professor’s bday

R.I.P. Heath Ledger

Heath Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008) was an Academy Award-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe-, and SAG Award-nominated Australian film and television actor. After appearing in television roles during the 1990s, Ledger developed a movie career, appearing in nearly 20 films. He starred in both critical and box-office successes, including 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, Monster’s Ball, A Knight’s Tale, Brokeback Mountain, and The Dark Knight. For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger won the 2005 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the 2006 “Best Actor” award from the Australian Film Institute and was nominated for the 2005 Oscar for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” and the 2006 “Best Actor” award from the BAFTA, as well as won an MTV Movie Award with Jake Gyllenhaal, for their “best kiss” in the film.

He played the Joker in the movie The Dark Knight, shortly before his death on January 22, 2008, from an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28. His final film performance, uncompleted at the time of his death, is the role of Tony in Terry Gilliam’s forthcoming film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Posthumously, on February 23, 2008, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director of the film I’m Not There, in which he portrayed a character named “Robbie Clark”, based on a stage in the life of Bob Dylan.

In addition to his work as an actor and as a producer and director of music videos, he also aspired to be a film director.

Numerous actors have made statements expressing their sorrow at Ledger’s death, including Daniel Day-Lewis who dedicated his Screen Actors Guild Award to Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger’s acting; Day-Lewis praised Ledger’s performances in Monster’s Ball and Brokeback Mountain, describing the latter as “unique, perfect.”

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