This week we see Heath Ledger appear on the big screen for the final time as The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is released.
The actor passed away in January 2008 in the middle of filming Terry Gilliam's latest fantasy movie. The director brought Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell on board to complete the picture in memory of his friend.
So to celebrate the final performance from a talented actor we look back over Ledger's career and find out which of his movies should be in your collection.
- 10 Things I Hate About You
In 1999 he burst onto the scene with teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You, a spin on The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
Introducing the Stratford sisters: pretty and popular Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), who has never had a date; and Kat (Julia Stiles), her older sibling, an ill-tempered harridan whose acerbic wit is matched only by her steadfast determination to alienate any guy who might be remotely interested in her.
Unfortunately, strict rules in the Stratford household forbid Bianca from having a boyfriend until her odious sister has one of her own, a situation that seems highly improbable considering Kat is a social disaster.
Bianca's desperation for romance turns into a convoluted scheme to match Kat with her male equivalent, a guy whose reputation is so infamous, Kat might rise to the challenge and find him worthy of her concealed charms.
Patrick Verona (Ledger) a sullen young man with a mysterious past, is bribed by Bianca's wannabe boyfriend to woo and win Kat, in order to clear the way for Bianca to begin dating.
The movie opened at the number two at the U.S. box office, despite being a long way behind The Matrix, as it charmed audiences and critics... Heath Ledger gad arrived.
- The Patriot
He joined forces with Mel Ginson a year later for the Patriot
A former hero of the French/Indian War, Benjamin Martin has renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. Although once a wily and ferocious soldier, he marries a fine woman who bears him seven children and, under her influence, trades his violent past for a peaceful future on his sprawling plantation.
But rebellion is brewing--another conflict with Britain is inevitable. Recently widowed, his goals change. He's the sole caretaker of his brood, and the horrors of past combat haunt him still.
Benjamin's eldest son, Gabriel, harbours no doubts about going to war: the radical speeches and newsletters that began in the cities and traverse the Colonies have made an impression on him. War is coming, and Gabriel feels the cause is just. In defiance of his father, he joins the fight.
Benjamin is conflicted, as stalwart as he is in his opposition to the war, he believes in the cause. When the British arrive, the reluctant hero discovers that he must join the nation's war to protect his family.
Grossing over $215 million at the global box office The Patriot was a huge hit and a great stepping stone for the young Ledger
- Brokeback Mountain
But it was Brokeback Mountain in 2005 that really showed off his acting pedigree as critical acclaim and awards recognition began coming his way.
Teaming up with Jake Gyllenhaal and filmmaker Ang Lee the movie was an adaptation of Annie Proulx's novel which followed complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West over twenty years.
In 1963,two young men hire on as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountains.During the long months of isolation, an unusual bond starts to develop between them, one which they are only vaguely aware of--until one night when it rises to the surface in a passionate encounter.
When the season ends, they part ways, only to realize the true depth of their feelings.Thus begins a decades-long affair that the two of them desperately try to hide from those around them, one which will prove simultaneously beautiful and devastating.
The movie was a commercial success as well as being critically acclaimed and it wasn't long before the awards came flooding in for the film.
But this movie showed Ledger in a different light, that he wasn't just a pretty boy making a career off his looks.
He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Ennis, but he lost out to Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie also missed out on Best Picture, the award going to Crash.
- Candy
Never afraid to mix and match his roles it was Candy next for Ledger playing a heroin addict trying to break free from his addiction.
Ledger stars as Dan, a charming but reckless young poet who has fallen in love with Candy (Cornish), a beautiful young art student from a comfortable middle-class family who is attracted to the bohemian lifestyle that Dan has long since embraced.
In order to get closer to Dan, Candy, whose previous drug use has been casually experimental, starts shooting up.
Their passionate relationship then alternates between bursts of ecstatic oblivion and bouts of despair and self-destruction. Hooked as much on heroin as one another, their story becomes a love triangle, a boy, a girl, and a drug.
- The Dark Knight
But it's The Dark Knight that is the crown jewel in Ledger's career as he took on the seemingly impossible task of The Joker last summer.
Many believed, after Jack Nicholson, it was a role that should be left well alone but he proved everyone wrong with an impressive performance.
Picking up where Batman Begins left off the caped crusader, with the help of Lieutenant Gordon and new District Attorney Harvey Dent, is trying to destroy organised crime in Gotham city for good.
But they soon find themselves the target of rising criminal mastermind known only as the Joker. Killing at will the Joker thrusts Gotham into anarchy and fear as he forces Batman even closer to crossing the line between hero and vigilante.
The Dark Knight was the biggest grossing movie of 2008, breaking through that $1 billion barrier and Ledger's performance was met with critical acclaim.
For his outstandingly creepy turn as Batman's nemesis Ledger was posthumously awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, as well as picking up a Golden Globe, Bafta and Screen Actor Guild Awards amongst others.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is released 16th October.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
This week we see Heath Ledger appear on the big screen for the final time as The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is released.
The actor passed away in January 2008 in the middle of filming Terry Gilliam's latest fantasy movie. The director brought Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell on board to complete the picture in memory of his friend.
So to celebrate the final performance from a talented actor we look back over Ledger's career and find out which of his movies should be in your collection.
- 10 Things I Hate About You
In 1999 he burst onto the scene with teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You, a spin on The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
Introducing the Stratford sisters: pretty and popular Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), who has never had a date; and Kat (Julia Stiles), her older sibling, an ill-tempered harridan whose acerbic wit is matched only by her steadfast determination to alienate any guy who might be remotely interested in her.
Unfortunately, strict rules in the Stratford household forbid Bianca from having a boyfriend until her odious sister has one of her own, a situation that seems highly improbable considering Kat is a social disaster.
Bianca's desperation for romance turns into a convoluted scheme to match Kat with her male equivalent, a guy whose reputation is so infamous, Kat might rise to the challenge and find him worthy of her concealed charms.
Patrick Verona (Ledger) a sullen young man with a mysterious past, is bribed by Bianca's wannabe boyfriend to woo and win Kat, in order to clear the way for Bianca to begin dating.
The movie opened at the number two at the U.S. box office, despite being a long way behind The Matrix, as it charmed audiences and critics... Heath Ledger gad arrived.
- The Patriot
He joined forces with Mel Ginson a year later for the Patriot
A former hero of the French/Indian War, Benjamin Martin has renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. Although once a wily and ferocious soldier, he marries a fine woman who bears him seven children and, under her influence, trades his violent past for a peaceful future on his sprawling plantation.
But rebellion is brewing--another conflict with Britain is inevitable. Recently widowed, his goals change. He's the sole caretaker of his brood, and the horrors of past combat haunt him still.
Benjamin's eldest son, Gabriel, harbours no doubts about going to war: the radical speeches and newsletters that began in the cities and traverse the Colonies have made an impression on him. War is coming, and Gabriel feels the cause is just. In defiance of his father, he joins the fight.
Benjamin is conflicted, as stalwart as he is in his opposition to the war, he believes in the cause. When the British arrive, the reluctant hero discovers that he must join the nation's war to protect his family.
Grossing over $215 million at the global box office The Patriot was a huge hit and a great stepping stone for the young Ledger
- Brokeback Mountain
But it was Brokeback Mountain in 2005 that really showed off his acting pedigree as critical acclaim and awards recognition began coming his way.
Teaming up with Jake Gyllenhaal and filmmaker Ang Lee the movie was an adaptation of Annie Proulx's novel which followed complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West over twenty years.
In 1963,two young men hire on as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountains.During the long months of isolation, an unusual bond starts to develop between them, one which they are only vaguely aware of--until one night when it rises to the surface in a passionate encounter.
When the season ends, they part ways, only to realize the true depth of their feelings.Thus begins a decades-long affair that the two of them desperately try to hide from those around them, one which will prove simultaneously beautiful and devastating.
The movie was a commercial success as well as being critically acclaimed and it wasn't long before the awards came flooding in for the film.
But this movie showed Ledger in a different light, that he wasn't just a pretty boy making a career off his looks.
He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Ennis, but he lost out to Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie also missed out on Best Picture, the award going to Crash.
Tagged in Heath Ledger