Evolution of Heath Ledger Short Acting Career

From Teen Favorite in 10 Things to Scene Stealing Actor in Brokeback

Aug 4, 2008

Heath Ledger evolved his acting career from heartthrob for teens across America to strong leading man and eventual scene stealer between his first and last movies.

Australian actor Heath Ledger came on to the American scene with the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You and began an evolution from a young teen-movie actor to an Oscar-nominated leading man in 2005's Brokeback Mountain. His final completed performance before his untimely death is 2008's summer blockbuster Batman: The Dark Knight. The film serves as the final piece of the completed puzzle depicting Ledger's smooth transition from teen heart-throb to Oscar-calibre thespian.

The 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You adapted Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and launched Ledger from obscurity in America into the hearts of teen girls across the country. Ledger took the role of Patrick Verona, a high school rebel who gets paid to take out Julia Stiles' character Kat, and ultimately falls for her.

After 10 Things I Hate About You, Ledger took the role of Gabriel, the eldest son of Mel Gibson's character in 2000's The Patriot. The supporting role gave him the opportunity to spead his wings in America under the tutelage of Gibson, and expanded his audience.

Ledger's role in 2001's Monster's Ball showed a much darker turn for the Aussie, who played the son of Billy Bob Thornton's character, Hank Grotowski. Ledger's Sonny was a prison guard for those sentenced to execution, and ultimately killed himself. The film earned critical acclaim and garnered awards by Best Actress (Halle Berry) and Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

After a string of so-so movie ventures, The Four Feathers, a period piece, Ned Kelly, the story of an Aussie's criminal, The Order, Lords of Dogtown, and The Brothers Grimm, Ledger took up the character of Ennis Del Mar in 2005's Brokeback Mountain. Ledger's character is hired as a ranch hand in Wyoming and falls for Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack Twist. Their love story spans many years since its beginning in 1963, through both their marriages to women. Brokeback Mountain won many awards and provided Ledger with an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Ledger was catapulted to greater fame with this film and his extraordinary portrayal.

The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, has proven to a hit blockbuster. Ledger's performance as The Joker has been highly anticipated before, and especially after, his early death in January 2008. Ledger's Joker gave audiences chills and brought a greater depth not only to this film, but to the comic book film genre. Audiences have been calling for a posthumous Oscar nomination for the performance and lament the actor's death as too soon for such a gifted performer.

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