It’s been one year since Heath Ledger died on January 22nd, 2008 at his apartment in New York City. I remember the day I heard about it, I was walking out of my office to head for lunch and my friend, Sam texted me, telling me to watch the news because Heath Ledger was found dead. I’m not gonna lie to you, at first I thought somebody had pulled a huge unfunny prank but then as my attention was fixed on the television screen, I was silent, couldn’t believe it was actually happening.
Not too long after that, I posted a discussion forum to ask readers why we cry over celebrity’s death, despite the fact that most of us will probably never actually get to know them. But even during Heath’s life and career, it was obvious that there was something… different about him, something that separated him from your typical actor working in Hollywood.
Last week, the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly had a great article that compiled opinions and memories from those who were lucky enough to have crossed paths with the late great Heath Ledger. People from director Catherine Hardwicke, Terry Gilliam, Mel Gibson, Wes Bentley and more. Go on OVER THERE to read the whole thing.
But basically, what I’ve discovered is that all these people have one common thing, they can all testify and agree that Heath was a person interested only in bringing out the best acting possible. While others his age would rather do cheap movies or gigs just for the money or simply do modeling and nothing else, Heath on the other hand, rarely used his heartthrob looks, he was offered the role Spiderman but turned it down. After 10 Things I Hate About You, he vowed to choose projects that would challenge his skills instead of doing teen romantic comedies for the rest of his life.
The article stated that the days leading up to the 2006 Academy Awards, Heath hated the pressure of being nominated (Brokeback Mountain). And when he lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman, he felt relieved and free.
When the offer to play The Joker came his way, he wanted it in a heartbeat because he knew it would give him the chance to portray the character in his own terms. Joker’s a whacko, nobody would try to correct him.
The article makes him sound like a saint. Imagine if Bill Graham was in his 20s and the God he worshiped had been the art of acting, that’s what Heath Ledger was like to those people.
As I kept on reading, the more I was baffled.. Is it possible for today’s young actors to not care about money and just play the roles for the sake of acting and acting alone?
Left and right, I see young performers today starring in movies that are embarrassments to the world of cinema. They work halfheartedly and all they care about is how much they can get and how much they can spend afterward. Competing in how many magazine covers they can put their botox faces on, getting arrested for the stupidest reasons, committing shameful acts in the name of publicity stunt.
Not only that, even veteran actors like Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino can often be inconsistent in their results.
What would Heath Ledger do?
Today the Oscar Nominees were announced and the name Heath Ledger was mentioned as a contender for Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Nobody can deny the fact that he deserves to be in that group. Even haters would go ‘yeah, that gay cowboy dude deserves the recognition’.
HollywoodReporter has an article about the reaction from the nominees. I can’t help but wonder…What would Heath Ledger say in response to him being nominated for a second time? Would he say long speeches like other actors would or would he be modest and keep it short and simple?
Would he be nervous again or would he be able to accept this nod with more ease? Or maybe he wouldn’t give a damn at all if he wins or not.
What would he choose for his next project? Would he adopt babies like what Angelina Jolie does or fight global warming with Leo DiCaprio?
Would he return as the Joker in the third Nolan’s Batman movie or would he turn it down because he didn’t believe in sequels or to move on for a more challenging role?
Is it wise to suggest that whenever we feel uncertain about a task at hand, just ask ourselves.. What would Heath Ledger Do?
As we approach yet another celebration of best Cinematic achievements this coming February, may everyone who lives and breathes films be reminded of a saying by the late great Sydney Pollak, “With the opportunity to make movies comes the responsibility to make them good”.
Heath Ledger took that to heart and lived it.
