caption death_date death_place birth_name birth_place years_active children imagesize domesticpartner birth_date image article_title name occupation death_cause
ledger at the 2006 berlin international film festival 22 january 2008 new york city , new york , u.s. heath andrew ledger perth , western australia , australia 1993 -- 2008 1 220px michelle williams -lrb- 2004 -- 2007 -rrb- 4 april 1979 heath_ledger . jpg heath ledger
 heath ledger actor , music video director cardiac arrest brought on by prescription drug intoxication
heath ledger

heath andrew ledger -lrb- 4 april 197922 january 2008 -rrb- was an australian actor and director .
after performing roles in australian television and film during the 1990s , ledger left for the united states in 1998 to develop his film career .
his work comprised nineteen films , including `` 10 things i hate about you '' -lrb- 1999 -rrb- , `` the patriot '' -lrb- 2000 -rrb- , `` a knight 's tale '' -lrb- 2001 -rrb- , `` monster 's ball '' -lrb- 2001 -rrb- , `` ned kelly '' -lrb- 2003 -rrb- , `` the brothers grimm '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , `` lords of dogtown '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , `` brokeback mountain '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , `` casanova '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , `` candy '' -lrb- 2006 -rrb- , `` i 'm not there '' -lrb- 2007 -rrb- , `` the dark knight '' -lrb- 2008 -rrb- , and `` the imaginarium of doctor parnassus '' -lrb- 2009 -rrb- .
he also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director .
for his portrayal of ennis del mar in `` brokeback mountain '' , ledger won the new york film critics circle award for best actor and best international actor from the australian film institute , and was nominated for the bafta award for best actor in a leading role and for the academy award for best actor .
posthumously he shared the 2007 independent spirit robert altman award with the rest of the ensemble cast , the director , and the casting director for the film `` i 'm not there '' , which was inspired by the life and songs of american singer-songwriter bob dylan .
in the film , ledger portrayed a fictional actor named robbie clark , one of six characters embodying aspects of dylan 's life and persona .
ledger died on 22 january 2008 from an accidental intoxication from prescription drugs .
a few months before his death , ledger had finished filming his performance as the joker in `` the dark knight '' .
his death occurred during editing of `` the dark knight '' and in the midst of filming his last role as tony in `` the imaginarium of doctor parnassus '' .
his untimely death cast a somber shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $ 185 million batman production .
ledger received numerous posthumous accolades for his critically acclaimed performance in the film , including the academy award for best supporting actor , a best actor international award at the 2008 australian film institute awards -lrb- for which he became the first actor to win an award posthumously -rrb- , the 2008 los angeles film critics association award for best supporting actor , the 2009 golden globe award for best supporting actor -- motion picture , and the 2009 bafta award for best supporting actor .
