Hollywood obituaries are always tinged with sadness, but few have been as uniquely devastating
to the public as Heath Ledger's.
At just 28 years old, Ledger, who passed away in January 2008, had the world at his fingertips.
He had a new daughter with actress Michelle Williams and he was at the top of his career,
turning in celebrated performances in films like Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight.
"Heath Ledger has left us an original and enduring legacy."
In the years following Ledger's passing, many aspects of his life have been brought to public
light, as his friends and family try to help fans understand his personal life.
Here's what we've learned about the talented Australian actor who left us far too soon.
A confusing relationship
Ledger's body was initially discovered by a massage therapist who had come to his apartment
for a routine visit.
Unable to wake him, she used his cell phone to make three calls to Mary-Kate Olsen — instead
of the police.
According to CNN, Olsen then called for a security guard to be sent to the apartment
before authorities were involved.
The confusing timeline had people wondering whether the famed Olsen twin somehow had a
hand in his overdose.
According to People, the two had been quietly dating for months, but Olsen's reps insisted
she had not provided him the medications he was taking.
However, she apparently refused to speak with federal investigating authorities without
the promise of an immunity deal for herself, so confusion about Olsen continued to linger
for years.
Help from A-list friends
At the time of his passing, Ledger had not yet finished filming the movie The Imaginarium
of Doctor Parnassus, so actors Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law all stepped in
to perform the rest of his role...and donated their paychecks to his daughter.
Director Terry Gilliam told The Daily Mail that they were among a larger group of actors
who had volunteered to complete the film, including Tom Cruise, but that it was their
personal relationships with Ledger that informed the director's decision.
Gilliam said,
"We agreed it would work better if they did it their own way, rather than copy Heath's.
Johnny was to bring out the charming side of the character's nature, Colin was to develop
the dark side, and Jude to fit in between the two."
The film was ultimately finished and released nearly two years after Ledger's passing.
"Voila.
"Oh.
Voila."
A quiet but difficult battle
Following their split, Williams and Ledger kept their personal disputes private, but
according to those who saw what was going on behind the scenes, their breakup was much
more brutal than the public knew.
As Gilliam told Vanity Fair, the two grew distant during the awards season chaos that
followed their shared nominations for Brokeback Mountain.
Gilliam said,
"That was the moment when it changed, when he realized, 'Uh-oh.
We perceive the world differently.'
He didn't care about things like those awards.
He was trying to be decent and graceful, give her whatever she wanted — the house, every
f---ing thing.
But once it started going south, it went very quickly."
One of the biggest points of contention was the matter of custody rights to his then-2-year-old
daughter Matilda.
The separation, it seems, took a toll on him.
As Ledger's dialect coach told People,
"He missed his girl, he missed his family, he missed his little girl — he desperately
wanted to see her and hold her and play with her.
He was desperately unhappy, desperately sad."
An opportunity nearly missed
In 2015, 10 years after the release of Brokeback Mountain, screenwriter Diana Ossana revealed
that Ledger was almost denied his career-changing role of Ennis Del Mar because it was given
to another actor.
Although she didn't name names, rumor has it that Mark Wahlberg was originally offered
the role.
Ossana explained in an interview with Sirius XM's Michelangelo Signorile,
"Another actor had committed and we had suggested Heath.
But the studio didn't feel he was macho enough.
I thought that was a rather odd comment.
But we just sort of stuck with it.
And when that actor backed out — and he did, after three months — I called Heath's
agent."
And the rest was movie history.
"This is one of the biggest heartthrobs on Earth taking on that character.
That's an artist."
Revealing footage
Nine years after his tragic loss, footage was combined from a library of home videos
Ledger had filmed for his daughter Matilda.
The documentary, I Am Heath Ledger, premiered at 2017's Tribeca Film Festival and was made
with the assistance of his family and friends.
"He was always a director.
Acting was just a way to get there."
Before the film was made, Ledger's longtime friend Matt Amato reportedly reached out to
Michelle Williams to ensure her support, and she said,
"We should do something now.
Matilda is curious."
An inspiration for new music
One of the many revelations that came from I Am Heath Ledger's release was the actor's
deep connection with the musical arts.
Reports at the time said he'd had plans to create a new record label called Masses Music
in 2007 and hired singer-songwriter Ben Harper to write a lullaby that he could sing for
Matilda upon her birth.
"Heath was the most alive human.
And if it wasn't on the edge, it didn't interest him."
As revealed in the doc, Amato was making a music video for Bon Iver's Justin Vernon when
the news of his best friend's passing came out, and the devastation caused the video
shoot to turn into a "three-day wake."
Vernon would later pen the 2011 song "Perth" in Ledger's honor, telling Exclaim that he
was moved by Amato's emotional reaction to Ledger's loss.
Not so serious
Ledger's work as The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was universally well-received.
"And the Oscar goes to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight."
But Ledger's sister Kate recently fought persistent rumors that it was this role that drove the
star to consume prescription medications, telling reporters at the 2017 Tribeca Film
Festival,
"Every report was coming out that he was depressed and that the role was taking this toll on
him, and we're going, honestly, it was the absolute opposite.
It couldn't be more wrong.
He had an amazing sense of humour, and I guess maybe only his family and friends knew that,
but he was having fun.
He wasn't depressed about the Joker!"
"This is like, taking it to the next level, like you're gonna be nominated for this I'm
telling you right now, and he'd just smile."
Rumors of his depression continued to swirl after it was reported that Ledger isolated
himself in his London hotel room for a month to mentally prepare for the role.
He even kept a Joker journal filled with vexing in-character anecdotes like,
"Inside.
He's laughing red and black and red and black till there's nothing left to laugh.
Until, almost tenderly, he turns inside out through his mouth."
"He would, um, certainly immerse himself in the upcoming character.
I think this was just a whole new level."
The most chilling insert of the diary was the last one, which simply read, "BYE BYE."
"Even as a supporting actor, he will steal the whole show.
That's the power of Heath Ledger."
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