The death of Heath Ledger on Tuesday January 23, 2008, has shocked the world. He was an actor who bravely stepped into a variety of endearing roles, the most memorable of which was his Oscar-nominated portrayal of gay cowboy, Ennis Del Mar, in Brokeback Mountain.
Perth born and bred, Ledger began acting while still at high school, his first role being Laertes in a production of Hamlet at Guildford Grammar. He followed the acting bug to Sydney at the tender age of 16, where he landed his first major TV role in the series Sweat.
It was here he first came to the Australian public’s attention playing gay teen Snowy Bowles. Set at a sports institute, the series dealt with issues of homosexuality, coming out and acceptance at a time when being gay was rarely spoken off in such a public forum.
Ledgers role in this Australian teen drama was groundbreaking, just like his later success in Brokeback Mountain. Here he played a gay cowboy who engages in a secret love affair with another cowboy, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
The role saw Ledger nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor and again brought awareness to homosexuality and the difficulty experienced by many in coming out during the time period portrayed in the movie, namely 1963 to 1983.
At the time of his death, Ledger had been experiencing difficulty sleeping after his vivid and brutal portrayal of The Joker in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which is set for release in here in Australia on July 17.
In preparation for the role, Ledger told Empire Magazine how he isolated himself intentionally by locking himself in a hotel room for a month where he spent the time perfecting the characters posture, voice and psychology.
The sheer psychopathy of The Joker role attributed to Ledger’s consequent use sleeping medication, as did a rigorous filming schedule for the new Terry Gilliam $30 million fantastical morality tale, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, during which time Ledger was also taking medication for a serious bout of pneumonia.
His death in his Manhattan apartment has been met with disbelief by many.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a written statement at the time of Ledger’s death, saying that his portrayal of Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain ‘changed hearts and minds in immeasurable ways.’
Not everybody, however, is grieving the death of this much loved actor.
The Westboro Baptist Church issued a press release on their website, godhatesfags.com, that ‘Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there’ for his role in ‘the sordid, tacky bucket of slime seasoned with vomit’ Brokeback Mountain, while also stating they would consequently picket his funeral.
While Ledger’s body has left New York en route to Perth, Western Australia, the exact location of his funeral remains undisclosed.
