---
name: "Heath Ledger"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/heath-ledger"
fi1m_id: "heath-ledger"
imdb_id: "nm0005132"
tmdb_id: 1810
wikidata_id: "Q40572"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "4 April 1979"
died: "22 January 2008"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-01T20:58:58.613614+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Heath Ledger

## Identity

Heath Ledger

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/heath-ledger
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** heath-ledger
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005132
- **TMDB ID:** 1810
- **Wikidata ID:** Q40572
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q40572, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1810

Actor. Born 4 April 1979 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Died 22 January 2008.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 4 April 1979, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- **Died:** 22 January 2008
- **Active:** 1999–2009
- **Also known as:** Heath Andrew Ledger
- **Frequently works with:** [Christian Bale](https://film.one/person/christian-bale.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 80 (1), 2000s 79 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 76 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 3 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Romance 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,304m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q40572, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1810

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*I'm Not There*](https://film.one/film/im-not-there.md) (74), [*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus*](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md) (65)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Dark Knight*](https://film.one/film/the-dark-knight.md) (85)
- **Disney+:** [*10 Things I Hate About You*](https://film.one/film/10-things-i-hate-about-you.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Heath Ledger

> Heath Ledger made keeping quiet look like hard physical work. We rate him most highly in *Brokeback Mountain*, where his restraint lets us feel for a man who can be exasperating to love.

In *Brokeback Mountain* (2005), Heath Ledger makes the effort of keeping his feelings hidden look physically exhausting. His Ennis Del Mar struggles to explain himself even to the man he loves. We ached for him because Ledger makes that constant effort to hold things in so painful to watch. He also lets Ennis be poor company. There is no attempt to turn his unhappiness into the appealing shyness of a conventional romantic lead.

The teen-comedy lead in *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999) had established his charm, but the heroic roles did not always give him enough to do. In *A Knight's Tale* (2001) and *Ned Kelly* (2003), he could look under-challenged. The change came into focus in 2005, when *Casanova*, *The Brothers Grimm* and *Lords of Dogtown* appeared alongside *Brokeback Mountain*. With Ennis, being difficult to like became something he could use.

Ang Lee gets the most from him by allowing that awkwardness to persist, rather than hurrying towards an explanation. Jake Gyllenhaal gives Jack Twist a more readable warmth, and his openness helps us see just how much Ennis holds back. Lee allows the attraction time to become convincing, then asks us to notice how these men struggle to understand each other. Ledger's restraint works because Gyllenhaal gives him someone to respond to, not simply someone to stand beside. A few passages outstay their welcome, but we would not want the relationship made tidier or easier.

His later work included the ensemble of *I'm Not There* (2007) and the Joker in *The Dark Knight* (2008). Working with Christopher Nolan, he made his physical and vocal inventiveness much more conspicuous. He did not need a taciturn character to make detailed use of his voice and body. For the quieter performance, and the one we would recommend first, give *Brokeback Mountain* an evening without interruptions.

## Biography

Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. He appeared in Australian television and film productions in the 1990s before moving to the United States in 1998.

Ledger's films include *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999), *The Patriot* (2000), *A Knight's Tale* (2001), *Monster's Ball* (2001), *Lords of Dogtown* (2005), *Brokeback Mountain* (2005), *Candy* (2006), *I'm Not There* (2007) and *The Dark Knight* (2008). For his performance as Ennis Del Mar in *Brokeback Mountain*, he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the Best International Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute, and received nominations for the BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for Best Actor.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009), Fi1m 65, as Tony — [page](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md)
- *The Dark Knight* (2008), Fi1m 85, as Joker — [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-knight.md)
- *I'm Not There* (2007), Fi1m 74, as Robbie — [page](https://film.one/film/im-not-there.md)
- *Brokeback Mountain* (2005), Fi1m 92, as Ennis Del Mar — [page](https://film.one/film/brokeback-mountain.md)
- *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999), Fi1m 80, as Patrick Verona — [page](https://film.one/film/10-things-i-hate-about-you.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009), as Tony · In Memory Of — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md)
- *The Dark Knight* (2008), as Joker · In Memory Of — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-knight.md)
- *I'm Not There* (2007), as Robbie — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/im-not-there.md)
- *Candy* (2006), as Dan
- *Casanova* (2005), as Casanova
- *Brokeback Mountain* (2005), as Ennis Del Mar — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/brokeback-mountain.md)
- *The Brothers Grimm* (2005), as Jacob Grimm
- *Lords of Dogtown* (2005), as Skip
- *The Order* (2003), as Alex Bernier
- *Ned Kelly* (2003), as Ned Kelly
- *The Four Feathers* (2002), as Harry Faversham
- *Monster's Ball* (2001), as Sonny Grotowski
- *A Knight's Tale* (2001), as William Thatcher
- *The Patriot* (2000), as Gabriel Martin
- *Two Hands* (1999), as Jimmy
- *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999), as Patrick Verona — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/10-things-i-hate-about-you.md)
- *Paws* (1997), as Oberon
- *Roar* (1997), series, as Conor
- *Blackrock* (1997), as Toby Ackland
- *Sweat* (1996), series, as Snowy Bowles
- *Ship to Shore* (1993), series, as Cyclist
- *Clowning Around* (1991), as Orphan Clown, Boy in Orphanage (uncredited)
- *Clowning Around* (1991), series, as Orphan Clown
- *Home and Away* (1988), series, as Scott Irwin

## Gallery

- ![Cast of "I'm not there": Richard Gere, Todd Haynes, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Heath Ledger. Mostra 2007](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-5ef62c7deb4a.jpg) Cast of "I'm not there": Richard Gere, Todd Haynes, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Heath Ledger. Mostra 2007 — Mireille Ampilhac, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Director_and_actors_of_I%27m_not_there_at_the_64th_Venice_Film_Festival-01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![( 4. April 1979 in Perth, Western Australia, Australien † 22. Januar 2008 in New York)Heath Ledger (2006)](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-f2023a9983d7.jpg) (* 4. April 1979 in Perth, Western Australia, Australien † 22. Januar 2008 in New York)Heath Ledger (2006) — Howie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Heath_Ledger-2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-6bf81696404e.jpg) Heath Ledger — Howie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Heath_Ledger.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Heath Ledger in 2006](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-9a5057ef1e01.jpg) Heath Ledger in 2006 — Howie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Heath_Ledger_%282%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-828b78a11559.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-d47b4ce80bf3.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-7c5884c33da9.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-f1f5ae2051ad.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-55fa0a72c06b.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB
- ![Heath Ledger](https://film.one/media/person/98718/gallery-591f65f150ba.jpg) Heath Ledger — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 2009: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *The Dark Knight*
- 2006: Best Actor (nominated), for *Brokeback Mountain*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won

- 2009: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (won), for *The Dark Knight*

### Golden Globes — 1 won

- 2009: Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (won), for *The Dark Knight*

### Other awards — 2 won

- MTV Movie Award for Best Villain 2009: MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (won), for *The Dark Knight*
- Saturn Awards 2009: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *The Dark Knight*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/heath-ledger