HEATH LEDGER

Heath was an award-winning Australian actor praised for his credit roles in such films as The Dark Night, The Patriot, and Brokeback Mountain. His portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the latter film earned him the New York Film Critics Circle Award in the Best Actor category and Best International Actor from the Australian Institute. Ledger found a passion for playing chess at only the age of 10. He then won Western Australia’s Junior Chess Championship at a young age.

During that time, he was also fascinated by watching stage performers and soon took on the lead role in a school production of Peter Pan. This paved the way for a deeper love of the acting craft, and the rest, as they say, is history. On January 22, 2008, Heath was discovered unconscious. The cause of his passing, as ascertained by toxicology reports, was due to intoxication from pharmaceuticals. It was termed a clear case of an accidental overdose of prescribed medicines.