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Biography

Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia. He is of Irish and Scottish descent, and lived in Western Australia, attending Marys Mount Primary School, in Gooseberry Hill, and later attended Guildford Grammar School and its preparatory school of the same name. At 16, Ledger sat for early graduation exams, and left school to pursue his career in acting. With his best friend, Trevor DiCarlo, Ledger made the cross country drive to Sydney. But his break took him back to Perth, for the TV series Sweat (1996), in which he played a gay elite cyclist. Although the series failed to have much of an impact, he then starred in the American television series, Roar.

In 1999, Ledger starred in the Hollywood teen comedy 10 Things I Hate about You and also had the lead role in the acclaimed Australian movie Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan. Since then he has starred in The Patriot as Mel Gibson's character's son, Monster's Ball as Billy Bob Thornton's character's son, A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly as the title character, The Order, and The Brothers Grimm co-starring Matt Damon.

Ledger had a successful year in 2001, with his ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow based on his performance in The Patriot, and worldwide release of the hit anachronistic jousting romp A Knight's Tale. In 2003, Ledger was named one of Australian GQ's Men of the Year for acting.

In 2005, Ledger received a "Best Actor in a Drama" Golden Globe nomination for his acclaimed performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he plays Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. In the New York Times review of Brokeback Mountain, film critic Stephen Holden wrote:

"Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn."

In another review in Rolling Stone magazine, film critic Peter Travers wrote:

"Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."

Ledger has received "Best Actor of 2005" awards for Brokeback Mountain from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Actor" for his performance.

In Spring 2006, it was announced that Ledger would portray Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There. Although not actually playing Dylan himself, Ledger along with several other actors will portray different sides of Dylan.

On July 31, 2006, Ledger was officially confirmed to play iconic comic book villain The Joker in The Dark Knight, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins, opposite fellow I'm Not There star Christian Bale. The film is due in 2008.


––Wikipedia
Filmography
Lords of Dogtown
BROTHERS GRIMM, The
Brokeback Mountain