Heath Ledger

The big Hollywood story saw the untimely death of one of the best Australian young actors today. Heath Ledger was found dead lying on his bed after a massive cardiac arrest. He left an ex-fiance and a daughter as well as his millions of fans who have seen him grows from a teeny-bopper actor until he took more mature roles. Let us take a short look-back on his colorful career.Born in Perth, Australia in April 4, 1979, his first acting stint came in a TV series called Sweat in 1996 where he played a gay cyclist. His first major crack in Hollywood came after he landed a role in a teen movie called Ten Thing I Hate About You. His bad-boy role with a good heart starring opposite Julia Stiles has endeared him to his increasing fan base today. He then starred in the Patriot with Mel Gibson earning him acclaim as he develops the label as the emerging young actor of this decade. Since the Patriot, he took a leading role in a Knight's Tale, The Order, and The Brothers' Grimm - all films that will define his screen roles in the future as an action or suspense protagonist. However, he was not an actor who likes being classified to a certain niche.His career will be further redefined when he played the character of Ennis Del Mar in the highly controversial movie, The Brokeback Mountain. This movie portrays two cowboys in a Wyoming ranch that fell in love. The movie was the first screen work that highlighted same-sex relationship in a way that crossed over to the mainstream, drawing different opinions. The movie earned the best picture in the British Academy awards and the Golden Globe awards. He also received his first and only nomination in the Academy Awards, prompting many Australians to acknowledge him as one of the greatest young Australian actors.His latest work is Batman: The Dark Knight where he played as Joker, a villain with a karmic twist. However, his death has halted the post-production work of the movie along with The Imaginarium of Docto r Parnassus.It is hard to imagine how such a promising star has his career halted by these events. We will never know how great he can become in his profession if he continued on, but the fundamentals as a great actor of this generation is at place. Best wishes to Heath and his family.

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