Heath Ledger (1979 - 2008)

I awoke to the sad news this morning that Heath Ledger had been found dead in his Manhattan loft apartment, apparently from an overdose of sleeping pills. Whether this was deliberate or not, and for the record I don't buy the suicide angle, the fact remains that Ledger was one of the most talented actors of his generation, and had only just begun to make his very impressive mark in cinematic history.

Born in Australia in 1979, Ledger paid his dues in a variety of television roles before coming to prominence in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.

Roles followed in well chosen movies such as A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, Monster's Ball and The Brothers Grimm, but Ledger went truly stratospheric following his portrayal of gay cowboy Ennis del Mar in Ang Lee's powerful drama Brokeback Mountain, based on the short story by Annie Proulx.

He received a well deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but ultimately lost out to Phillip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote in Capote.

Ledger's final completed role was that of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman : The Dark Knight, a performance that would have been sure to cement his reputation as one of the finest actors around, and one that will hopefully serve as a dignified and quality finale for his too-short career.

Heath Ledger (1979 - 2008) R.I.P.