10 THINGS WE LOVED ABOUT HEATH LEDGER
A decade on, we remember a star lost too soon
This week marks 10 years since the tragic passing of Aussie actor Heath Ledger. For the anniversary on Monday, tune into Three’s documentary IamHeath
Ledger, which takes an intimate look at the life of the Hollywood legend.
1He was a man of many talents! As well as acting, he could also fly airplanes and play the didgeridoo. 2He got the part in 10 ThingsIHateAboutYou
because he was living with filmmaker Matt Amato, who was sick of having an unemployed roommate and thought he could get Heath a small part in his friend’s film. 3In getting the coveted part of Patrick Verona in 10Things, he beat out heart-throbs Ashton Kutcher and Josh Hartnett, even though it was his first US film. 4For his role as the Joker in TheDarkKnight, Heath designed the make-up himself using cosmetics from a chemist. He believed that since the Joker would have applied his own make-up, so should he. 5The move paid off because Heath became the only actor to win an Oscar for a Batman film. 6After becoming famous, he always remembered family and friends, often flying them from Perth to attend his movies premieres in LA.
7In 2005, Heath starred in the groundbreaking film Brokeback Mountain – about a romance between two cowboys – which won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. 8Before the Hemsworths, there was Heath. He was one of Australia’s biggest success stories when his career skyrocketed in the late ‘90s. 9Heath loved the outdoors, as well as surfing, rollerblading, skateboarding and motorsport. He gave up race-car driving for acting. 10Although he broke up with Michelle Williams, his family and friends always spoke of how he was a doting dad to their daughter Matilda.