Australia awoke this morning to the news that one of its most talented sons, Academy Award nominated actor, Heath Ledger, was dead at the age of 28.
In our country, there are only a handful of international stars. People who have crossed the world to make their mark in the golden mecca that is Hollywood. These Australians are trail blazers for those with big dreams. Our Nic (Kidman), Naomi (Watts), Russ (Crowe), Cate (Blanchett) and Heath are put on a precarious pedestal where everything they say is news and their every move is dogged by the local paparazzi.
So when someone like Heath Ledger dies, Australia goes into shock. His fame is enough for even our Prime Minister to offer his condolences. We are treated to endless updates on the circumstances of his death and for many there is a sense that this is not real. How can a man who achieved a phenomenal level of success, who was still so young and full of promise, be gone?
For me, the day started like any other. I woke up, fed my son, debated what to have for breakfast and then turned on the computer to find that the world had changed while I slept. An actor I truly admired, a fellow Australian, a man almost a decade younger than myself, had died. It was one of those moments when I am reminded that life can be painfully brief. Today, you’re drinking coffee and wondering what to do on the weekend. Tomorrow, it’s all over and there will be no more weekends. That’s life. Unpredictable. Unfair. Apt to be extinguished swiftly and without warning.
Contrary to my headline, Heath Ledger was not a “Movie Star”. He was not a public party animal or a gossip column joke. He was an actor’s actor. A private man who struggled with his fame, was uncomfortable on red carpets and surly in interviews. But most of all, he was a rare talent. An untrained actor who made bold choices and showed glimpses of greatness. A unique individual lost too soon.
These are just some of the reasons I was a fan, and have been since Heath’s break out performance in the Australian gangster film, Two Hands. Even though he was still a teenager at the time, it was obvious that this guy had it all, including that elusive X Factor. He had an intensity that leaped from the screen and would soon see him hand picked by Hollywood heavyweight, Mel Gibson, for his film, The Patriot.
The media are having a field day with this tragic story. It’s a better ending than they could ever ask for. Youth, beauty, talent, drugs, and a mysterious death. It is a cruel irony that a man who loathed the spotlight, who worked so hard to be a serious actor, could become in death the one thing he never wanted to be. A salacious tale. Another celebrity felled by drugs. His talent and his dedication to his craft forgotten. It will be the ultimate tragedy if that is how he is remembered.
It’s enough to make me avoid the news. I want to see tributes, a celebration of an extraordinary life. Not the continued speculation on how and why he died. To me, it really doesn’t matter. A young man is gone. Performances that I loved in films like Brokeback Mountain and Candy will never be repeated. A daughter will never know her father.
For all the fans, I say let us remember Heath Ledger as he would have wanted. An everyday Aussie bloke, a gifted actor, a loving father, a man living his dream.
Photo by drag n fly77
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