Hollywood's Fearless Actor
Up Close and Personal with one of today's hottest talent, Heath Ledger!
by Jan

"There are so many curious stories out there, and so many walks of life, that it's our duty as storytellers to represent the diversity of viewpoints on the planet. For me, acting is a form of expression....I discover this curiosity about human nature and how people work. I love what I do - the time between "Action" and "Cut" is precious."

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Compelling words from ruggedly handsome Australian actor Heath Ledger on what it means to him to be an actor. He has said that when choosing acting roles he tries not to be consistent or to repeat himself. What feeds his passion as an actor the most is finding scripts and acting roles that touch or affect him personally. He has been in several mainstream films, but has also shown a strong interest in art house and independent films.

Speaking about independent films in an interview, Heath said ‘‘I think you’re generally granted more freedom and I prefer to see the outcomes of films that have lower budgets because you’re forced into using your imagination." Wise beyond his years, intelligent, and possessed of award-winning acting skills, this gifted actor is set to become one of the leading men of his generation.

Introducing Heath: In his native Australia, Heath took an interest in acting at the age of 10 when he started in theatre as the lead in a production of Peter Pan. Acting was his calling and he left home at the age of 16 to pursue this dream. Early in his career, he obtained a series of TV roles, including his 1997 breakthrough television role in the mediaeval fantasy, Roar. This gave Heath the experience he needed to embark on a career in film.

Early Film Work: Heath’s breakout role in film came in 1999 in the romantic teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, a remake of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew. This film also showcased Heath’s singing talents—in fact he was told by the director to downplay his singing in the movie because it was too good! The exposure he received from this film, along with his marketable good looks, meant that he was soon being touted as the next Hollywood teen heartthrob. Although he was offered many teen scripts, he deliberately chose a different career path in order to escape the heartthrob image. His desire to become a more substantial actor led him to take on more serious and challenging film roles.

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Heath was fortunate enough to find work alongside fellow Australian actor and mentor Mel Gibson in The Patriot (2000). In this film, Heath portrayed Gibson’s son, a boy who wants to fight in the American Revolution although this is against his father’s wishes. It was said the producers and directors specifically chose Heath to play this role because they felt strongly that he possessed "exuberant youth."

In the 2001 blockbuster medieval romantic comedy A Knight’s Tale, Heath portrayed a peasant squire who decides to pose as a knight in order to enter jousting competitions. After this film, Heath was concerned that his image was becoming too commercialized and said he was feeling more and more like a product. He made a conscious decision at this time to take control of his career and the roles he chose. In an interview, Heath said:

"I just wanted to protect my career, and felt it was more or less the time I decided to take my career into my own hands."

Movie audiences soon got the chance to witness Heath’s dramatic acting abilities in the Academy Award-winning independent film, Monster's Ball. In this small but pivotal role Heath portrayed the sensitive and unloved son of a racist prison guard father played by Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton. Heath’s versatility and credibility as an actor was established, and this specific role would play a part in him obtaining some of his most memorable future film roles.

Critical Acclaim: After Monster’s Ball, Heath appeared in several other films, including Four Feathers, Ned Kelly, The Order and Lords of Dogtown.

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Then came The Brothers Grimm in which Heath worked alongside critically acclaimed actor Matt Damon. In this folklore adventure film, they portrayed traveling siblings and con artists who mislead villagers with phony magic. Director Terry Gilliam said Heath was one of the greatest and most dedicated actors that he had ever worked with. Heath credits Gilliam with influencing his desire to evolve as an actor, and to take on more challenging and interesting roles than he had ever tackled before.

Heath received critical acclaim as well as an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for his powerful performance in the 2005 award-winning film, Brokeback Mountain. A film critic said, "Ledger’s performance is one for the history books."

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Following this, he played the world's greatest seducer of women in Lasse Hallstrom's romantic comedy Casanova. One reviewer said that Heath’s portrayal of Casanova was more likeable than the man who emerged from the original memoirs.

In the 2006 Australian independent film Candy, loosely based on the real life experiences of Australian poet and novelist Luke Davies, Heath gives a powerful and moving performance as a poet who falls deeply in love with a woman named Candy. They are bound by their addiction to each other and to heroin. Heath said it felt liberating to be able to use his own accent in this film. One reviewer said:

"Ledger gives a ferociously raw and poignant performance, in this skillful, stunning film that explores the very depths and power of addiction."

Upcoming Film Work: In the highly anticipated 2007 Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Heath portrays one of six distinct characters who embody different aspects of the musician’s life, work, and personality. In 2008, Heath will appear in the much anticipated Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, portraying the dark and sinister villain The Joker.

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Causes Heath Supports: Heath supports many environmental and social causes and issues, and is active in several that are important to him such as ONE.org, the Campaign To Make Poverty History. ONE’s mission is to rally Americans to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. He also supports many different charities for children and the physically challenged.

Final Words: Heath’s newest venture is the launch of his own record label with friend and musician Ben Harper, whom he also recently directed in a music video. Matt Damon has been quoted as saying that he thinks Heath would be a great movie director, and that he would jump at the chance to act in one of Heath’s movies.

Heath has said that he likes to take on projects that he fears, and likes to set up obstacles and defeat them. He also likes to take roles in movies that aren’t financial sure bets. Heath’s view on life: "I'm not good at future planning. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future."

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Profile of Heath Ledger written by Jan, exclusively for the Movie-Fanatic. Photos of Heath Ledger, courtesy of Heath Heathens. Certain photos are copyrighted by film production companies, All Rights Reserved.

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Comments (6)

\'Heath, Hard To Pin Down\'

Newly released today NY Times article on Heath during his promotion for his latest upcoming film, I'm Not There.

Here are a few excerpts, its a great read. Link of full article below:

I feel like Im wasting time if I repeat myself, he explained. Nor is he ever happy with his performance, exactly. I cant say I was proud of my work, Mr. Ledger declared of his latest role, in Im Not There (Nov. 21), Todd Hayness strange, audacious new film, which attempts to get to the heart of Bob Dylan by dancing around him. I feel the same way about everything I do. The day I say, Its good is the day I should start doing something else.

Todd Haynes say's....Dylan was completely inspired by James Dean, and Heath has a little bit of James Dean in him, even physically, a kind of precocious seriousness, Mr. Haynes went on. As adult actors seem more and more infantile and refusing to grow up, middle-aged guys with their baseball caps, Heath is one of those young people who have a real intuition, a maturity beyond their years.

Among his next projects are a film directed by Terry Gilliam, and another by Terrence Malick. Mr. Ledger is learning to play the piano and to sing. He also directs music videos, has a small independent record label called Masses Music in Los Angeles and is planning to direct a film at the end of next year.

Source: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Jan , November 04, 2007

Awesome Heath!

Jan, thanks again for this great find! Now that we have Heath in our spotlight series, its definitely time for us to put in all the news! There is so much excitement in his 2 new films, plus the much awaited Dark Knight, of course! I received some scans of him as Joker and will post it soon!

Jed , November 04, 2007

Time to update your Heath pages

Tragically, the best is no longer yet to come; time to update your Heath Ledger pages.

The site's looking great.

Cheers,
Melty_Girl

Melty_Girl , March 03, 2008 | url

...

i luv heath ledger he is such a great actor i feel so bad that he died i and everyone miss him so much

katelyn , August 16, 2008

Heath.

Heath, you beautiful, beautiful creature.

You're missed.

Haley , August 22, 2008

Heath

Oh~! He is a great actor.I just watched his last movie.'The batman' I felt very sad because of his death.
He will alive in my heart!

Edward , October 02, 2008 | url

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