He is one of the most missed actors in Hollywood. In 2008, Heath Ledger passed away prematurely at the age of only 28, leaving the world of cinema in shock. Thirteen years after the death of the actor, the life of the latter still has some secrets. We reveal some of them in our article.
The romantic origins of his first name
If today the first name of the actor is known worldwide, few people know the meaning. Heathcliff Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 in Perth, Australia, and both his parents, Kim and Sally, did not choose this name at random. Indeed, the couple is a big fan of the novel The Heights of Hurlevent by Emily Brontë. It is in this honor that the actor and his sister bear the names of Heathcliff and Catherine, the two central characters of the novel. In time, however, he decided to use only the shortened and more modern version of his first name: Heath.
The actor turned down "Spiderman" and "Alexander"
Heath Ledger has always said he has had very little interest in celebrity. Although he quickly attracted the attention of the celebrity press, following his relationship with Naomi Watts or Heather Graham, he did not pay attention to what was said about him. The man focuses on his career. In particular, he looks for roles that allow him to challenge himself, which leads him to refuse several times those he considers too "commercial". Thus, in his career he has, among others, refused the role of Alexander in the eponymous film by Oliver Stone but also that of Peter Parker in the first saga Spiderman (2002). A risky choice when you know the success of both films for their star actors. But Heath Ledger was also that, a free electron, perpetually seeking to surprise and arrive where no one expected him! This is what he will do in particular by interpreting Skip Engblom, in the biopic The Lord Of Dogtown (2005).
The Lady's Game: his aborted project…
Heath Ledger has been a big fan of chess since he was a young age and even won the Western Australian Junior Championship at the age of 10. A passion that will push the actor to want to adapt a now famous novel: The Lady Game by Walter Tevis. This time, the actor wants to be behind the camera, as a director, and already has a name in mind to embody the character of Beth Harmon: Elliot Page (Juno). In 2008, Heath Ledger focused on a script of the adaptation written, already at the time, by Allan Schiah. In an interview for The Independent in March 2008, two months after the death of the actor, the screenwriter had confided in their aborted collaboration. While Heath Ledger competes with Bernardo Bertolucci and Micheal Apted to recover the script, it is he who gets the favors of Allan Schiah who said:
"Of the three, I mostly wanted to work with Heath. He was passionate about this project. He was an intense and interesting young man, who immediately attracted me. We kept talking about the film on the phone, and then we ended up meeting at the end of the year (2007)."
An obvious chemistry between the two men was born and, as the actor's remarks progressed, the screenwriter re-adapted the script. The project was almost complete. But, suddenly, the death of Heath Ledger stopped everything. Allan Schiah confided:
"It even got to the point where he sent the script to Ellen (now Elliot). Heath had plenty of ideas for the rest of the cast, he had made a list of his actor friends. We thought we would shoot the film at the end of 2008."
After the death of the actor, he will look for a long time for a new director at the height of this project.Of Ledger, Allan Schiah said:
"The world of cinema has lost a great talent, I am convinced that he would have been a great director."
It is only in 2019 that Scott Franck will take over the work of Allan Schiah and adapt it for the world-famous series The Lady's Game on Netflix.
The Joker: ascent or descent into hell?
If many fans will forever be convinced of having been deprived of the immensity of the actor's talent following his death, he had still proved the extent of it during his lifetime. With his cult interpretation of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger had entered the big league. If he receives posthumously 3 awards namely the Oscar, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA for best actor in a supporting role in 2008, it is actually dozens of awards that he will receive for his performance. Indeed, on his Wikipedia page, there are more than fifty awards given to the actor, just for this role. If he had been rewarded for his performance in The Secret of Brokeback Mountain (2005), it is with the role of the Joker that Heath Ledger puts the world of cinema in agreement. It must be said that he had sacrificed a lot to get into the skin of Batman's legendary enemy. Indeed, the actor had isolated himself for whole days to work on the psychology and behavior of his character. As a result, he had withdrawn into himself, increasing, according to his relatives, his chronic sleep problems. The actor now slept only two to three hours a night and was taking more and more medication to remedy this. While many see his death by overdose as distress in the face of long-known problems, others will talk about Batman's curse, caused by deaths that have occurred over the years during the various productions.
His daughter's godfather: a famous actor
Upon his death, Heath Ledger left behind a baby girl born from the relationship with Michelle Williams (his co-star in the film Brokeback Mountain named Mathilda. The little girl was only three years old when her father died. In her misfortune, she has always been able to count on her famous godfather: Jake Gyllenhaal. The latter was very close to the couple. Since they met on the set of Ang Lee's film, Heath Ledger has asked his on-screen partner to become his daughter's godfather. An honor that the actor of La Rage au ventre immediately accepted. Very affected by the death of his friend, Jake Gyllenhaal, will remain very close to Matilda and his ex-companion Michelle Williams.
The report " I Am Heath Ledger "
Like many respected artists who left too soon, the legend Heath Ledger fascinated the greatest. Thus, in 2017, Derik Murray and Adrian Buitenhuis decided to make a documentary entitled I Am Heath Ledger retracing the life of the actor. It includes the testimonies of his family but also of his childhood friends and his former partners on screen. In this film, actress Naomi Watts looks back on her relationship with Ledger in the early 2000s. We also see Ang Lee recalling their collaboration on Brokeback Mountain and the trust that reigned between the two men. His friends tell the story of a cheerful and creative Heath Ledger , always walking around with a camera and several cameras. The documentary also reveals a lot of images filmed by the actor and which highlight a very artistic facet of the young man. Singer Bon Iver also reveals that he wrote and created his song " Perth " as a tribute to the actor. Heath Ledger, the star who died far too soon, will remain a legend of cinema. As a tribute to the actor, (re)discover his incredible performance in Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight: https://youtu.be/xGcfBRkJSWQ
