Pursuing the same dream as his elder sister, Heath Ledger had his first taste of a professional acting career on Australian tv series in the early nineties. After making his feature film debut in Blackrock, Ledger decided to further his career by moving to the United States in the late nineties. After successfully landing a lead role in ’10 Things I Hate About You’, recognition of Ledger’s acting prowess increased ten fold and the actor found himself gaining both lead and supporting roles in films such as Lords of Dogtown, A Knight’s Tale and The Brothers Grimm in the early 2000s.
Awards would soon follow throughout his film career, one being a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor and at age 26 Heath Ledger became the youngest nominee for an Oscar. Ledger’s fame and versatile acting style would achieve even greater recognition in the Australian film, Candy, an adaptation of the 90s drama story ‘Candy: A novel of Love and Addition’. Playing the role of a heroin addict, Ledger would go on to receive three more best actor awards, including the Films Critics Circle of Australia Awards. Heath Ledgers last performance, would be the enigmatic villain, The Joker from The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan in 2008. He ultimately won Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of such an iconic character.
A talented actor, Heath Ledger also aspired to become a film director and produced several music videos with singer Ben Harper as well as working with screen writer Allan Scott on an film adaptation of Walter Tevis’s novel, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.
Check out his full story in the Web-Doco above!
Discover more about Heath Ledger and other style icons in Fashion Industry Broadcast’s Style Icons Vol. 5 “Idols” available now on Amazon and at all good book stores.
Written by Kaily Smith
Film by Medo Rashed
