“Why so serious?”¹ A quote from the Joker in the movie The Dark Knight, that many audiences felt run chills up their spine because the actor portraying the character was very serious about his job, art, and life. Heathcliff Andrew Ledger was the international actor credited with passionately immersing himself into the character, the Joker, as well as challenging himself in other films, such as Brokeback Mountain and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Though, Heath Ledger was more than just an actor; he was a passionate artist, who mastered other disciplines like photography and directing. Ledger’s desire to express himself through several different arts was the result of his natural love for life. As a photographer, he was always looking for moments to capture and then bring to life, by editing the photos himself with nail polish, scalpels, and many other interesting tools that would showcase his vision and creativity.² As a director, Ledger wanted to animate other people’s talents, so that he could help them improve in their art. In one instance, N’fa Forster-Jones, one of Ledger’s childhood friend’s, recalls that “if [Heath] wants to bark at me what to do, imma take it because the best guy in the planet is telling me how to be better.”³ Improving other people’s lives was just a part of who Heath Ledger was, because he had a genuine care for others. Now, that characteristic of being able to improve others can be seen in Ledger as an actor as well, because he would just bring the talent out of other actors and actresses while shooting scenes. Ledger was able to draw out his fellow cast member’s talent because he inspired them with his own commitment to the role. Ledger was able to astonishingly commit himself to a role due to his understanding that his role was a challenge and anything short of a full heart would lead to a poor portrayal of his character. In a short analysis of Heath Ledger, it is clear that he was a fast-paced individual who wanted so much for himself and those around him.⁴ Unfortunately, the reality is that not even the most agile and high spirited human being, such as Ledger, can hold out forever against the high stresses and expectations of a Hollywood life. In fact, Ledger often told his family that “I’m not going to live ’til I’m very old,” demonstrating his clear awareness of the world around him.⁵

Now, many of us are not actors and are simply on the outside of the “Hollywood candy store” looking in. At some point, all entertainers were on the outside, but eventually those select individuals decided to walk in and get a taste of the entertainment life. For many actors and actresses that’s how it starts, with a desire for fame and fortune, but for others it starts with a passion and true love for the art of acting. Regardless of the motivation, all actors and actresses soon realize that the industry of entertainment comes at a high price of judgement and intrusion. The negative prospects just come with the territory because many people are left on the outside of the “Hollywood candy store” and just want so badly to see the celebrities fall. Now, as if battling the judgmental vultures outside the industry wasn’t bad enough, celebrities also have to battle competition with those either just entering the industry or with those already established.  Though, where the competition is coming from does not matter, because any competitor will increases the uncertainty of whether not an actor or actress will have any income.⁶ In fact, an anonymous entertainer has even gone on to express that “the insecurity of not knowing what tomorrow will bring,” is the worst aspect of working in the entertainment business.⁷ There is no doubt that becoming an actor or actress can be a glamorous life-changing experience, but like anything else that is worthwhile, it does not come easily. So, how do celebrities battle the stresses of the fast-paced industry? Well, there are some celebrities who choose to relinquish their stress through continuous drug use, and then there are other celebrities who search for more serious connections through the industry so that they can couple and share in the hardships of their lifestyles. Nonetheless, entering the entertainment industry is a bold action that should never be taken lightly, because the lifestyle does have the power to leave permanent and damaging scars on an individual and those around them.⁸

Undoubtedly, there are hundreds of new actors and actresses trying to break into the industry every day, so there is a very strong mentality for all entertainers to either sink or swim, because Hollywood only wants the best, and if you’re not showcasing it, then your easily forgotten. Well, Heath Ledger was determined to be remembered, but he was very cautious as to how he built his reputation. Ledger knew he could easily be labeled as a stereotypical “pretty boy” actor, which would limit his opportunities immensely. So, in order to avoid any stereotypical labels, Ledger chose very particular roles that he felt would challenge him, thus leading Ledger to diverse films such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Monster’s Ball, and The Four Feathers. With each new challenge Ledger was taken to new places, with new people with whom he would begin relationships. Though, the one film that Ledger said he would “forever be grateful” for was Brokeback Mountain, because it introduced him to Michelle Williams, the mother of his child.⁹ Prior to having their baby, Williams and Ledger were just co-stars on Brokeback Mountain acting as each other’s husband and wife, though very quickly their fictional chemistry became a reality. After filming Brokeback Mountain, Williams and Ledger continued to pursue roles individually, but even as they were torn apart from the distance of their new films, they still managed to hold on to one another through constant phone calls. Eventually, they did slow down in their careers and sped up things in their relationship, even having early conversations about having babies together. Though very quickly the innocent “talks” of starting a family became a reality when Williams and Ledger discovered that they would be expecting in 2005.

Twelve months after the discovery of Williams’ pregnancy, both Ledger and Williams began having the time of their lives in their new demanding roles as parents to their three-month-old baby, Matilda Rose. Williams and Ledger soon learned that being a celebrity couple and having a baby is no picnic, due to the simple fact that photographers are constantly wanting to profit from the precious moments they’re trying to share. In fact, Ledger once ran up to a photographer, who was waiting outside a flower shop that Williams and Matilda were in, and said “If I give you this flower, please, please, please do not take a photo of our daughter,” to which the photographer reluctantly agreed.¹⁰ Clearly, Ledger loved his new family and felt great pleasure in being grounded with his new purpose in life, but he still had a strong tendency to smoke marijuana. According to Ledger’s friends, he never used any harder drugs than marijuana, because the marijuana specifically helped him relax his mind and battle his insomnia. But Michelle Williams felt his drug usage was out of control and told him to clean up his act for her and their daughter, Matilda. Ultimately, Ledger was unable to quit, and the couple announced their separation in August 2007, but remained in good spirits with one another to properly care for their daughter. As any person would, Ledger took the separation hard, especially since he depended on the grounding that both Williams and Matilda provided in his life. Nonetheless, Ledger knew that he had to hold himself up and he attempted to move forward with his life the best he could.¹¹

While Ledger’s attempts to battle his insomnia with marijuana were slightly unorthodox, it is understandable when considering how serious of a health issue insomnia is. There are various distinctions of insomnia, but generally it is described as the inability to sleep. Many population studies have been done regarding insomnia, so the results vary, but it can be concluded that about an average of ten to fifteen percent of the population suffer from persistent or chronic insomnia. Many doctors draw the sleep disorder of insomnia to be caused by a failure of “sleep-promoting” attributes within the mind, or a result of a highly active mind. Insomnia may not be the most common sleep disorder, but should it go on without treatment, then many other bodily complications could follow that eventually lead to disease or death.

So ideally, the first step to treating insomnia is to acknowledge the sleeping distress and search for medical assistance to receive a professional diagnosis. Any physician can diagnose insomnia, but there are no specific tests or diseases that a doctor can look for within a person’s body in order to establish whether or not they have insomnia. A diagnosis of insomnia simply relies on a patient’s awareness of their sleeping habits, or lack thereof, and the impairment of their daytime function. Once a diagnosis is given, a patient can proceed to a sleep specialist where they can practice good sleeping habits or receive sleeping medication. Sleeping medication is not and should not be the first solution to insomnia, because many patients have issues with tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal of the medication(s). Tolerance is the larger issue of sleeping medication because the amount patients should take varies depending on who the patient is and their habits. So there is no appropriate amount of sleeping medication for every patient, because each individual patient should receive an appropriate dosage from a physician that knows them and their medical history.¹²

The idea of family is one of the greatest and strongest concepts there is, especially when its a family of your own, which is why it was so devastating for Heath Ledger when he lost the stability of his family with Michelle Williams and Matilda Rose. Though Ledger understood that he could not let his separation from Williams lead his life into depression, Ledger battled his heart-ache by diving into his career and searching for yet another challenging role. In his search, Ledger found the role of the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Upon officially being given the role, Ledger went straight to work in studying the Joker. In fact, Ledger said that he “knew there was an opportunity for a new version of the Joker… and knew instantly what to do.”¹³ Part of Ledger’s preemptive creative process of immersing himself into the Joker involved Ledger locking himself in a hotel room for six weeks and keeping a diary in the character of the Joker.  Many of Ledger’s family and friends knew that his preparation for the character was a true testament to his level of commitment and workmanship, but his commitment to the role can also be viewed as an unhealthy practice in the battle of his insomnia because it prevented him from acquiring adequate sleep. Nevertheless, Ledger persisted in his career, completed his scenes for The Dark Knight in late 2007, and quickly began shooting for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It was while shooting for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus that Ledger began to complain more about his sleeping issues and claimed that it was due to the stresses of work. Fortunately, Ledger did not use marijuana to help him sleep, instead he began using sleeping pills. Though on January 22, 2008 it would appear that the sleeping pills were not as safe of a solution as presumed when Heath Ledger was found deceased in his Manhattan apartment. Naturally, the media and the public jumped to the conclusion that the stress of a Hollywood life drove Ledger to commit suicide, but a later autopsy proved the assumption false. Moreover, the autopsy revealed that Ledger did not take a single form of sleeping medication; instead, he accidentally took an inadequate combination of sleeping medications that resulted in his untimely demise.¹⁴

Heath Ledger was well-disciplined in many art forms, such as acting, photography, and directing. Even with all of Ledger’s talents, he still set out to improve himself and those around him. Normally, someone with Ledger’s caring and modest mentality would have no issues with moving forward in life, but because of Ledger’s hardships and overly active mind, he consistently drove himself into his work with little to no regard for sleep, thus requiring Ledger to need sleeping pills. But because he continuously used the pills, he built up a tolerance to their effects. Ultimately, with Ledger feeling no effects of the sleeping medication, he accidentally overdosed on an inadequate combination of sleeping medications that resulted in his death. On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger’s life was cut short and the world lost an artistic and genuinely caring human being, but thanks to an infamous quote from Ledger’s character Tony, in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, it can be believed that in death Heath Ledger is “immortal nevertheless [and] forever young.”¹⁵