Goodbye Heath

There are not many days when the biggest news story of the day leaves us all stunned and shocked. The sudden and unexpected death of Heath Ledger at the early age of just 28 has made the entire world stop in its tracks. I’m sure the speculation about drugs and illness, and the questions about how and why will be around for some time, but what is certain is that a great talent has been lost.

Heath Ledger was sometimes seen as a difficult character, with friction between himself and the paparazzi, and to some extent a quiet and private individual despite the public nature of his work. But it is his work that defines him, and now that we look back at it, his career has been an amazing one. Heath Ledger has appeared in a list of films which would take lesser talents a much longer lifetime to achieve. Most of the films were thought provoking works of considerable artistic depth, and even the few lightweight films on his resume were made more worthy by his appearance.

From his debut in BLACKROCK IN 1996, through to his Oscar nominated performance in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Heath Ledger made a point of looking for the challenging role and mastering it. By all reports his performance in the new BATMAN film, DARK KNIGHT, is a tour de force. That film is set for release in July this year.

Regardless of the circumstances or the causes, whatever they turn out to be, the death of Heath Ledger has taken us all by shock, and deprived the entertainment world of an amazing talent.