HEATH LEDGER at HOLLYWOOD TEEN MOVIES

* Heath's parents divorced when he was 10 years old.
* Heath got his first start in The Globe Shakespeare Company in Perth, Australia.

* Heath attended a private all boys school called Guildford Grammer. At school he was interested in Drama & Sport.

* Heath won many Hockey Awards & also co-ordinated a team of students to take part in a nationwide dance competition. The team went on & won.

* In 1996 Heath was appointed captain of the school Drama team.
* Heath finished High School at age 16 & travelled to Sydney to seek fame & fortune.

* Heath's movie debut was in the 1997 Australian Drama Blackrock. This led to a role in the television program "Sweat" & later to his part as the warrior prince in "Roar".

* Heath's role in "Roar" won him many female fans & an agent in the USA.

* Heath was soon hired to star in his first big-budget movie opposite Bryan Brown, the highly successful Australian Crime Comedy "Two Hands".

* Two Hands was a hit at the Aust. Box Office winning Best Film of the year at the AFI Awards.

* Heath's success with "Two Hands" led him to the starring role in his first Teen Movie "10 Things I Hate About You". It was a smash hit worldwide & established Heath as a major Hollywood player.

* In 2000 Heath starred opposite Mel Gibson in "The Patriot".
* From October 2000 to June 2001 Heath dated actress Heather Graham.

* In 2001 Heath won the "Blockbuster Entertainment Award" for "Favorite Male Newcomer" for his work in "The Patriot".

* At the "2001 ShoWest Convention" Heath Ledger won the ShoWest Award for "Male Star of Tomorrow".

* In 2001 Heath starred in the big-budget period piece "A Knight's Tale" which was shot in the Czech Republic. He also had a support role opposite oscar winner Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball".

* In 2002 Heath starred in "The Four Feathers" alongside Kate Hudson.

* In 2003 Heath starred as a priest in "The Order" (aka "The Sin Eater") and was back on the big screen as famous Australian bushranger "Ned Kelly" in the highly anticipated Australian Western.

* 2005 was a big year for Heath. He starred in no less than 4 movies, Lords Of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm, Casanova and Brokeback Mountain for which he won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

* In 2006 Heath starred in the low-budget Australian film "Candy" and in 2007 he starred as one of several actors, including fellow Australian Cate Blanchett, to portray musician Bob Dylan in the critically acclaimed drama "I'm Not There".

* Sadly in 2008 Heath passed away in his Manhattan apartment, shortly after completion of work for the Batman film "The Dark Knight".

It is with great sadness to announce the passing of Australian actor Heath Ledger on January 22nd 2008. Although, Heath only starred in one full-fledged teen movie, “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999), he became one of the first actors to be featured at “Hollywood Teen Movies” when the site was launched in 2001. At “Hollywood Teen Movies” we believe that Heath was one of the greatest actors of his generation and sadly his career wasn't even half realized.

In 1999 I viewed “10 Things I Hate About You” at an advanced screening in an Australian cinema. My immediate thoughts were, this is an above average teen movie with an exceptional young cast. Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles stood out as two of the most promising young actors on the scene. A couple of months later I viewed “Two Hands” in an Australian cinema, only a day or two after its initial release. I was simply blown away by the movie and in particular by Heath's performance. A day or two later I was on a flight to Los Angeles and was sitting next a young female that I discovered was involved in the entertainment industry. I cannot remember her name or specifically what kind of work she did, but I think she may have been involved in script writing. What I do remember is a brief part of our conversation. I was flicking through a number of entertainment publications that I had picked up at the magazine outlet of the airport. She saw what I was reading and asked me what films I was interested in and what actors had impressed me most in recent times. I said I had just viewed the film “Two Hands” a couple of days ago. I asked her if she had seen the film and she said no. She asked me about who was in it. I told her that it starred a young Australian actor called Heath Ledger and the older Australian actor Bryan Brown. She said that she had never heard of Heath Ledger, but knew of Bryan Brown. I went on to tell her that I thought that Heath was an actor to watch out for and that I think you will hear a lot about him in the next few years. I also mentioned that I had seen him in the American teen film “10 Things I Hate About You”, earlier in the year and that he had put in a brilliant performance in that film also. She told me, that she had heard about “10 Things” but had not yet seen it. She went on to say that she would keep a look out for Heath in the future.

When “Hollywood Teen Movies” was launched in 2001, Heath's profile page was one of the first of the actor pages to go online and his early films “10 Thing I Hate About You”, “Two Hands”, “The Patriot” and “A Knight Tale”, were among the first films to be featured at “Hollywood Teen Movies”. I am now sure that the young lady I met on the plane back in 1999 has since discovered who Heath Ledger is and now like the rest of the world; knows what Heath Ledger brought to the world of acting in his short life. Heath was a true artist and an exceptional talent who played an array of diverse characters in a collection of high-quality films that both critics and audiences loved. I did not know Heath Ledger, nor did I ever meet him personally. I only knew Heath through his films and I believe Heath was an accomplished artist and a true actor well ahead of his time. He may have only been 28 years of age but the quality of his work was way beyond his years. Heath will be sadly missed by his family, friends and of course his many fans. From “Hollywood Teen Movies” we send our deepest condolences to Heath's family and friends at this very sad time.

Tony (webmaster of www.hollywoodteenmovies.com)