Actor Biography - Heath Ledger Posted by: Hollywood Lot Staff

Heath Ledger began fulfilling his acting passion at age 10 when he joined his local theater company in Perth, Australia. While performing on stage he also began getting roles on Australian television shows like Clowning Around, Bush Patrol, Corrigan, Ship to Shore, and Home and Away. In 1997, Americans got to see Ledger in the starring role on American television series Roar, which was filmed in Queensland, Australia. Because of his role on Roar he landed an American talent agent and made his move to the United States.

He still remained loyal to his Australian fan base by starring in Gregor Jordan’s award-winning feature Two Hands, but also worked on American feature films. In America he starred in four major films: the romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, opposite Julia Stiles; Roland Emmerish’s The Patriot with Mel Gibson; Brian Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale; and Oscar winning film Monster’s Ball with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton.

Subsequent films include Shekhar Kapur’s The Four Feathers, Brian Helgeland’s The Order, Gregor Jordan’s Ned Kelly, Catherine Hardwicke’s Lords of Dogtown, and Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm. He is currently receiving great critical acclaim for his role as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, for which he was nominated for both a Golden Globe and Academy Award.

Upcoming projects include Lasse Hallström’s Casanova, as the legendary title character and Australian independent feature, Neil Armfield’s Candy, starring opposite Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush.