Heath Ledger found dead in NY Apartment.

[Cheiron]

Its really sad that this might have been caused by his portrayal of The Joker. Getting into that mindset can really fuck you up. This was causing him to have some issues with sleeping. Which could have made him sick, and just having a tough time getting by. Not saying suicide, but just the combination of drugs and desire to be okay again could have caused something accidental to happen.

 

[Pellaz]

Its really sad that this might have been caused by his portrayal of The Joker. Getting into that mindset can really fuck you up. This was causing him to have some issues with sleeping. Which could have made him sick, and just having a tough time getting by. Not saying suicide, but just the combination of drugs and desire to be okay again could have caused something accidental to happen.

+1


None of the news articles have quite made this direct connection yet, but......yeah. The role of The Joker was clearly having an effect on him, and the meds were prescribed while he was in the UK fillming it.

Damn, what a tragic loss.

 

[sh0kr0k]

+1


None of the news articles have quite made this direct connection yet, but......yeah. The role of The Joker was clearly having an effect on him, and the meds were prescribed while he was in the UK fillming it.

Damn, what a tragic loss.

From the previews, it looks like he did an unbelievable job with the role! Granted, the inability to separate fantasy from reality is a psychological issue which is not necessarily the cause of death, but it is an actors typical approach to "step into the character."

Has anyone heard if the autopsy results were released yet?

 

[Cheiron]

Initial results were released and were inconclusive. But some test results (such as chemical levels in blood) will take about another 10 days to get back.

 

[nailz]

They were. Inconclusive. It'll be about 10 days before they know anything, if they choose to release anything. At the risk of sounding insensitive, if you can't seperate yourself from a character you play, you MAY not want to be an actor that takes on:

Gay roles.
Homicidal Psychopaths.

This just proves to me that Viggo Mortenson > Heath Ledger.

 

[Cheiron]

Its not about seperating. Its about understanding. You can't act well, unless you understand.

Jack Nicholson was already crazy before doing The Joker the first time around.

 

[nailz]

So, Anthony Hopkins 'understood' eating human flesh? 3 times? I mean, I think Lecter was a little more of a fucked up character than The Joker could ever be, and you don't see him all batshit insane.

 

[edgeofthorns]

I doubt very seriously if playing the joker had anything to do with this tragic death. I'd guess that there were some underlying issues in Heath's private life that he was dealing with. I liked a lot of his movies and was stoked about The Dark Knight coming out this summer.

~Brian~

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Sad, Sad news, I loved him in a Knight's Tale, that was a chessy movie but pure entertainment. I really loved the sound track.

I saw "A Knight's Tale" when it was in theaters and have watched it multiple times on DVD -- it's one of my guilty pleasures!

As a side note, I participate in a message board for folks with Graves' Disease, which is an autoimmune condition that causes the thyroid to go into overdrive. There has been some speculation on that board that Heath may have been hyperthyroid, and the symptoms were being improperly treated with sleeping pills. I guess we might never know.

R.I.P.

 

[booB]

Its really sad that this might have been caused by his portrayal of The Joker. Getting into that mindset can really fuck you up. This was causing him to have some issues with sleeping. Which could have made him sick, and just having a tough time getting by. Not saying suicide, but just the combination of drugs and desire to be okay again could have caused something accidental to happen.

I don't think this has shit to do with anything. I think it's just another story the shitty media cooked up to exploit a young actor's death. The fact is that people play much darker, much scarier roles than the friggin' Joker every day, and they don't end up dead. Even Brandon Lee in The Crow died from an accident, not because of the darkness of the role.

 

[JenniferLynn]

Brandon Lee died from a real bullet placed in a gun during the big fight scene at the end - hence the body double in the window and only seeing his silohette(sp?) when he appears to the girl for the first time... (I LOVED that movie.... LOVED IT)

It has been said that Heath had trouble sleeping while playing his part as the Joker... And there was a report saying that Jack Nicholsen said "I warned him" ~ not so much about playing the role of the Joker, but about taking Ambien...

I do hope, for the sake of his family and friends, that it was accidental OD on sleeping pills...

As far as his movies - A Knight's Tale rules - plain and simple; it's one of those you either get it or you don't movies.. I've watched it MANY times... I did enjoy Brother's Grimm, however not one of the better ones.. I just cannot watch Brokeback Mountain.. I just can't... He was great in the Patriot... The Four Feathers was outstanding - highly underrated flick.. He was GREAT in it... And I own all of 'em (except BM)

 

[Burnout]

This just proves to me that Viggo Mortenson > Heath Ledger.

I saw Mortenson on Letterman a while back and it was hands down the most excruciatingly boring interview I have ever seen. He's a good actor, but it was painful watching him get interviewed.


It's a shame that Ledger died so young.

 

[sh0kr0k]

It has been said that Heath had trouble sleeping while playing his part as the Joker... And there was a report saying that Jack Nicholsen said "I warned him" ~ not so much about playing the role of the Joker, but about taking Ambien...

My doctor wrote me a prescription for Ambien a few weeks ago. I really don't want to take it because my body is highly affected by sleep aides and the warnings in the commercial are enough to scare me away from it. I don't know if Heath was taking Ambien specifically, but nonetheless I'm not sure I want to fill this prescription

One thing occured to me recently... perhaps Heath was having trouble sleeping because of the filming schedule, not because of his character. If you watch the previews, in typical Batman tradition, most of the scenes appear to be at night. Heath's prior movies have been predominantly "daylight" movies. If that makes sense... So if you had to stay up all night filming a huge movie instead of sleeping, thus messing up your sleep schedule, it doesn't natter if you're playing a psycho clown or the toothfairy - you'll have trouble sleeping!

As far as his movies - A Knight's Tale rules - plain and simple; it's one of those you either get it or you don't movies.. I've watched it MANY times... I did enjoy Brother's Grimm, however not one of the better ones.. I just cannot watch Brokeback Mountain.. I just can't... He was great in the Patriot... The Four Feathers was outstanding - highly underrated flick.. He was GREAT in it... And I own all of 'em (except BM)

I'm still surprised I haven't seen any other comments on Cassanova, especially from those that liked A Knight's Tale. He was such a charming and convincing Cassanova that it quickly became one of my favorite flicks. It's a bit of a chick-flick, but maybe the guys would enjoy it too.

 

[JenniferLynn]

I did see Cassanova, didn't care for it personally... It was like it was trying to hard; I can't explain it... But you like it!!! and there's not a thing wrong with that...

Lord knows there are movies I go absolutely nuts over and people just did NOT like at all..

 

[Pelata]

'A Knight's Tale' rules! Watched it again over the weekend. Ledger was a very good actor...also liked him in 'The Order'...

I can't wait to see 'The Dark Knight'...I'm a Batman geek from way back and LOVE what I've seen of Heath's Joker...

 

[Evil Penguin]

He seems a very intelligent, highly gifted, and a sensitive actor. Sometimes you commit your entire self into the role and you don't know how deep. And bouts of severe anxiety is a common evil for people in the creative field, especially those that are more sensitive than others. Maybe if he was more experienced and older, he would have kept a little more distance from his role. Whoever helped choose him for the Joker role probably could have patted himself/herself in the back for the excellent choice, but now may feel some remorse because of the media/public's link of his death with the Joker role. Very sad. RIP

 

[Evil Penguin]

My doctor wrote me a prescription for Ambien a few weeks ago. I really don't want to take it because my body is highly affected by sleep aides and the warnings in the commercial are enough to scare me away from it.....I'm not sure I want to fill this prescription

I'm so disgusted when I go to a physician's office and see the Ambien promo pens, etc. Such strange and freakish side effects. I take seven-tenth of benedryl because it's safe, with the only major side effect that it causes dryness. (put pill in small ziploc bag and break it over the edge of table) Seven-tenth of it doesn't make me groggy in the morning and no time-release thing that would prevent you from breaking it and taking a piece of.

Isn't one of the side effects of Ambien possible baldness? Please don't take it, unless you're desperate. I like your hair the way it is.

 

[Pellaz]

I saw "A Knight's Tale" when it was in theaters and have watched it multiple times on DVD -- it's one of my guilty pleasures!

Heh, same here.....partly because at least one of our swords appears in the movie.