On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger’s death came as a shock to the world. At only 28, the actor’s sudden passing left fans and colleagues alike in mourning. Having established himself as a talented performer in his many roles, including those in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, he was well on his way to becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. Read on to discover the tragic lead-up to Heath Ledger’s untimely death.
Hollywood success
Heath Ledger had a prolific, albeit short, career in Hollywood, acting in 20 movies. His breakthrough role was as Patrick Verona in the 1999 teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You. Ledger starred in several successful movies such as The Patriot, Monster’s Ball, and A Knight’s Tale in the following years. While they were all relatively successful, his role as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain solidified his place in Hollywood.
After the film’s release, Ledger was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Actor. It was also on set where he met Michelle Williams, who became his partner and mother of his daughter. He then went on to act in Casanova, Candy, and I’m Not There. Yet it was his iconic role as the Joker in The Dark Knight for which he is best known. Critical acclaim aside, many also say that this role contributed to Heath Ledger’s downfall and eventual death.
A downward spiral
Between starting a relationship after Brokeback Mountain, Ledger and Williams had moved in together, had a daughter Matilda, and sadly, their romance came to an end in 2007. While Williams stayed in the house they once shared in Brooklyn, Ledger moved to Manhattan. It might have appeared as if he was coping with their break up well, according to the tabloids at least, but this wasn’t the reality.
While Ledger struggled with their separation, he was also trying to get into character for the role of the Joker, a man he called “a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.” He created an extremely labor-intensive process for doing this, one that involved locking himself in his room for long periods of time. This only created more problems for the actor.
Worsening insomnia
Already struggling with insomnia, embodying the Joker seemed to make it worse. He told the New York Times that he was only sleeping for about two hours every night. He said, “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” In a desperate bid for sleep, the actor turned towards prescription drugs, to no avail. They worked for a short period of time, but then he would be awake again.
Those around him – family, friends, and co-workers – could see that his mental and physical state was worsening. Supposedly on the set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which would be his final film released, his health was so bad that Ledger contracted pneumonia.
Gerry Grennell was Ledger’s friend and dialect coach, who lived and worked with the actor in the last weeks of his life. Nine years after Ledger’s death, Grennell offered some insight into those final days. “He missed his girl, he missed his family, he missed his little girl — he desperately wanted to see her and hold her and play with her,” Grennell said.
Instead of resting, he continued with production and self-medication. Even his sister warned him against this.
Heath Ledger’s death
Tragically, the night before Heath Ledger’s death, his sister told him on the phone that he needed to stop taking sleeping pills and prescription medication at the same time. His response was “Katie, Katie, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.” The following day, January 22, 2008, a masseuse showed up at his apartment for their scheduled afternoon appointment. When he didn’t respond to knocking at the door, a housekeeper let them in.
They found Ledger inside and unresponsive. Although they called emergency services, it was too late. An investigation revealed that he had died from an overdose of painkillers, sleeping medication, and anti-anxiety pills. Despite this, they believed it to be an accident and not an intentional act. Yet people were still quick to point blame in many directions in the aftermath of Heath Ledger’s death.
Who was at fault?
One of the first culprits was the fictional Joker. He was a dark character that Ledger dedicated himself wholeheartedly to playing, and many thought it drove Ledger to madness. Yet this wasn’t really what caused his death. According to his sister Kate, who spoke in a documentary about this claim, “He was having fun. He wasn’t depressed about the Joker.” Others speculated that actress Mary-Kate Olsen was somehow involved in his death.
The woman who found his body called Olsen first, before emergency services, as the two had been casually dating. After receiving the news from the masseuse, Olsen called a small private security team to the apartment. This, of course, caused a lot of speculation. Others said she supplied Ledger with the medication that ultimately led to his death, although this was never proven.
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So what did those who knew him best have to say about his death? Ledger’s father, Kim, had a much different take. He said, “It was totally his fault. It was no one else’s — he reached for them. He put them in his system. You can’t blame anyone else in that situation. That’s hard to accept because I loved him so much and was so proud of him.”
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