Remembering Heath Ledger, The Iconic Joker Actor

Heath Ledger. (Foto: Twitter @WINCHESTR)

JAKARTA - On April 4, 1979, actor Heath Ledger was born in the world. Heath Ledger is a talented actor who is very iconic.

He was raised by a mother named Sally Ledger Bell, who is a French teacher, and father named Kim Ledger, a car racer and mining specialist.

Heath Ledger and sister Kate have names inspired by the two main characters in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Heath Ledger also has two half brothers namely Ashleigh Bell and Olivia Ledger.

The two stepbrothers were born in the marriage of their parents. But Heath's closest relationship was with Kate, who was also the most supportive of his acting career.

Heath Ledger felt that he could bring out his emotions through acting and choreography. During his school days, Heath Ledger kept trying so that he always got roles in dramas. From there, he finally tried the big screen in the film 'Clowning Around' and then appeared in the TV series Ship To Shore.

At the age of 16, Heath Ledger completed his graduation exam and traveled cross-country from his home, in Perth, Australia, to Sydney to pursue an acting career with his longtime friend, Trevor DiCarlo.

After various minor television roles, Heath Ledger finally made his film debut in 1997, with the film Blackrock. For his role in the film, he is again trusted to play on the big screen as the main role in the fantasy series Roar. The series was nominated for multiple awards and exposed Heath Ledger to audiences in the United States.

Career in Hollywood

Launching Biography on Saturday 4 April, it was stated that Heath Ledger was truly famous in the eyes of an international audience with his outstanding role with Julia Stiles in the film 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999. This film was very successful and loved by young people in those days.

Despite his young age and relatively inexperience, he was able to beat the Hollywood elite for leading roles in well-known films. Mel Gibson gave him the role of his son, Gabriel Martin in The Patriot (2000).

Heath Ledger's talent is put to the test in Monster's Ball (2000). Meanwhile, the experimental film A Knight's Tale (2001) shows Ledger's ability as a true actor.

His exposure in these films, coupled with his growing reputation as a Hollywood playboy, led People magazine to call Ledger one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2001.

His Iconic Role as the Joker

Although at first many opposed Heath Ledger to portray the Joker in The Dark Knight, in the end he won praise from critics and audiences alike.

This is not a playful feat because previously, the legendary comic book character has been played by famous actors such as Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson. Both of them were still very thick with the role of the Joker at that time.

To be maximal, Heath Ledger forced himself physically and mentally to play the Joker. He isolated himself for more than a month so that he helped determine the make-up of his Joker and choose clothes.

Ledger went to great lengths to adjust his appearance to be different from his predecessors. This extreme effort left him constantly exhausted and sleep deprived.

Heath Ledger has a long history of sleep problems. He reportedly struggled for years to overcome insomnia long before playing the Joker. However, his chronic insomnia became worse after filming The Dark Knight.

On January 22, 2008, Ledger was found unconscious in her bed by her household assistant, Teresa Solomon, and her massage therapist Diana Wolozin. He was found in his apartment in SoHo, Manhattan, USA.

The medical team arrived at Ledger's apartment at 3:33 p.m., but were unable to save his life. At 3:36 p.m., Heath Ledger was pronounced dead.

At the time of his death, Heath Ledger was in the process of filming Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The scene that placed Heath Ledger in a realistic world has finished in London. After his death, Ledger's role was changed by a new actor who described his physique as having changed in a magical world. The film is also played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The film premiered on December 25, 2009.

I Am Heath Ledger, a feature-length documentary using footage Heath Ledger made himself, was released in theaters and premiered in May 2017.