I had been following this actor for about a year now. I am a geek and fan of comic book history and artwork. I had been following Heath Ledger for his role as the Joker in the Dark Knight. I did the same exact thing when I first found out Brandon Routh was being cast as Superman in Superman Returns. So of course I had to know everything about these actors I had never seen in a film before…I learned a lot about Heath Ledger during that time and I am one of the few straight men that enjoyed Brokeback Mountain and actually I think I almost cried in some parts. It was a very emotionally touching story…I didn’t even think of the gay aspect of it when I watched it, it just really was a highly emotional story about two people who love each other, but cannot express it for the reasons in the story.
Anyways I am getting off track. Of course when I heard that afternoon that Heath Ledger had died it felt very shocking and odd. I didn’t even know him personally or never met him myself…but for some reason I felt a loss at that moment and really just shocked. I mean with Amy Whinehouse coking it up, Britney driving like a madman all over town and it had to be Heath Ledger’s time? It really didn’t seem fair…the guy was a quiet guy, who enjoyed simple things in life, love his 2 yr old daughter Matilda and was dedicated to honing his trade. He wasn’t all over the tabloids for racy behavior or being in the limelight…and he wasn’t on dope as a lot of people ranted about in forums.
He had been shooting a new movie over in England lately, which required hours of shooting (mostly outdoors) in sometimes near zero or below temperatures. He had gotten pnuemonia and was taking some prescribed meds to deal with that. I also know he was taking anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressants that were also prescribed to him…not to mention the sleeping med Ambien that was also prescribed. He said just before his death he had been getting about 2 hours of sleep a night and that filiming on “I’m Not There” and especially in the “Dark Knight” had really taken an emotional and physical toll on him. I am sure he was ultra busy and the shooting schedule was probably not that forgiving either. I get the feeling he was making a transition to becoming a really well known lead actor…and he was working on films that were bigger than most of what he had worked on in the past.
I could rant on and on on my thoughts and feelings I guess on it…but in short it really stinks his life was cut short…he had so much promise and a wide future ahead of him. I hope he can still do acting wherever he happens to be now.
