The Mastermind Joker: Heath Ledger's Road to the Top of the Acting World

On the 22nd of January 2008, an A-list actor would be found lying dead, on the floor of his hotel room. A few months later, with the release of his most recent movie, he would be named one of the most captivating actors of this era. This is the story of how a young Perth boy would rise to the top of the acting world.

Childhood

Heathcliff Andrew Ledger, born 4th April 1978, lived his childhood in Perth. His father, Kim Ledger, was an engineer and race car driver, while his mother, Sally Ledger, was a French teacher. He had a sister, Kate, who was an actress and whom he would look up to during his youth. Apart from his parents’ divorce when he was eleven, he experienced a fulfilling childhood. During his high school years at Guilford Grammar School, Heath had his first acting experience. Inspired by his sister, whom he was very close with, and Gene Kelly, who later inspired his successful choreography, he starred in a school production as Peter Pan, at the age of thirteen. After various other acts during his teenage years, Heath decided to pursue his acting career seriously. He sat early graduation exams at age seventeen, then left school. With Trevor DiCarlo, a childhood friend, Ledger drove from Perth, all the way to the other side of the continent, ending up in Sydney.

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Early Career

Heath’s first television debut was a small role in ‘Clowning Around’ (1992) a two-part television series. His first, big casting would have to be when he played Scott Irwin, in one of Australia’s most popular shows, ‘Home and Away’ (1997). Heath, then continued to have his feature film debut, starring in ‘Blackrock’ (1997). His massive, Hollywood breakout would have to be when he played Patrick Verona in the film ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999).

Starting from 2000, Heath started landing roles for big budget movies at least once a year. To name a few, he acted in ‘Patriot’ (2000), where he co-stared with Mel Gibson, ‘A Knight’s Tale’ (2001), an ‘experimental’ film which earned more than double its budget of 40 million dollars and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005), a film that landed Heath Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actor. This made Heath the ninth-youngest nominee for Best Actor Oscar. He also received Best Actor of 2005 from both New York Film Critics Circle and San Francisco Film Critics Circle for the film. Apart from awards, he also found the love of his life whilst filming ‘Brokeback Mountain’, starting a relationship with co-star, Michelle Williams. They continued to have a baby daughter, Matilda, a few months after the release of the movie.

‘The Dark Knight’

By 2005, he had made a name for himself around the world. But on 31st July 2006, an announcement was made: Heath Ledger, the pretty boy who acted in teenage romance dramas would be playing the Joker, the psychotic villain in much-hyped ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008). The sequel to ‘Batman Begins’ (2005), ‘The Dark Knight’ would prove to be the best Batman movie, to this date. With a 180 million USD budget, it earned 1.005 billion USD in box-office and won numerous awards. However, on 31st July 2006, people were not happy. Numerous media outlets were outraged with the decision that world-star director, Christopher Nolan, had made. They debated that the character needed an actor that the audience would gravitate towards. Someone who had the mentality to pull off a joke whilst stabbing innocent strangers. Someone who had a true joker voice. In the public’s eyes, Heath was none of these things. To them, he was just a shallow actor without much presence on screen.

Whilst the public was having its tantrums, Heath had already begun preparations for his role. He was determined to make this once-in-a-life-time chance into a flawless performance. His first step was to learn his character. How did the Joker act? How did he think? How did he sound? How did he laugh? These were all questions Heath had to asked himself. With help from director, Nolan, he gathered material that would help him in his act. This included comic books featuring the Joker, clips from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ - a film about a psychopathic delinquent, paintings by Francis Bacon - an artist famous for his uncomfortable paintings and even hyenas which may have helped perfect his smile. Gathering information was good and easy, but what Heath really wanted to do was feel the Joker; he wanted to be in the Jokers shoes and behave exactly like him. This is what led him to method acting. Method acting is a way in which an actor or actress may change their daily lives, even if it’s a tiny bit, to become one with their character. Heath, however, was determined to become the Joker on a psychological level, so he took method acting to the next level. “He pretty much locked himself up in a hotel, in his apartment, for a month or so, to sort of galvanize the upcoming character in his own mind”, Heath’s father said in an interview. “That was typical of Heath on any movie. He would certainly immerse himself in the upcoming character. I think this was just a whole new level”. In his room, Heath would experiment with different voices, different smiles and different laughs. It is in that room where his iconic Joker stare would come to life; a smile based off the ‘Kubrick’s stare’, which the protagonist of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ used. Whilst in his room, he also kept a journal, where he would put thoughts and ideas in, as well as inspiration material, like the hyenas. This method acting proved to be quite useful, as his performance turned out fabulous, but it also diminished his health and relationships. He had been suffering from insomnia for quite a time, but this became quite evident during filming for ‘The Dark Knight’. He also had to stop locking himself in his room as the time spent with his wife, Michelle and his daughter started depleting.

Once filming started, Heath was amazing. In fact, he was so incredible that the co-stars working with him were scared by his frightening acting. In an interview with Michael Caine, who played Batman’s butler (Alfred), he announced that he was actually frightened by Heath’s acting on set. Nolan, the director, also described how impressive and unpredictable he was on set. In an interview, he talked about how unique Heath’s voice was, stating: “He created this bizarre pitch. I’ve seen a lot of people try and imitate it since. But we never quite knew if he was going to go high or if he was going to go low. You never knew what that guy was going to do, and that’s what was terrifying about him”. Heath was also known for his natural and mood fitting improvisations. In a scene where the Joker blows up a hospital, an incident occurs where the last, main explosion doesn’t fire off. Instead of going out of character like most actors, Heath stayed in character. He would improvise, on the spot, a whole act where he tries to get his detonator to function. The explosion eventually went off and Heath finished his scene like it was nothing. This scene remains to be one of the most unforgettable scenes in the film.

Death and Conclusion

Unfortunately, after filming had finished and editing had begun for the movie, Heath Ledger passed away on the 22nd January 2008. He was in midst of filming his next movie ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ (2009) when he died of accidental overdose on a fatal combination of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and pain killers. The Internet loved to theorize that his death was caused from the ‘darkness’ of the Joker getting to him, but it has been proven that his death purely accidental. A few months later, when the finished movie came out, the whole world was in awe. Heath had proven everyone wrong. He played the Joker role superbly. Critics gave five-star reviews, media outlets praised him as the best Joker ever made and fans loved the movie. He became the second ever person to win an Oscar posthumously, winning an award for Best Supporting Actor, which his family received in his place, and many more. Heath Ledger became a legend that never got to see what made him a legend.

Heath Ledger would have to be one of the greatest actors to ever walk this planet. He had the ability to act in multiple genres of movie, starring in teen romances to dark superhero films. He acted with talent, passion and dedication. He passed away not even showing his full capabilities; who knows what he could’ve accomplished if he was with us to this day.