Heath Ledger
Australian actor (1979-2008) · Australia · On the map · Actors · Died at 28
His Joker in The Dark Knight became the defining villain performance of a generation - a role he finished months before an accidental overdose in 2008, winning him a posthumous Academy Award and securing a legacy larger than the 20 films he made in a decade.
Heath Ledger is read about 23,062 times a day, in 98 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark KnightFilm, 2008Joker (archive footage)2007
I'm Not ThereFilm, Robbie2006
CandyFilm, Dan2005The Reichen ShowSeries2003
Ned KellyFilm, Ned Kelly2002
A Knight's Tale: Making OfFilm2001
A Knight's TaleFilm, William Thatcher2000
The PatriotFilm, Gabriel Martin1999
RoveSeries
10 Things I Hate About YouFilm, 1999Patrick Verona1997
RoarSeries, Conor
BlackrockFilm, 1997Toby Ackland1996
E! True Hollywood StorySeries1993
Late Night with Conan O'BrienSeries1991
Clowning AroundSeries, Orphan Clown
Clowning AroundFilm, 1991Orphan Clown1988
Home and AwaySeries, Scott Irwin1979Born4 April 1979People around Heath
Christopher Nolan Directed The Dark Knight (2008)
Christian Bale Also in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005)
Emma Thomas Produced The Dark Knight (2008)
Brian Helgeland Directed A Knight's Tale and The Order
Gregor Jordan Directed Ned Kelly and Two Hands
Jack Nicholson Duets: The Joker
Morgan Freeman Also in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005)
Michael Caine Also in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005)
Geoffrey Rush Also in Ned Kelly and Candy
Charles Roven Produced The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Gary Levinsohn Produced The Patriot (2000)
Gary Oldman Also in The Dark Knight trilogy (2005)
Joaquin Phoenix Duets: The Joker
Hans Zimmer Wrote The Dark Knight (2008)
Jared Leto Duets: The Joker
Terry Gilliam Directed The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Zach Galifianakis Duets: The Joker
Marc Forster Directed Monster's Ball (2001)
Troy Baker Duets: The Joker
Cameron Monaghan Duets: The Joker
Christine Vachon Produced I'm Not There (2008)- Stanley R. Jaffe Produced The Four Feathers (2002)
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View all 27 titles
The Dark Knight 2008
Brokeback Mountain 2005
10 Things I Hate About You 1999
Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight 2008
I Am Heath Ledger 2017
Also in Deutsch
Filmography 27
47 credits on file
Television 17
Media & music
Photos 4
Ledger (far right) posing with the cast and the director of I'm Not There at the 64th Venice Film Festival in September 2007, four months before his death
Ledger at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2006
Memorial for Ledger, outside 421 Broome Street, SoHo, Manhattan, 23 January 2008Awards
About this person
Heath Andrew Ledger grew up in Australia, working television and film through the 1990s before moving to the United States in 1998. His breakthrough came with the romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999, followed by a run through studio work like The Patriot and A Knight's Tale. His portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain in 2005 earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and marked a shift toward more demanding roles - he played a composite of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There and starred in the addiction drama Candy. In January 2008, he died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The Dark Knight, released months later, brought widespread critical acclaim for his Joker - a performance now regarded as one of the greatest villain turns in film history - and won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, appeared in 2009.
