Heath Ledger "Brokeback Mountain", Ledger costarred with fellow Australian Abbie Cornish in the 2006 Australian film "Candy," an adaptation of the 1998 novel "," as young heroin addicts in love attempting to break free of their addiction, whose mentor is played by Geoffrey Rush; for his performance as sometime poet Dan, Ledger was nominated for three "Best Actor" awards, including one of the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, which both Cornish and Rush won in their categories. Shortly after the release of "Candy", Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As one of six actors
Heath Ledger Hands", directed by Gregor Jordan. From 2000 to 2005, he starred in supporting roles as Gabriel Martin, the eldest son of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), in "The Patriot" (2000), and as Sonny Grotowski, the son of Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), in "Monster's Ball" (2001); and in leading or title roles in "A Knight's Tale" (2001), "The Four Feathers" (2002), "The Order" (2003), "Ned Kelly" (2003), "Casanova" (2005), "The Brothers Grimm" (2005), and "Lords of Dogtown" (2005). In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award as "Male Star of Tomorrow". Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New