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Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger died in his Manhattan apartment on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 January, he was 28.

He was discovered by his house-keeper, and although it's possible that prescribed medication may have been involved, police have not confirmed such speculation and have stated that, in any event, foul play is not suspected.

Born 4 April 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, Ledger's first success as an actor came in the TV series Sweat. His stock grew with the teen hit movie 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999, but Ledger was always looking to avoid trading simply on his looks or heartthrob appeal.

He received an Academy Award nomination for his turn in Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and recently completed filming the role of The Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman sequel The Dark Knight (scheduled for release in July).

Ledger was previously engaged to Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams, but the pair split a few months ago. They have a two and half year old daughter called Matilda Rose.

Ledger's parents have released the following statement:

"We, Heath's family, confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda, who was found in a peaceful sleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30pm [New York Time].

"We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their kind wishes at this time.

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life, but few had the pleasure to truly know him. He was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and unselfish individual who was an extreme inspiration to many.

"Please now respect our family's need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately."



News | What members say | Filmography

Heath Ledger - news / articles


  • Williams keeps hair short in memory of Ledger - 2 November 2011
    -Actress Michelle Williams prefers to wear her hair short as a "memorial" to her late ex-fiance Heath Ledger.-The Brokeback Mountain star has become famous for her distinctive pixie cut, and although her six-year-old daughter with Ledger is not a fan of mum's hair, sh


  • Garfield looking to Ledger for Spider-Man role - 26 November 2010
    -Andrew Garfield is drawing on his late pal Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight for his own comic-book movie debut in Spider-Man.- -The pair worked together on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus before Ledger's untimely death in 2008, and Garfi


  • Crowe to replace Ledger in new movie - 7 August 2010
    -Russell Crowe will take the place of late actor Heath Ledger in upcoming Australian film Dirt Music.- -The tragic star, who passed away in 2008, had originally signed up to star in the film adaptation of Tim Winton's novel alongside Rachel Weisz, but he later quit th

Heath Ledger - what members say


  • 10 Things I Hate About You
  • 10 Things I Hate About You review by from Oxfordshire, England
    Rated - 4.0 stars American Pie - with Heath Ledger 24 July 2006
    ...h school kids and their romances. Super performance from a young 20 year old Heath Ledger. If you like American Pie, this film is for you, it even has the same opening s...   Read customer review
  • Two Hands
  • Two Hands review by from Renfrewshire
    Rated - 5.0 stars Sex on Aussie Legs 31 October 2004
    ...Excellent movie. Follows the lives of a hunk (Heath Ledger) who gets involved with the local gang boss. The series of events are followed from the viewpoint of each of the ...   Read customer review
  • The Patriot
  • The Patriot review by gianino from
    Rated - 2.0 stars Bit dreadful 23 July 2012
    ... long, not sure if it was accurate at all, average acting and kinda od painful. Heath Ledger RIP...   Read customer review

Heath Ledger - filmography


  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on DVD (2009)
    Starring: Heath Ledger,  Johnny Depp,  Colin Farrell
    Director: Terry Gilliam
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Fantasy adventure directed by Terry Gilliam. Christopher Plummer stars as Dr Parnassus, leader of the extraordinary Imaginarium: a travelling theatre where members of the audience are given the irresistible opportunity to go beyond reality by means of a magical mirror and explore the limitless ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 34,808 members
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  • Heath Ledger - A Tribute on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Heath Ledger
    Certificate: Certificate: Ex
    A tribute to the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died at the age of 28 following an accidental drugs overdose in early 2008.
    3 stars out of 5 63% from 115 members
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  • The Dark Knight on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Christian Bale,  Heath Ledger,  Maggie Gyllenhaal
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.
    4 stars out of 5 80% from 110,972 members
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  • The Dark Knight - Blu-ray (2008)
    Starring: Morgan Freeman,  Aaron Eckhart,  Michael Caine
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Director Christopher Nolan's sequel to his own 'Batman Begins' sees Gotham's avenging angel squaring-up to a new kid on the block - psychotic prankster, the Joker (Heath Ledger, in the role that won him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). In the space of a year, Batman (Christian Bale), ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 84% from 24,552 members
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  • Candy on DVD (2006)
    Starring: Heath Ledger,  Abbie Cornish,  Geoffrey Rush
    Director: Neil Armfield
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    A poet (Ledger) falls in love with an art student (Cornish) who gravitates to his bohemian lifestyle -- and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship alternates between states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 6,634 members
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  • Candy - Blu-ray (2006)
    Starring: Tom Budge,  Tony Martin,  Roberto Meza-Mont
    Director: Neil Armfield
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Gritty Australian drama starring Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush. A poet, Dan (Ledger), falls in love with art student Candy (Cornish), who gravitates towards his bohemian lifestyle - and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 302 members
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  • Brokeback Mountain - Blu-ray (2005)
    Starring: Randy Quaid,  Michelle Williams,  Anne Hathaway
    Director: Ang Lee
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Drama from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film tells the story of two young men - a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy - who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 2,452 members
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  • The Brothers Grimm - Blu-ray (2005)
    Starring: Matt Damon,  Heath Ledger,  Lena Headey
    Director: Terry Gilliam
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Terry Gilliam's adventure starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Will (Damon) and Jake (Ledger) Grimm dazzle small towns with their imaginative folklore and elaborate illusions, but when the brothers journey into a real enchanted forest to help a village rid itself of an evil witch, they encounter ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 2,764 members
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  • Brokeback Mountain on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Scott Michael Campbell,  Randy Quaid,  Linda Cardellini
    Director: Ang Lee
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Drama from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film tells the story of two young men - a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy - who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 77,068 members
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  • The Brothers Grimm on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Matt Damon,  Heath Ledger,  Lena Headey
    Director: Terry Gilliam
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Terry Gilliam's adventure starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Will (Damon) and Jake (Ledger) Grimm dazzle small towns with their imaginative folklore and elaborate illusions, but when the brothers journey into a real enchanted forest to help a village rid itself of an evil witch, they encounter ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 56% from 48,403 members
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  • Casanova on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Jeremy Irons,  Lena Olin,  Stephen Greif
    Director: Lasse Hallstrom
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    He was the world's most notorious seducer. A swashbuckler, master of disguise and wit - it was said no woman could resist Casanova's amorous charms. Until now. For the first time in his life, the legendary Casanova (Heath Ledger) is about to meet his match with an alluring Venecian beauty, ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 58% from 25,669 members
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  • Lords Of Dogtown (2004)
    Starring: Victor Rasuk,  Johnny Knoxville,  Rebecca De Mornay
    Director: Catherine Hardwicke
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Drama set in the 1970s where a group of teenage surfers from a tough neighbourhood known as 'Dogtown' in Venice, California pioneer a revolutionary new style of skateboarding. Riding the waves at the Pacific Ocean Park pier, the Z-Boyz, known for their aggressive style and hard street attitude, ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 6,735 members
    Currently unavailable
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  • Ned Kelly - Blu-ray (2003)
    Starring: Heath Ledger,  Orlando Bloom,  Naomi Watts
    Director: Gregor Jordan
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia is still largely untamed. The former penal colony's first-generation Irish immigrant population lives in poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned Kelly is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 64% from 25 members
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  • The Sin Eater on DVD (2003)
    Starring: Benno Furmann,  Peter Weller,  Mark Addy
    Director: Brian Helgeland
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Father Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger), a renegade priest, is sent to Rome to investigate the death of one of the Order's most revered members. When the body was found, it was covered with archaic religious symbols. Once at the Vatican, Bernier learns of a sect that may be responsible for many more ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 51% from 8,341 members
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  • Ned Kelly on DVD (2003)
    Starring: Orlando Bloom,  Joel Egerton,  Naomi Watts
    Director: Gregor Jordan
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia is still largely untamed. The former penal colony's first-generation Irish immigrant population lives in poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned Kelly is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 57% from 9,895 members
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  • The Four Feathers on DVD (2002)
    Starring: Wes Bentley,  Campbell Brown,  Mohamed Bouich
    Director: Shekhar Kapur
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger), a British officer, resigns his commission on the eve of a battle in the Sudan. He is given four white feathers by his friends and fiancee (Kate Hudson) as a symbol of cowardice. Determined to win back his honour, Feversham exposes himself to hardship while disguised ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 3,518 members
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  • A Knight's Tale on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Shannyn Sossam,  Heath Ledger,  Mark Addy
    Director: Brian Helgeland
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," this is the story of William , a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 70% from 17,627 members
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  • Monster's Ball on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Peter Boyle,  Sean Combs,  Halle Berry
    Director: Marc Forster
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Deep South drama starring Halle Berry in an Oscar-winning performance as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of a man recently executed on Death Row. When she is fired from her job, Leticia starts working at the local diner, where she meets Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a former prison warden whose ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 13,485 members
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  • The Patriot on DVD (2000)
    Starring: Joely Richardson,  Rene Auberjonois,  Jason Isaacs
    Director: Roland Emmerich
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Benjamin Martin is a reluctant hero who is swept into the American Revolution when the war reaches his home and threatens his family. A hero of the fierce French and Indian conflict, Martin had renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. But when the British arrive at his South ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 64% from 11,568 members
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  • 10 Things I Hate About You on DVD (1999)
    Starring: Larisa Oleynik,  Julia Stiles,  David Krumholtz
    Director: Gil Junger
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    On his first day at his new school Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls head over heels for the gorgeous Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). However, he has a slight problem: Bianca is not allowed to start dating until her grumpy older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) has a boyfriend too. Cameron decides to act as ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 71% from 14,485 members
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  • Two Hands (1999)
    Starring: Susie Porter,  Bryan Brown,  Tom Long
    Director: Gregor Jordan
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    In his wonderfully inventive and decidedly Australian debut feature, Gregor Jordan returns to Sundance (his short, Swinger, played in 1996) with a film that is fresh, funny, and an unqualified delight. With its sophisticated meshing of gangster, horror, and deadpan comedy genres (in the director's ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 1,654 member
    Currently unavailable
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  • A Knight's Tale - Blu-ray
    Starring: Heath Ledger,  Mark Addy,  Paul Bettany
    Director: Brian Helgeland
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    In the Middle Ages, before television or professional sports, there's only one form of competition to separate the men from the boys--jousting tournaments. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), a poor and humble squire, has always dreamed of proving himself worthy as a knight in a jousting match. When ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 71% from 2,672 members
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Heath Ledger facts

5 most recent films

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - 3.0 stars
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
Heath Ledger - A Tribute - 3.0 stars
The Dark Knight - 4.0 stars
The Dark Knight - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

The Dark Knight - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars
The Dark Knight - 4.0 stars
10 Things I Hate About You - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars
A Knight's Tale - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars
10 Things I Hate About You - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Ned Kelly - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
Blackrock - 2.0 stars
The Sin Eater - 2.5 stars
The Brothers Grimm - 3.0 stars
Ned Kelly - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Geoffrey Rush - 5 times - show films
Mark Addy - 4 times - show films
Shannyn Sossamon - 4 times - show films
Julia Stiles - 3 times - show films
Chris Cooper - 3 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Terry Gilliam - 7 times - show films
Christopher Nolan - 7 times - show films
Brian Helgeland - 4 times - show films
Neil Armfield - 3 times - show films
Roland Emmerich - 3 times - show films