Heath Ledger Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 197922 January 2008) was an Australian actor and director. After performing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger left for the United States in 1998 to further develop his film career. His work comprised nineteen films, including "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), "Casanova" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008), and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (2009), the latter two being posthumous releases. He also produced and directed music videos and
Heath Ledger and Grace Woodroofe, include an animated feature for Modest Mouse's song, "King Rat", and the Woodroofe video for her cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand". The "King Rat" video premiered on 4 August 2009. Ledger was an avid chess player, playing some tournaments when he was young. As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park, though the level of his play has sometimes been exaggerated. Ledger also had a keen interest in the West Coast Eagles, a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League and is based in his hometown