Farewell to a Unique Talent ~ Heath Ledger

The world lost an incredibly talented and gifted young actor yesterday. Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment. The cause of his death appears to be accidental, which makes this doubly tragic.

I have a group of friends, people I've met over the Internet….through a forum/blog dedicated to Jake Gyllenhaal - Jake Watch. Before anyone dismisses the concept of "cyber friends" and the subject of our admiration (obsession?), let me state I cherish and respect each and every one of these people, and feel as close to them as if I had face-to-face contact with them on a regular basis. We laugh together, cry together, share funny stories and poetry, drool over and gossip about handsome actors, worry about each other, support each other, discuss controversial subjects, wish each other Happy Birthday, and just like regular friends, sometimes we disagree and even get on each other's nerves. One or two I've met face-to-face, but the majority of us have never seen each other aside from our pictures. We are scattered all over the world…the U.K., Sweden, Australia, Italy, Canada, Poland, Iceland, and several states here in the U.S. But we are as close as friends can be, and now, we are devastated and doing our best to comfort each other.

The website I speak of was born out of the release of Brokeback Mountain, the hauntingly beautiful, poetic love story between a ranch hand (Heath Ledger) and a rodeo cowboy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Those who have seen and appreciate this film know what I'm talking about when I say to call it "the gay cowboy movie" (always with slight disdain in one's tone) is to at most insult the story and the film and at least to short-sell it. The movie is emotionally devastating for the majority of people who view it, and even after almost 2 years and multiple viewings it still has the power to deliver an emotional wallop. The film, Heath and Jake were all deservedly nominated for Oscars, and while I'm not in the least taking anything away from Jake's performance, it was Heath who garnered the most attention from critics.

In reviews of the film, Heath was almost unanimously praised for his performance as Ennis del Mar, the young ranch hand who finds the love of his life in Jack Twist (Jake), but denies his feelings, rationalizing them and dismissing them as a "one-shot thing", going on to marry a woman and father two daughters, attempting to live what he considered a "normal life". The overall message of the story was that living a lie, denying one's true self and throwing away the happiness that one's heart knows to be genuine, is destructive in many ways, and in his portrayal, Heath perfectly captured the self-loathing and internal conflict of a man denying who he is and truly loves. Heath literally became Ennis, disappearing inside the character, right down to his gait, his accent, speech and mannerisms. It was an incredibly realistic portrayal and one of the reasons the film is so devastating.

Heath refused to capitalize on his blond, surfer-type, pretty boy looks and often took roles that were off-beat, eccentric and not what you would expect of a young actor only in his 20's. Even in his more light-hearted roles he seemed to bring a depth to the character that any other actor would not have bothered with. He seemed to me to be a unique young man in many ways…very sensitive, intelligent, reclusive and only willing to go just so far to play "the Hollywood game". He was an actor, not a movie star, and that is how he viewed his career.

I feel as if I have lost a very close friend. My heart goes out to his family, and particularly his little 2-year old daughter Matilda. It breaks my heart she will grow up without her father, who was unquestionably devoted to her.

Rest in peace, Heath. We lost you far too soon.

A Soulful Talent: Cherishing Heath Ledger