As the sad, eerie story of Brittany Murphy really only starts unfolding, Renegade Pictures has just released a trailer for her final movie, “Abandoned.” Brittany’s performance in it is pretty intense. She plays a woman under psychiatric evaluation whose husband has vanished. [Ace Showbiz] 
 
 Has anyone noticed that in show business, when stars die young, their last movie never seemed to be anything warm and fuzzy? After the jump, let’s look at the almost prescient movies of stars who died young. 
 
 Heath Ledger‘s last movie, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” is about a troupe of traveling performers who make deals with the devil and their audiences. Eerie. And the images of him from “The Dark Knight” were pretty shocking too, considering that he was already gone when it came out. [IMDb] 
 
 Aaliyah was a beautiful 22-year-old singer who played the queen of the dead, literally, in “Queen of the Damned.” She died in a plane crash before the movie was released. [Movie Fone] 
 
 Bruce Lee was 32 when he took a headache pill that caused a fatal cerebral edema. His final film, released five years later, was called “Game of Death. ” [IMDb] 
 
 Brandon Lee, Bruce’s tragically sexy son, died at 28, from an injury he received from a prop gun, while he played the title role in “The Crow,” about a post-apocalyptic murder victim who won’t stay buried. Yikes. [All Movie Portal] 
 
 Brad Renfro acted in the title role of “The Client” when he was 11. At 25, he died of a drug overdose, after filming his last movie, “The Informers,” with an ensemble cast of characters each facing some kind of addiction. [Celebitchy] 
 
 River Phoenix died an even younger overdose death. He expired on the sidewalk in front of the notorious nightclub the Viper Room. River was ninety percent done filming “Dark Blood,” but it was never released. [Movie Moron] 
 
 Judy Garland, troubled for years by substance abuse and an unhappy personal life, died of a drug overdose days after she turned 47. Her legendary last film, ” I Could Go On Singing,” was the story of a woman trying to get back the life she abandoned while pursuing fame. [Judy Garland Database] 
 
 What do you think? Don’t they all hit a little close to home? ||||| "I'm not supposed to be talking about this with you. This is not something that is supposed to be happening right now," musician Ben Harper says at the beginning of the new Spike TV documentary I Am Heath Ledger. "Some people are just bigger than the world has room for." 
 
 Related Heath Ledger's Lonesome Trail The breakout performer in the year's most talked-about film has all the makings of a classic leading man. Too bad he hates being a movie star 
 
 Harper, a close friend of the actor who died in 2008 of an accidental drug overdose, is one of several friends, peers and family members who discuss both the actor's singular talents and constant search for adventure and creative pursuits. The poignant film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and made its network debut on Spike last night, culls from archival interviews of the actor alongside handheld footage the actor shot throughout his life (as the film shows, Ledger was rarely without a camera). 
 
 More than just a cradle-to-grave portrait, I Am Heath Ledger transcends box-checking filmography and gushing tributes, looking past Ledger The Movie Star to focus on the young man who dedicated his life to pursuing – and helping others pursue – a wide variety of creative endeavors. Directors Derik Murray and Adrian Buitenhuis spend as much time on the actor's other pursuits – music, directing, nurturing talent – as his acting, giving a 360-degree view of the perpetually energetic and curious star. Here are 10 things we learned from the informative doc. 
 
 1. Venice Carnival Inspired His Early Development 
 
 Prior to auditioning for 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You, Ledger's then-girlfriend Lisa Zane took the actor to the Carnival of Venice. The pair donned costumes and shot 8mm films; it was that trip, according to friend and Ledger's creative collaborator Matt Amato, "that created him as an actor." Ledger would go on to nab the role of the romantic lead in that teen-comedy take on The Taming of the Shrew, which became an unexpected hit and his first big break in Hollywood. 
 
 2. He Thought He Bombed The Patriot Screen Test 
 
 Midway through his screen test for The Patriot, Ledger stopped and said, "Sorry, I'm wasting your time." Despite telling his agent he bombed, he got the part of Gabriel Martin, Mel Gibson's oldest child who joins the Continental Army. Intimidated by the opportunity to act alongside his idol, Ledger had what his agent calls an on-set "crisis of confidence ... Heath would get caught up in the fear of whether or not he could accomplish what he wanted to do. He almost pulled out of every movie he ended up doing." This self-doubt would haunt Ledger his whole career. 
 
 3. He Loved Burning Man 
 
 In 1999, Ledger and his friends went to Burning Man to enjoy downtime between movies, and the actor quickly became awestruck at the creativity of the Nevada festival's participants. "I think Burning Man was his favorite place on Earth,” friend Matt Amato said. Added another longtime buddy Trevor DiCarlo, "It was a bunch of half-naked people and dance music 24/7 ... we fit in really well." 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. He Loathed Being a "Salesman" of His Films 
 
 Virtually the entire marketing campaign for 2001's A Knight's Tale revolved around Ledger, a fact that upset the burgeoning superstar. "I could see him getting more and more upset [in interviews]," says his agent Steve Alexander. "He was getting very uncomfortable and fidgeting; he finally whispered to me that he needed to leave and get out of the room for a second." Ledger both craved and was terrified by fame. "Selling the film was the part of the business he was least comfortable with," Alexander says. 
 
 5 He Was Obsessed With Nick Drake 
 
 "He talked about Nick Drake, a musician he was absolutely passionate about and wanted to tell his story," says actor Djimon Hounsou, who starred with Ledger in 2002's The Four Feathers. Ledger would frequently discuss which visuals he would create to Drake's songs. "It was all about Nick Drake," adds Harper. "He had every record. He had interviews. He was completely immersed." According to friends, Ledger empathized with the musician – who died at 26 – ominously saying that he had a "lot to do" with not much time. 
 
 6. He Asked Ben Harper to Write a Lullaby for His Daughter 
 
 Having hit it off singer-songwriter Ben Harper, Ledger decided to start an independent record label – Masses Music – with the musician. One day after spending the night playing on Ledger's grand piano, Harper awoke to the delivery of the instrument; a spontaneous gift from the actor. "It's supposed to be with you," Ledger told him. A few weeks later, Ledger asked Harper to write a lullaby for Ledger's then-unborn daughter Matilda. "I've never been trusted so deeply," Harper says. "Nothing has ever been asked of me that was that precious." The song would eventually become "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes" from Harper's 2006 album Both Sides of the Gun. 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. He Was an Amazing Chess Player 
 
 Ledger played chess nearly every day, either physically or online. "I always felt that he was five moves in front of me," says his father Kim. "By the time he was 10, he was pretty hard to beat." According to Kim, he was only a few points away from becoming a Grandmaster. Ledger hoped his directorial debut would be an adaptation of The Queen's Gambit, a 1983 novel about a chess prodigy and her battles with drug and alcohol addiction. "He understood that story from the inside out," says cinematographer Ed Lachman. "He wanted to use chess as a metaphor for the girl's life." 
 
 8. The Joker's Constant Lip-Licking Started as a Way to Keep Prosthetics From Coming Off 
 
 For the role of the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight, Ledger locked himself in a room for six weeks to perfect the character's singular voice, posture and stance. (Ledger would later conceive the white pancake makeup and smeared red lipstick himself.) As the lip prosthetics he wore for the part loosened as he talked, the actor would frequently lick his lips to keep them in place. The pragmatic solution to avoiding more time in make-up would become one of the character's most terrifying traits. 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. His Death Inspired Bon Iver to Write "Perth" 
 
 Amato was directing Bon Iver's "The Wolves (Act I & II)" the day that Ledger died. "It was no longer about just making a Bon Iver music video anymore," the group's singer-songwriter Justin Vernon says. "This was now our chance to be there with Matt as he grieved. It was a three-day wake." Amato would tell Vernon stories about Ledger that would eventually become the inspiration for "Perth," the first song on the indie band's 2011 album Bon Iver, Bon Iver. 
 
 10. He Couldn't Turn His Brain Off 
 
 Chronically unable to wind down at the end of the day, Ledger eventually turned to sleeping medications to help him sleep through the night. The actor developed a bad flu in London on the set of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus that exhausted him, yet he confessed that the medications he was taking weren't helping him. "At times, he would say, 'I'm just having a hard time laying it down at the end of the day and not thinking about stuff,'" Alexander says. ||||| I Am Heath Ledger, the beautiful and heartbreaking documentary that premiered on Spike TV Wednesday, details the life and soul of the gone-too-soon actor told from the point of view of those family members and friends who shared his life. Compiled from interviews with the actor during his lifetime, as well as footage he shot on a handheld camera, the documentary offers viewers a rare insight into the actor’s life and philosophy. 
 
 Here are 15 things we learned about the star from I Am Heath Ledger. 
 
 1. He always wanted to act 
 
 As a teenager Ledger would follow all his older sister’s productions and watch from the front row telling his family: “That’s what I want to do, I can’t wait until I can do that!�? He always had a clear vision for where he saw his life going and would stare up at the stars he’d stuck on his bedroom ceiling, point to them and say: “That’s where I’m going to be. I’m going to be in the film industry and I’m going to be a film actor.�? This restless ambition led him to leave school and hit the road when he was just 17. “I had nothing to run away from in Perth,” the Australian says in a voiceover from a previous interview. “It’s just that there was all this going on outside of that and I just had to be a part of it.�? 
 
 2. When he read the script for 10 Things I Hate About You he immediately wanted the lead role 
 
 Ledger’s filmmaker-friend Matt Amato gave him a copy of his friend’s script for 10 Things I Hate About You. Once Ledger had read it he immediately told Amato he wanted to play the lead role of Patrick, despite his relative inexperience. Ledger landed the part at the audition. At that moment Amato realized there was truly something “different�? about his friend. After making the film, Ledger began to feel like this was really his career, that he truly was an actor. Because of his success in the rom-com, producers began scrambling to cast him in any and all similar projects, but that was the exact opposite of what the young actor was looking to do. Rather, he wanted to mix things up a bit, choosing his next role carefully. “People in Hollywood, they don’t like to hear no,�? says Ledger in voiceover. “So I had a lot of fun saying no.�? But he did it in a friendly way. 
 
 3. He made his own mini movies 
 
 Ledger was constantly recording what was going on around him, documenting his life with a camcorder, Polaroid camera, and regular camera and make art out of it. He had a knack for capturing friends at their most vulnerable and authentic. Cameras were a big passion of Ledger’s life, and he was able to set them up without using a light meter and understood how to use all their settings. He would also film himself acting — even if it was just him running around his hotel pretending to be on a mission — always curious to see how he, as a self-taught actor in many way, could improve. 
 
 4. Mel Gibson was one of his heroes 
 
 When Ledger screen tested for 2000’s The Patriot , he was excited at the thought of working with one of his longtime idols and fellow Aussies, Mel Gibson (he loved Mad Max growing up). However, halfway through the second scene of his screen test, Ledger stopped what he was doing, fearing he had messed up and didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. He called his agent when he left and told him he wouldn’t be getting the part, only to find out a little later that he had, in fact, landed the role — the producers were impressed by the little they’d seen. 
 
 5. He was plagued with self-doubt 
 
 While working on The Patriot, Ledger experienced a crisis of confidence. He called his friends from the set really upset and caught up in the fear that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish what he wanted in the role. However, Gibson took the young actor under his wing and looked out for him — he essentially became Ledger’s first teacher, telling his friends, “It’s not what Mel says, it’s what he doesn’t say.�? After the movie wrapped, Gibson invited his young prodigy and friends to fly back to L.A. with him on his private jet. 
 
 6. He basically lived in the house from Entourage before Entourage was a TV show 
 
 Ledger kept around him the close group of friends he’d grown up with back in Perth, often inviting everyone to stay at his home in L.A. — with or without him. The doors were always open — Ledger could be away shooting a movie in Europe and his home would still be full. “Heath’s place in L.A. was sort of a renowned pre-Entourage kind of Entourage house,” says friend and actor Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline). Adrian Grenier was even there one night, which Mendelsohn believes was for research purposes. As alluring and enticing as Ledger’s life was, “he was very big on sharing his success,” says Naomi Watts, who starred along Ledger in 2003’s Ned Kelly. 
 
 7. The fame that came from A Knight’s Tale was unsettling for him 
 
 Realizing their lead’s star potential, the producers behind the 2001 movie built the marketing campaign around Ledger. There were billboards of his face everywhere and he knew it would project him into the limelight, which made him uncomfortable. Watts describes it as “tall poppy syndrome” — an Australianism that suggests too much success is ugly and one should be cut back down to size. Ledger was uneasy playing salesman for the movie on the multi-city promotional tour and despite having previously sought fame, when he got it realized he didn’t want it at all. 
 
 8. He picked projects based on directors and roles he could disappear into 
 
 In 2001, Ledger had a supporting role in Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball, a role that allowed him to explore a completely different side of himself and a new skill set. Remembers Ledger’s future director Ang Lee: “He didn’t do a lot…but that’s the power of Heath Ledger; he will steal the movie.�? The next year Ledger took on a role in Shekhar Kapur’s film The Four Feathers because he was a huge fan of the director’s work, followed by 2003’s Ned Kelly — a project Watts signed onto because of her interest in working with Ledger. She describes his intense approach to his work and being blown away by him on the first day. Next up was the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Lords of Dogtown. Hardwicke was initially worried Ledger was too much of a heartthrob to play the part in the 2005 movie, but some fake teeth and dedication soon convinced her otherwise. “This interest in the exterior and the craft, the way that characters would look and sound and physically look on screen — he was sort of a painter in that way,” says costar Emile Hirsch. “But he still had a psychological interest in characters.” Seven days later he was on the set of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. Lee wasn’t initially convinced Ledger could carry a movie, but remembering his performance in Monster’s Ball convinced him otherwise. 
 
 9. He sent Ben Harper a grand piano 
 
 Ledger sent the musician a piano, telling him “it’s supposed to be with you.” Later, he called up Harper and asked him to write a lullaby for his unborn daughter. Harper saw the opportunity as a great privilege. Ledger later directed the music video for Harper’s “Morning Yearning.” Harper describes the video as “the best music video I’ve ever had in my 23 years of making videos,�? referencing Ledger’s prowess behind the camera and his “command of his vision.” Ledger and Harper started an independent record label together named The Masses — because it wasn’t meant to be exclusive; everyone has the capacity to tell their story. 
 
 10. Being a dad was his favorite thing 
 
 After the birth of his daughter Matilda with then-partner Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain), Ledger fell in love with being a father. The young family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Ledger fell in love with the city and everything about their life at the time. He would breeze through the streets of Manhattan with Matilda on his shoulders. 
 
 11. He rarely slept 
 
 His friends describe him as having too much energy, too much creativity, and too much to do to find time to sleep. He would call up people at all hours of the night because an idea had taken hold of him and he had to share it, or he would show up unannounced for breakfast at 5:30 or 6 a.m. If anyone could sense their own mortality, it was Ledger. He had a thing for artists who had died young, like Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin, and would express to his friends that he felt he was like them and that he wouldn’t be around long so he had to get things done now. “If there wasn’t some type of risk involved, he had no time for it,” says Harper. “He went all the way to the edge in the time that he had. Some people are just bigger than the world has room for.�? When working on 2007’s I’m Not There Ledger felt things starting to unravel and was struggling with being unable to give Williams and Matilda the attention he wanted to give them. He felt he couldn’t control his destiny and was having trouble sleeping. As a result he had to medicate his sleep, which, in turn, wasn’t good for his body. 
 
 12. He loved chess 
 
 He was an avid and gifted chess player who, by ten years old, could beat his dad. He played every day, online or in person, and was only a few points off achieving Grand Master status. So when he saw the script for Queen’s Gambit, a movie about a pill-addicted chess player, he was intent on making it his directorial feature film debut. 
 
 13. The Joker’s lip-licking in The Dark Knight was a way to avoid less time in the makeup trailer 
 
 For his role as the Joker in his penultimate movie, The Dark Knight, Ledger had to don prosthetics over his lips to resemble scars, but they would loosen any time he spoke. In an effort to avoid revisiting the makeup chair multiple times a day, Ledger would lick his lips to prevent them from cracking. This soon became a character trait. 
 
 14. Playing the Joker was the first time he felt untouchable as an actor 
 
 After spending six weeks locked away preparing for the role and perfecting the characteristics, Ledger — for the first time in his career — felt like he really nailed the performance. No matter how great the other actors were in the scene, he felt as though he was controlling it. Although people think it was a strenuous role for him, Ledger would come off set and laugh about how much fun he was having creatively. When he wasn’t working he would turn up to set anyway to watch director Christopher Nolan at work and learn from him. 
 
 15. He was happy at the time of his death 
 
 Although people have painted a narrative of Ledger’s death that suggests he was in a dark place, his family and friends contend the opposite. “It’s still hard when people talk about it, or have preconceived ideas surrounding that period of time but that’s what people do; they come up with their version of it that makes it convenient and tidy and also tells a good story,” says his agent, Steve Alexander. “The truth is, he was super happy and was loving life, and he struggled with some demons but he wasn’t wanting to go anywhere but forward.”
– In the wake of Brittany Murphy’s death, her latest film roles take on an especially creepy symbolism. The Frisky points to the just-released trailer for her upcoming movie Abandoned, in which she plays a woman under psychiatric care—and E! notes that the box art for another recent film, Deadline, shows Murphy’s character, lifeless, in a bathtub. The Frisky looks back at the final roles of others who died young: Heath Ledger: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is about traveling performers who make deals with the devil—and let’s not forget his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. River Phoenix: He was 90% done filming a movie called Dark Blood before dying of an overdose on the sidewalk in front of the Viper Room nightclub. Aaliyah: The singer died in a plane crash before her last movie, Queen of the Damned, was released. For the complete list, click here.