estate (law)|estate]] between his parents and half between his siblings.<ref name=Cowan>{{cite news |first=Sean |last=Cowan |title=Ledger Feud Grows Over 'second' Will |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/15/1205472100775.html |work=[[The Age]] |date=15 March 2008 |access-date=15 March 2008 |archive-date=18 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218231644/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/15/1205472100775.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Mitchell2>{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24287252-5015787,00.html |first=Peter |last=Mitchell |title=Ledger's Estate Sells His Hollywood Hills Home |work=[[news.com.au]] |date=3 September 2008 |access-date=2 September 2008 |quote=[According to Los Angeles County public records], Heath Ledger's estate has sold ... [his] Hollywood Hills home ... for [US]US$2.5&nbsp;million ([[Australian dollar|A$]]2.99&nbsp;million) [in May 2008]. |author-link=Peter Mitchell (newsreader) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904051824/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0%2C26278%2C24287252-5015787%2C00.html |archive-date=4 September 2008}}</ref>

A 31 March 2008 report asserted that Ledger may have fathered another child.<ref name=JonesFifeYeomans>{{Cite news |author=Gemma Jones and Janet Fife-Yeomans |title=Did Heath Ledger Father a Secret Love Child? |url=https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23455968-5001021,00.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |date=31 March 2008 |access-date=25 July 2008 |quote=The April will lists only [US]US$145,000 in assets and names the late actor's father, Kim, mother Sally Bell, sister Kate Ledger and half sisters Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell as the only beneficiaries. The New York documents also acknowledge Matilda Rose, as Ledger's only known child, as an interested party. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402153249/https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23455968-5001021,00.html |archive-date=2 April 2008}}</ref><ref name=Maddox>{{Cite news |first=Garry |last=Maddox |title=Good Will Hunting |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/28/1206207397015.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=30 March 2008 |quote=Beyond the tangled web of Heath Ledger's estate, two final films and his celebrated Brokeback performance ensure the money will keep flowing. |archive-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217134921/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/28/1206207397015.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Squires>{{cite news |author=Nick Squires |title=Heath Ledger 'fathered a secret love child' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583417/Heath-Ledger-%27fathered-a-secret-love-child%27.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601070904/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583417/Heath-Ledger-%27fathered-a-secret-love-child%27.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 June 2008 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |quote=If the claims are proved to be true, Ledger's multi-million pound estate would have to be divided between the child he fathered in his teens and his two-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, whose mother is Hollywood actress Michelle Williams. ... The actor's parents, Kim and Sally Ledger, have declined to comment on the reports [based on comments by other family members, including his uncle Haydn Ledger].}}</ref> The mother and stepfather of the child in question dismissed the claim.<ref name=OKLedger>{{cite news |title=Denied: No Love Child for Heath Ledger |url=http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/5697 |work=okmagazine.com ([[OK!]] Magazine, Northern & Shell North America Ltd.) |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623232323/http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/5697 |archive-date=23 June 2008}}</ref><ref name=UsLedger>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger's Uncle: Love Child Reports Are 'Absolutely Berserk' |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/heath_ledgers_uncle_love_child_reports_are_absolutely_berserk |work=usmagazine.com ([[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media LLC]]) |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=6 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406232610/http://www.usmagazine.com/heath_ledgers_uncle_love_child_reports_are_absolutely_berserk <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=6 April 2008}}</ref>

On 27 September 2008, Kim Ledger stated that the family had agreed to leave Ledger's US$16.3&nbsp;million estate to Matilda Rose Ledger.<ref name=Eng>{{cite news |author=Joyce Eng |title=Heath Ledger's Daughter to Inherit Estate |url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Heath-Ledgers-Estate/800047540 |work=[[TV Guide]] |date=29 September 2008 |access-date=11 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202020123/http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Heath-Ledgers-Estate/800047540 |archive-date=2 December 2008}}</ref><ref name=APAOL>{{cite news |url=http://www.aol.com.au/celebrity/story/Ledger's-daughter-to-inherit-late-actor's-estate/1054531/index.html |agency=Associated Press |title=Ledger's Daughter to Inherit Late Actor's Estate |work=AOL Australia Celebrity Channel |date=29 September 2008 |access-date=11 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219001545/http://www.aol.com.au/celebrity/story/Ledger%27s-daughter-to-inherit-late-actor%27s-estate/1054531/index.html |archive-date=19 December 2008}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
=== Memorial tributes and services ===
[[File:LedgerMemorial.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Memorial for Ledger, outside 421 Broome Street, [[SoHo]], Manhattan, 23 January 2008|alt=Dark doorway and doorstep with section of footpath. On the lower part of the dark door is a partly obscured Australian flag with dark blue background; red and white crosses on top left, large white star underneath and three white stars at the right with others obscured. Obscuring the right side of the flag is a white sheet with light blue writing, "Love + Miss You Always Heath" with two red hearts nearby, other writing includes "I'll never quit you" in darker blue, more writing is indistinct. This sheet also has six photos of a man. Above the flag, on the door is a smaller sheet with a photo of a man and indistinct writing below. On the doorstep and section of footpath are some 14 groups of flowers wrapped in plastic or paper, together with nine or so cards, five or six lit candles, and more photos. On the right side is a straw hat.]]

As the news of Ledger's death became public, throughout the night of 22 January 2008, and the following day, media crews, mourners, fans, and other onlookers began gathering outside his apartment building, with some leaving flowers or other memorial tributes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ledger23jan23,0,3455258.story |title=Ledger's death is a shock to Hollywood, fans |last1=Boucher |first1=Geoff |first2=Matea |last2=Gold |first3=Paul |last3=Lieberman |date=23 January 2008 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2 April 2009 |quote=Minutes after the news of Ledger's death broke, several hundred people gathered outside the Broome Street apartment building where Ledger had been living&nbsp;... television crews and area residents were joined by fans, including some Brooklyn acting students. |archive-date=7 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907081416/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ledger23jan23,0,3455258.story |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7204439.stm |title=Stars pay tribute to Heath Ledger |date=23 January 2008 |work=BBC News |access-date=2 April 2009 |quote=Fans have been leaving flowers and candles outside Ledger's apartment in the SoHo district. |archive-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127152958/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7204439.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

The following day, at 10:50am [[Australian Western Standard Time|AWST]], Ledger's parents and sister appeared outside his mother's house in [[Applecross, Western Australia|Applecross]], a riverside suburb of [[Perth]], and read a short statement to the media expressing their grief and desire for privacy.<ref name=DTfam>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Loved Life, Family Tell |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23096240-5001021,00.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia |date=23 January 2008 |access-date=23 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128172344/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23096240-5001021,00.html |archive-date=28 January 2008}}</ref> Within the next few days, memorial tributes were communicated by family members; [[Kevin Rudd]] (then-[[Prime Minister of Australia]]); [[Eric Ripper]] (then-[[Deputy Premier of Western Australia]]); [[Warner Bros.]] (distributor of ''[[The Dark Knight]]'') and thousands of Ledger's fans around the world.<ref name=PM>{{cite news |author=Office of the [[Prime Minister of Australia]] |title=Media Release |url=http://www.pm.gov.au/news/releases/2008/media_release_00012.cfm |access-date=5 February 2008 |date=22 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210001805/http://www.pm.gov.au/news/releases/2008/media_release_00012.cfm |archive-date=10 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=Pendrill>{{cite news |first=Lisa |last=Pendrill |title=Heath's Family Writes of Heartache |url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/heath-familys-new-tribute/story-fna7dq6e-1111115398106 |work=The Sunday Telegraph |location=Australia |date=25 January 2008 |access-date=2 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615201453/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/heath-familys-new-tribute/story-e6frg12c-1111115398106 |archive-date=15 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=WB>{{cite news |author=Warner Bros. |url=http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/HeathMemorial.html |title=Heath Memorial |date=25 January 2008 |access-date=5 February 2008 |publisher=Warner Brothers |author-link=Warner Bros |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128092655/http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/HeathMemorial.html |archive-date=28 January 2008}}</ref><ref name=Online>{{cite news |title=Online Community Pays Tribute to Heath Ledger |url=http://www.901am.com/2008/online-community-pays-tribute-to-heath-ledger.html |work=901am.com |date=25 January 2008 |access-date=6 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411013042/http://www.901am.com/2008/online-community-pays-tribute-to-heath-ledger.html |archive-date=11 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several actors made statements expressing their sorrow at Ledger's death, including [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], who dedicated his [[Screen Actors Guild Award]] to him, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting; Day-Lewis praised Ledger's performances in ''Monster's Ball'' and ''Brokeback Mountain'', describing the latter as "unique, perfect".<ref>{{cite news |first1=Amy |last1=Diluna |first2=Joe |last2=Neumaier |title=Daniel Day-Lewis Honors Heath Ledger during Screen Actors Guild Awards |work=Daily News|location=New York |date=27 January 2008 |access-date=16 February 2008 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2008/01/27/2008-01-27_daniel_daylewis_honors_heath_ledger_duri.html |archive-date=8 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208001506/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2008/01/27/2008-01-27_daniel_daylewis_honors_heath_ledger_duri.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Elsworth |title=Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Christie win at Screen Actors Guild Awards |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3670802/Daniel-Day-Lewis-Julie-Christie-win-at-Screen-Actors-Guild-Awards.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3670802/Daniel-Day-Lewis-Julie-Christie-win-at-Screen-Actors-Guild-Awards.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-status=live |date=28 January 2008 |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Verne Troyer]], who was working with Ledger on ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' at the time of his death, had a heart shape, an exact duplicate of a symbol that Ledger scrawled on a piece of paper with his email address, tattooed on his hand in remembrance of Ledger because Ledger "had made such an impression on [him]".<ref>{{cite episode |title=Celebrity Big Brother |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1350648/ |series=Celebrity Big Brother 2009 |series-link=Celebrity Big Brother 2009 (UK) |air-date=6 January 2009 |season=2009 |number=Day 4 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=10 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210194148/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1350648/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 February, in her first public statement after Ledger's death, Michelle Williams expressed her heartbreak and described Ledger's spirit as surviving in their daughter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Michelle Williams: Heath Ledger Has Broken My Heart |url=https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23147754-5001021,00.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia |date=1 February 2008 |access-date=1 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206234312/https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23147754-5001021,00.html |archive-date=6 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=People>{{cite news |title=Michelle Williams Breaks Silence on Heath's Death |url=https://people.com/celebrity/michelle-williams-breaks-silence-on-heaths-death |work=People |date=1 February 2008 |access-date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301111104/https://people.com/celebrity/michelle-williams-breaks-silence-on-heaths-death/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

After attending private memorial ceremonies in Los Angeles, Ledger's family members returned with his body to [[Perth]].<ref name=Silverman>{{cite news |first=Stephen M. |last=Silverman |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176033,00.html |title=Heath Ledger's Family Heads Home |work=People |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=4 February 2008 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204223749/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176033,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Rodriguez>{{cite news |first=Brenda |last=Rodriguez |title=A Sorrowful Return to Australia for Heath Ledger's Family |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176124,00.html |work=People |date=5 February 2008 |access-date=5 February 2008 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204223631/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20176124,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> On 9 February, a memorial service attended by several hundred invited guests was held at [[Penrhos College, Perth|Penrhos College]], attracting considerable [[mass media|press]] attention; afterward Ledger's body was cremated at [[Fremantle Cemetery]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www2.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=FC00052109 |title=Heath Ledger's death record |website=Metropolitan Cemeteries Board |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920092005/https://www2.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=FC00052109 |url-status=dead}}</ref> followed by a private service attended by only 10 of his closest family members,<ref name=Kent>{{Cite news |first=Melissa |last=Kent |title=Tears, Tributes Accompany Heath Ledger to His Final Rest |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/09/1202234231953.html?from=top5 |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |date=9 February 2008 |access-date=21 April 2008 |archive-date=20 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820083646/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/09/1202234231953.html?from=top5 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=funeral>{{cite news |title=Heath Ledger Farewelled at Perth Funeral |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23184908-2,00.html |work=news.com.au |date=9 February 2008 |access-date=9 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212134905/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C23184908-2%2C00.html |archive-date=12 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=IHT>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Reports: Michelle Williams Arrives in Perth for Heath Ledger's Funeral |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/06/arts/AS-A-E-CEL-Australia-Ledger.php |work=International Herald Tribune |date=6 February 2008 |access-date=7 February 2008 |archive-date=9 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209105833/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/06/arts/AS-A-E-CEL-Australia-Ledger.php |url-status=live}}</ref> The ashes were taken from Fremantle for interment at an unspecified location.<ref name=Karrakatta>{{cite web |title=Summary of Record Information: Heath Andrew Ledger |url=http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=FC00052109 |publisher=Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, Western Australia |access-date=7 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218013051/http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/NameSearch/details.php?id=FC00052109 |archive-date=18 December 2008}}</ref> Later that night, his family and friends gathered for a [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]] on [[Cottesloe, Western Australia|Cottesloe Beach]].<ref name=swim>{{cite news |first1=Michelle |last1=Cazzulino |first2=Stephen |last2=Corby |title=Star Swim at Heath Ledger's Farewell: Ledger Wake Held in Perth |work=news.com.au |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=9 February 2008 |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23189271-10388,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211091825/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0%2C26278%2C23189271-10388%2C00.html |archive-date=11 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=beach>{{cite news |first1=Wendy |last1=Caccetta |first2=Nicole |last2=Cox |title=Beach Tribute to Heath Ledger |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23184885-952,00.html |work=[[The Courier-Mail]] |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=9 February 2008 |archive-date=10 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210085828/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23184885-952,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=swim2>{{cite news |first1=Michelle |last1=Cazzulino |first2=Stephen |last2=Corby |title=Michelle Williams Swims at Heath Ledger's Wake |url=https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23188937-5001021,00.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=10 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211010105/https://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23188937-5001021,00.html |archive-date=11 February 2008}}</ref>

The [[Eskimo Joe]] song "[[Foreign Land (song)|Foreign Land]]" was written as a tribute to Ledger.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/news/eskimo-joe-write-foreign-land-as-a-tribute-to-heath-ledger/news-story/4757821df8b2fedbe9c7594c0dd3df28?sv=f01eff627d73ba37c7a339bace4d9548 |title=Eskimo Joe write Foreign Land as a tribute to Heath Ledger |publisher=News.com.au |first=Nui |last=Te Koha |date=19 August 2009 |access-date=15 May 2020}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The band were in New York at the time of his death.

In January 2011, the [[State Theatre Centre of Western Australia]] in Ledger's home town of [[Perth]] named a 575-seat theatre the Heath Ledger Theatre after him. For the opening of the theatre, Ledger's [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] was on display in the theatre's foyer along with his [[Joker (character)|Joker]] costume.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts-books/state-theatre-centre-opens-in-perth-honouring-heath-ledger/story-fn7euh6j-1225996093685 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231014558/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts-books/state-theatre-centre-opens-in-perth-honouring-heath-ledger/story-fn7euh6j-1225996093685 |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2012 |title=Act of love for Ledger theatre |date=28 January 2011 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref>

[[Bon Iver]]'s "Perth" was inspired by Heath Ledger.<ref name="rs">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/i-am-heath-ledger-10-things-we-learned-from-spike-tv-doc-w482581 |title='I Am Heath Ledger': 10 Things We Learned From Spike TV Doc |last=Newman |first=Jason |date=18 May 2017 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=5 October 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402072723/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/i-am-heath-ledger-10-things-we-learned-from-spike-tv-doc-w482581 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Justin Vernon]], the lead singer and songwriter of the American indie folk band, revealed in 2011 that he had begun working on the song in 2008 and was scheduled to meet with a music video director who was good friends with Ledger, Matt Amato. "The first thing I worked on, the riff and the beginning melodies, was the first song on the record, 'Perth,'" Vernon told ''[[Exclaim!]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/bon-ivers-perth-was-inspired-by-heath-ledger-it-makes-the-song-so-much-more-poignant-53267 |title=Bon Iver's 'Perth' Was Inspired By Heath Ledger & It Makes The Song So Much More Poignant |last=Brayson |first=Johnny |date=25 April 2017 |work=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]] |access-date=5 October 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005202959/https://www.bustle.com/p/bon-ivers-perth-was-inspired-by-heath-ledger-it-makes-the-song-so-much-more-poignant-53267 |url-status=live}}</ref> Amato was directing the band's "The Wolves (Act I & II)" music video the day that Ledger died. "It was no longer about just making a Bon Iver music video anymore," Vernon says. "This was now our chance to be there with Matt as he grieved. It was a three-day wake." Amato told Vernon stories about Ledger that eventually became the inspiration for "Perth," the opening track to the band's second studio album ''[[Bon Iver (album)|Bon Iver, Bon Iver]]'' (2011).<ref name="rs"/>

=== Method and style ===
[[File:March 2006 cover of Rolling Stone magazine featuring Heath Ledger.png|thumb|190px|left|Ledger on the March 2006 cover of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'']]

{{quote box|bgcolor=#CCDDFF|align=right|width=25%|quote="You know when you see the preachers down South? And they grab a believer and they go, 'Bwoom! I touch you with the hand of God!' And they believe so strongly, they're on the ground shaking and spitting. And fuck's sake, that's the power of belief... Now, I don't believe in Jesus, but I believe in my performance. And if you can understand that the power of belief is one of the great tools of our time and that a lot of acting comes from it, you can do anything."|source=—Ledger, during the interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in 2006, on belief, power and acting<ref name="www.rollingstone.com" />}}
Portraying a variety of roles, from [[romantic hero]]es to [[tragic character]]s, Ledger created a hodgepodge of characters that are deliberately unlike one another, stating: "I feel like I am wasting my time if I repeat myself". He also reflected on his inability to be happy with his work, "I feel the same thing about everything I do. The day I say, 'It's good' is the day I should start doing something else."<ref name="Lyall-2007">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |title=Heath Ledger – I'm Not There - |last=Lyall |first=Sarah |date=4 November 2007 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=4 March 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510070341/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Ledger liked to wait between jobs so that he would start creatively hungry on new projects.<ref name="Nolan. Christopher 2008">{{cite magazine |first=Christopher |last=Nolan |author-link=Christopher Nolan |url=https://www.newsweek.com/charisma-natural-gravity-87331 |title=Charisma as Natural as Gravity |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |date=26 January 2008 |access-date=27 March 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327101513/https://www.newsweek.com/charisma-natural-gravity-87331 |url-status=live}}</ref> In his own words, acting was about harnessing "the infinite power of belief,"<ref name="www.rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine |last=Lipsky |first=David |date=23 March 2016 |title=Heath Ledger's Lonesome Trail |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/heath-ledgers-lonesome-trail-20130325 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=29 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329054227/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/heath-ledgers-lonesome-trail-20130325 |url-status=live}}</ref> thus using belief as a tool for creating.

Directors who have worked with the actor praised him for his creativity, seriousness, and intuition. "I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents," ''The Dark Knight'' director [[Christopher Nolan]] has written, expressing amazement over the actor's working process, genuine curiosity and charisma.<ref name="Nolan. Christopher 2008" /> [[Marc Forster]], who directed Ledger in ''Monster's Ball'', complimented him as taking the job "very seriously", being disciplined, observant, understanding, and intuitive. In 2007, director Todd Haynes compared Ledger's presence to actor [[James Dean]], casting Ledger as Robbie Clarke, a fictive personification of [[Bob Dylan]] in ''I'm Not There''. Drawing on the similar characteristics between the actors, Haynes further highlighted Ledger's "precocious seriousness" and intuition. He also felt that Ledger had a rare maturity beyond his years."<ref name="Lyall-2007" /> Ledger, however, disconnected himself and acting from perfectionism. "I'm always gonna pull myself apart and dissect [the work]. I mean, there's no such thing as perfection in what [actors] do. [[pornographic film actor|Pornos]] are more perfect than we are, because they're actually fucking."<ref name="www.rollingstone.com" />

"Some people find their shtick," Ledger reflected on the categorisation of style. "I never figured out who 'Heath Ledger' is on film: 'This is what you expect when you hire me, and it will be recognisable'... People always feel compelled to sum you up, to presume that they have you and can describe you. That's fine. But there are so many stories inside of me and a lot I want to achieve outside of one flat note."<ref name="Lyall-2007" />

=== Posthumous films and awards ===
{{further||List of accolades received by The Dark Knight}}
Ledger's death affected the marketing campaign for [[Christopher Nolan]]'s ''The Dark Knight'' (2008)<ref name=Halbfinger2 /><ref name=Halbfinger /> and also both the production and marketing of [[Terry Gilliam]]'s film ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'', with both directors intending to celebrate and pay tribute to his work in these films.<ref name=Halbfinger /><ref name=Kilpatrick /><ref name=CNNBind>{{cite news |title=Ledger's Death Puts Last Films in a Bind |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/24/ledger.films/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2008 |access-date=30 January 2008 |archive-date=3 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103094635/http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/24/ledger.films/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Carroll>{{cite news |first=Larry |last=Carroll |title='Dark Knight' Stars, Director Want Film To 'Celebrate' Heath Ledger's Work |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1583563/story.jhtml |publisher=MTV |date=18 March 2008 |access-date=27 April 2008 |archive-date=22 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322021223/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1583563/story.jhtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> Although Gilliam temporarily suspended production on the latter film,<ref name=Kilpatrick /> he expressed determination to "salvage" it, perhaps using [[computer-generated imagery]] (CGI), and dedicated it to Ledger.<ref name=Stoynoff>{{cite news |first=Natasha |last=Stoynoff |title=Show Will Go on for Heath's Last Movie, Says CoStar |url=https://people.com/celebrity/show-will-go-on-for-heaths-last-movie-says-costar/ |work=People |date=28 January 2008 |access-date=5 February 2008 |archive-date=20 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420103317/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20174404,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WENN3>{{cite news |author=WENN (World Entertainment News Network) |title=Gilliam Trying to Save Last Ledger Film |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Gilliam_Trying_to_Save_Last_Ledger_Film/5055155 |work=Hollywood.com |date=28 January 2008 |access-date=2 February 2008<!--needs replaced archive link; can't use the archive dot is service any more--> |archive-date=3 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103033355/http://www.hollywood.com/news/Gilliam_Trying_to_Save_Last_Ledger_Film/5055155 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Brady>{{cite news |first=Matt |last=Brady |title=Heath Ledger Dies |url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144093 |work=[[Newsarama]] |date=23 January 2008 |access-date=22 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411063851/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144093 |archive-date=11 April 2010}}</ref> In February 2008, as a "memorial tribute to the man many have called one of the best actors of his generation," [[Johnny Depp]], [[Jude Law]], and [[Colin Farrell]] signed on to take over Ledger's role, becoming multiple incarnations of his character, Tony, transformed in this "magical re-telling of the [[Faust]] story".<ref name=AICN>{{cite news |url=https://aintitcool.com/node/35623 |title=AICN exclusive! We Know Who's Paying Tribute To Heath Ledger in Dr. Parnassus Now! |work=[[Ain't It Cool News]] |date=15 February 2008 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008155846/http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35623 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Adler2>{{cite news |first=Shawn |last=Adler |title=Heath Ledger's Final Film To Go Forward – With Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell in His Role |publisher=MTV |url=http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=7086 |date=15 February 2008 |access-date=15 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511152754/http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=7086 |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=NYTAB>{{cite news |title=Arts Briefly: Three Actors Replace Heath Ledger |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/arts/19arts-THREEACTORSR_BRF.html |work=The New York Times |date=19 February 2008 |access-date=19 February 2008 |archive-date=17 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417100212/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/arts/19arts-THREEACTORSR_BRF.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The three actors donated their fees for the film to Ledger's and Williams's daughter.<ref name=BBCParnassus>{{cite news |title=Trio Give Fees to Ledger's Child |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7570056.stm |work=BBC News |date=19 August 2008 |access-date=20 August 2008 |archive-date=2 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202091709/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7570056.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Speaking of editing ''The Dark Knight,'' on which Ledger had completed his work in October 2007, Nolan recalled, "It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day. ... But the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish."<ref name=Carroll /> All of Ledger's scenes appear as he completed them in the filming; in editing the film, Nolan added no "digital effects" to alter Ledger's actual performance posthumously.<ref name=Brown>{{cite magazine |first=Scott |last=Brown |title=Dark Knight Director Shuns Digital Effects for the Real Thing |url=https://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-07/ff_darknight?currentPage=all |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |issue=24 June 2008 |access-date=24 June 2008 |date=23 June 2008 |archive-date=27 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627111405/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-07/ff_darknight?currentPage=all |url-status=live}}</ref> Nolan dedicated the film in part to Ledger's memory, as well as to the memory of technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed during a car accident while preparing one of the film's stunts.<ref name=Hough>{{cite news |title=Dark Knight Dedicated to Ledger |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7477095.stm |work=BBC News |date=27 June 2008 |access-date=27 June 2008 |quote=The special tribute reads: 'In memory of our friends Heath Ledger and Conway Wickliffe'. |archive-date=14 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914045853/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7477095.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Released in July 2008, ''The Dark Knight'' broke several box office records and received both popular and critical accolades, especially with regard to Ledger's performance as the Joker.<ref name=DKBOM>{{cite web |first=Brandon |last=Gray |title=News: 'Dark Knight' Begins Smashingly |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2504&p=s.htm |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |date=23 July 2008 |access-date=2 August 2008 |archive-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217124002/http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2504&p=s.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Even film critic [[David Denby (film critic)|David Denby]], who does not praise the film overall in his pre-release review in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', evaluates Ledger's work highly, describing his performance as both "sinister and frightening" and Ledger as "mesmerising in every scene", concluding: "His performance is a heroic, unsettling final act: this young actor looked into the abyss."<ref name=Denby>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/07/21/080721crci_cinema_denby |title=The Current Cinema: Past Shock: '' 'The Dark Knight' and 'WALL-E' '' |last=Denby |first=David |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |issue=21 July 2008 |access-date=17 July 2008 |pages=92–93 |quote=When Ledger wields a knife, he is thoroughly terrifying (do not, despite the [[Television content rating systems#United States|PG-13]] rating, bring the children), and, as you're watching him, you can't help wondering—in a response that admittedly lies outside film criticism—how badly he messed himself up in order to play the role this way. |author-link=David Denby (film critic) |archive-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606192304/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/07/21/080721crci_cinema_denby |url-status=live}} (Postdated)</ref> Attempting to dispel widespread speculations that Ledger's performance as the Joker had in any way led to his death (as Denby and others suggest), Ledger's co-star and friend [[Christian Bale]], who played opposite him as [[Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy)|Batman]], has stressed that, as an actor, Ledger greatly enjoyed meeting the challenges of creating that role, an experience that Ledger himself described as "the most fun I've ever had, or probably ever will have, playing a character".<ref name=Halbfinger2 /> Terry Gilliam also refuted the claims that playing the Joker made him crazy, calling it "absolute nonsense" and going on to say, "Heath was so solid. His feet were on the ground and he was the least neurotic person I've ever met."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://the-talks.com/interviews/terry-gilliam/ |title=Terry Gilliam – The Talks |work=the-talks.com |date=7 March 2012 |access-date=5 April 2017 |archive-date=23 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123205336/http://the-talks.com/interviews/terry-gilliam/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ledger received numerous awards for his Joker role in ''The Dark Knight''. On 10 November 2008, he was nominated for two [[People's Choice Awards]] related to his work on the film, "Best Ensemble Cast" and "Best Onscreen Match-Up" (shared with Christian Bale), and Ledger won an award for "Match-Up" in the ceremony aired live on CBS in January 2009.<ref name=PeoplesChoice>{{cite news |first=Jessica |last=Herndon |title=Britney Spears, Heath Ledger Get People's Choice Nods |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20239377,00.html |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=10 November 2008 |access-date=11 December 2008 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008155711/https://people.com/people/article/0,,20239377,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 11 December 2008, it was announced that Ledger had been nominated for a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] for his performance as the Joker in ''The Dark Knight''; he subsequently won the award at the [[66th Golden Globe Awards]] ceremony telecast on [[NBC]] on 11 January 2009, with ''Dark Knight'' director Christopher Nolan accepting on his behalf.<ref name=PeopleLedger /><ref name=accolades>{{cite news |url=https://latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-globesstory12-2009jan12,0,6073218.story |title=Accolades flow after Heath Ledger's 'Dark Knight' win |last=Abramowitz |first=Rachel |date=12 January 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=12 January 2009 |archive-date=18 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118210043/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-globesstory12-2009jan12,0,6073218.story |url-status=live}}</ref>

Film critics, co-stars [[Maggie Gyllenhaal]] and [[Michael Caine]] and many of Ledger's peers in the film community joined Bale in calling for and predicting a nomination for the 2008 [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] in recognition of Ledger's achievement in ''The Dark Knight''.<ref name=NHSmith>{{cite web |first=Nina Hämmerling |last=Smith |title=Movie News: Ledger's Knight Costars Call for Posthumous Oscar |url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Movie-News/Heath-Ledger-News/800044048 |work=[[TV Guide]] |date=28 July 2008 |access-date=11 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212054811/http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Movie-News/Heath-Ledger-News/800044048 |archive-date=12 December 2008}}</ref> Ledger's subsequent nomination was announced on 22 January 2009, the anniversary of his death.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/22/heath-ledger-remembered-on-first-anniversary-of-his-death/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127034033/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/22/heath-ledger-remembered-on-first-anniversary-of-his-death/ |archive-date=27 January 2009 |title=Heath Ledger Remembered on First Anniversary of His Death |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=22 January 2009 |magazine=Rolling Stone |url-status=dead |access-date=13 April 2009}}</ref>

Ledger went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the second person to win a posthumous Academy Award for acting (after fellow Australian actor [[Peter Finch]], who won for 1976's ''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]''), as well as the first comic-book movie actor to win an Oscar for their acting. Ledger's family attended the [[81st Academy Awards|ceremony]] on 22 February 2009, with his parents and sister accepting the award onstage on his behalf.<ref name="Heath Ledger Oscar">{{cite news |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/la-et-oscarledger23-2009feb23,0,5458027.story |title=For Heath Ledger, a bittersweet salute |last=Johnson |first=Reed |date=23 February 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=5 June 2013 |archive-date=7 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607051737/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/la-et-oscarledger23-2009feb23%2C0%2C5458027.story |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Posthumous>{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/slumdog-millionaire-fulfills-its-oscar-destiny-wbna29332714 |title='Slumdog Millionaire' fulfills its Oscar destiny |publisher=[[Today.com]] |agency=Associated Press |date=23 February 2009 |access-date=23 February 2009 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914220429/https://www.today.com/popculture/slumdog-millionaire-fulfills-its-oscar-destiny-wbna29332714 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following talks with the Ledger family in Australia, the academy determined that Ledger's daughter, Matilda Rose, would own the award. However, due to Matilda's age, she would not gain full ownership of the statuette until her eighteenth birthday in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pond |first=Steve |title=If Ledger Wins, Oscar Goes To Daughter |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/if-ledger-wins-oscar-goes-to-daughter/ |publisher=CBS News |access-date=7 June 2013 |date=18 February 2009 |archive-date=1 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201171400/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/if-ledger-wins-oscar-goes-to-daughter/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Her mother, Michelle Williams, would hold the statuette in trust for Matilda until that time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/100747/why-can-t-li-l-matilda-have-heath-s-potential-oscar |title=Why Can't Li'l Matilda Have Heath's (Potential) Oscar? |date=19 February 2009 |first=Leslie |last=Gornstein |publisher=E! |access-date=7 June 2013 |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103124010/http://www.eonline.com/news/100747/why-can-t-li-l-matilda-have-heath-s-potential-oscar |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 April 2017, a trailer was released for the documentary ''[[I Am Heath Ledger]]'', which was released on 3 May 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=France |first1=Lisa Respers |date=5 April 2017 |title=Heath Ledger as you've never seen him |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/05/entertainment/heath-ledger-documentary/ |publisher=CNN |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118211250/https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/05/entertainment/heath-ledger-documentary/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It features archival footage of Ledger and interviews.<ref name="Iam">{{cite magazine |last1=Lee |first1=Ashley |date=5 April 2017 |title=Heath Ledger Documentary Trailer Previews Footage Shot by Late Actor |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/heath-ledger-documentary-trailer-previews-footage-shot-by-late-actor-991323 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205105529/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/heath-ledger-documentary-trailer-previews-footage-shot-by-late-actor-991323 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:82%"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Director
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1997
| ''[[Blackrock (film)|Blackrock]]''
| Toby Ackland
| [[Steven Vidler (actor)|Steven Vidler]]
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="18" | <ref name="TCM Filmography">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/351936%7C175858/Heath-Ledger#filmography|title=Heath Ledger|website=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=June 2, 2025|archive-date=June 2, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602125853/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/351936%7C175858/Heath-Ledger#filmography|url-status=live}}</ref><br><ref name="TV Guide Credits">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/3030400602/|title=Heath Ledger List of Movies and TV Shows|website=[[TV Guide]]|access-date=June 2, 2025|archive-date=June 2, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602125857/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/heath-ledger/credits/3030400602/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Paws (film)|Paws]]''
| Oberon
| [[Karl Zwicky]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1999
| ''[[10 Things I Hate About You]]''
| Patrick Verona
| [[Gil Junger]]
|-
| ''[[Two Hands (1999 film)|Two Hands]]''
| Jimmy
| [[Gregor Jordan]]
|-
| 2000
| ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]''
| Gabriel Martin
| [[Roland Emmerich]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2001
| ''[[A Knight's Tale]]''
| William Thatcher
| [[Brian Helgeland]]
|-
| ''[[Monster's Ball]]''
| Sonny Grotowski
| [[Marc Forster]]
|-
| 2002
| ''[[The Four Feathers (2002 film)|The Four Feathers]]''
| Harry Faversham
| [[Shekhar Kapur]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
| ''[[Ned Kelly (2003 film)|Ned Kelly]]''
| [[Ned Kelly]]
| Gregor Jordan (2)
|-
| ''[[The Order (2003 film)|The Order]]''
| Alex Bernier
| Brian Helgeland (2)
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2005
| ''[[Lords of Dogtown]]''
| [[Skip Engblom]]
| [[Catherine Hardwicke]]
|-
| ''[[The Brothers Grimm (film)|The Brothers Grimm]]''
| [[Jacob Grimm]]
| [[Terry Gilliam]]
|-
| ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
| [[Ennis Del Mar]]
| [[Ang Lee]]
|-
| ''[[Casanova (2005 film)|Casanova]]''
| [[Giacomo Casanova]]
| [[Lasse Hallström]]
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Candy (2006 film)|Candy]]''
| Dan Carter
| [[Neil Armfield]]
|-
| 2007
| ''[[I'm Not There]]''
| [[Bob Dylan|Robbie Clark / Bob Dylan]]
| [[Todd Haynes]]
|-
| 2008†
| ''[[The Dark Knight]]''
| [[Joker (The Dark Knight)|The Joker]]
| [[Christopher Nolan]]
|-
| 2009†
| ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''
| Tony Shepard
| Terry Gilliam (2)
|}

=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
! class="unsortable" | Reference(s)
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Clowning Around]]''
| Orphan clown
| TV movie; debut role (uncredited)
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Ship to Shore (TV series)|Ship to Shore]]''
| Cyclist
| Seasons 1–2 (3 episodes)
| <ref name="TV Guide Credits" />
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Sweat (Australian TV series)|Sweat]]''
| Snowy Bowles
| Season 1 (26 episodes)
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| ''[[Home and Away]]''
| Scott Irwin
| Season 10 (9 episodes)
| rowspan="2" | <ref name="TV Guide Credits" />
|-
| ''[[Roar (1997 TV series)|Roar]]''
| Conor
| Season 1 (13 episodes)
|-
| 2017
| ''[[I Am Heath Ledger]]''
| Himself
| Posthumous release; archive footage
| <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/documentary-offers-intimate-glimpse-late-actor-heath-ledger/story?id=46739223|title=New documentary offers intimate glimpse at late actor Heath Ledger|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|author=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=April 12, 2017|access-date=June 2, 2025|archive-date=June 2, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602131327/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/documentary-offers-intimate-glimpse-late-actor-heath-ledger/story?id=46739223|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

=== Music videos ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Performer
! class="unsortable" | Notes
! class="unsortable" | Reference(s)
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2006
| "Cause an Effect"
| rowspan="2" | [[1200 Techniques|N'fa]]
| rowspan="3" | Also director
|
|-
| "Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)"
|
|-
| "Morning Yearning"
| [[Ben Harper]]
|
|-
| 2007
| "Black Eyed Dog"
| [[Nick Drake]]
| Also director and featuring himself
| <ref name=FraenkelPerez />
|-
| rowspan=2| 2009
| "Quicksand"
| [[Grace Woodroofe]]
| Also director
|
|-
| "[[King Rat (song)|King Rat]]"
| [[Modest Mouse]]
| Animated video; conceived by himself
| <ref name="king rat release" />
|}

== Accolades ==
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Heath Ledger}}

== See also ==
* [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest nominees 2|List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
*[[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
*[[List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories]]
* [[List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees]]
* [[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Adler, Shawn.[http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580086/20080122/story.jhtml "Heath Ledger Said He Hoped to Evolve as an Actor and Person in 2005 Interview:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625210304/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1580086/20080122/story.jhtml |date=25 June 2009 }} Late Actor Was Intelligent, Self-Aware during 'Brokeback Mountain' Chat." ''[[MTV]].com'', 22 January 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2008. (Excerpts from transcript of interview with Heath Ledger conducted by [[John Norris (reporter)|John Norris]] in 2005.)
* Arango, Tim. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/books/06esqu.html "Esquire Publishes a Diary That Isn't"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217015001/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/books/06esqu.html |date=17 December 2017 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''nytimes.com'', 6 March 2008, Books. Retrieved 25 July 2008. (Rev. of Taddeo.)
* [http://www.newsweek.com/id/105569?tid=relatedcl "Death of a Star: Unsolved Mysteries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003121406/http://www.newsweek.com/id/105569?tid=relatedcl |date=3 October 2009 }}. ''[[Newsweek]]'', 4 February 2008: 62, Newsmakers. Both [[World Wide Web|Web]] and [[Publishing|print]] versions. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080806131224/http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/07/63600/index.html The Joker vs. The Real Heath:] [[Entertainment Tonight]] Looks Back at the Career of Heath Ledger'', ''etonline.com'' ([[CBS Corporation|CBS Studios Inc.]]), July 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008. ("ET takes a look back at Heath Ledger's career amid the hugely successful launch of '[[The Dark Knight]],' which features the late actor portraying the [[Joker (character)#Live-action|Joker]]"; includes photo album.)
* McShane John. ''[[Heath Ledger: His Beautiful Life and Mysterious Death]]''. London: John Blake, 2008. {{ISBN|1-84454-633-0}} (10). {{ISBN|978-1-84454-633-6}} (13). (Excerpt listed below.)
* [http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23564492-5007191,00.html "Loves of Heath Ledger's Life"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121209042139/http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/sunday-mail/loves-of-heath-ledgers-life/story-e6frep2o-1111116105340 |date=9 December 2012 }}. ''[[The Courier-Mail]]'', ''news.com.au'', 20 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2008. (Book excerpt.)
* [[Christopher Nolan|Nolan, Christopher]]. [http://www.newsweek.com/id/105580 "Transition: Charisma as Natural as Gravity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211160904/http://www.newsweek.com/id/105580 |date=11 February 2010 }}: Heath Ledger, 28, Actor". ''[[Newsweek]]'', 4 February 2008: 9, Periscope. Both [[World Wide Web|Web]] (updated 26 January 2008) and [[Printing|print]] versions. Retrieved 5 August 2008. (Eulogy.)
* Norris, Chris. [http://nymag.com/news/features/44217/ "(Untitled Heath Ledger Project)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807072815/http://nymag.com/news/features/44217/ |date=7 August 2010 }}: In Which the Protagonist Dies Mysteriously, and the Audience Analyzes His Final Days for Clues to His Real Character". ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', ''nymag.com'', 18 February 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
* Park, Michael Y. [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20208769,00.html "Christian Bale on 'Kindred Spirit' Heath Ledger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805055638/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20208769,00.html |date=5 August 2008 }}. [[World Wide Web|Web]]. ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', 25 June 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008. (See Wolf below.)
* Robb, Brian J. ''Heath Ledger: Hollywood's Dark Star''. London: Plexus Publishing Ltd, 2008. {{ISBN|0-85965-427-3}} (10). {{ISBN|978-0-85965-427-2}} (13).
* [[A. O. Scott|Scott, A. O.]] [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/movies/24appr.html "An Appraisal: Prince of Intensity with a Lightness of Touch"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401003218/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/movies/24appr.html |date=1 April 2017 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''nytimes.com'', 24 January 2008, Movies. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
* [[Kevin Sessums|Sessums, Kevin]], with photographs by [[Bruce Weber (photographer)|Bruce Weber]]. [http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008 "We're Having a Heath Wave"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121024425/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/08/heath200008 |date=21 January 2015 }}. ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', August 2000, ''vanityfair.com'', August 2008. [[World Wide Web|Web]]. (4 pages.) Accessed 21 April 2008. (Interview with Heath Ledger; illustrations in "Perth Album", by Bruce Weber.)
* [[Lisa Taddeo|Taddeo, Lisa]]. [http://www.esquire.com/features/heath-ledger-last-days "The Last Days of Heath Ledger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415013143/http://www.esquire.com/features/heath-ledger-last-days |date=15 April 2009 }}. ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' (April 2008), ''esquire.com'', 5 March 2008. (Updated 21 July 2008.) Accessed 25 July 2008. (Fictional account; cf. rev. by Arango.)
* [[Peter Travers|Travers, Peter]].[https://web.archive.org/web/20080127124302/http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/01/sundance-shock.php "Sundance: Shock"]. ''The Travers Take: News and Reviews from Rolling Stone's Movie Critic'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' (Blog), ''rollingstone.com'', 22 January 2008. Includes hyperlinked feature: ''[https://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/02/video-review-pass-on-hannah-mo.php Video Review: A Look at Heath Ledger's Best Performances] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128215039/http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/02/video-review-pass-on-hannah-mo.php |date=28 January 2010 }}'' (video by Jennifer Hsu, with audio commentary provided by Travers), 1 February 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
* Wolf, Jeanne. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080731220812/http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_06-29-2008/1BATMAN "Christian Bale: 'Life Should Never Be Boring'&nbsp;"]. ''[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]'', 29 June 2008: 8–9. Both [[World Wide Web|Web]] and [[Printing|print]] formats. Retrieved 3 August 2008. (See Park above.)
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0005132}}
* {{TCMDb name|351936%7C175858|Heath Ledger}}

{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Heath Ledger|Awards for Heath Ledger]]
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActor 2001–2020}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor 1985–2009}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestSuppActorMotionPicture 2001–2020}}
{{Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss}}
{{MTV Movie Award for Best Villain}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor}}
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{ScreenActorsGuildAward MaleSupportMotionPicture 2001–2020}}
{{St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor}}
{{St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{TFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Australia|Movies}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledger, Heath}}
[[Category:Heath Ledger| ]]
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Australian male film actors]]
[[Category:Australian male television actors]]
[[Category:Australian music video directors]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]
[[Category:Australian people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Australian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:Drug-related deaths in New York City]]
[[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Male actors from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Male actors from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Method actors]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners]]
[[Category:People educated at Guildford Grammar School]]
[[Category:People from Boerum Hill, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:People from SoHo, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants]]