Heath Ledger was never looking to become the leading man. He desperately tried to avoid being type-cast. The Australian born actor came to America in search of something wonderful, to do what he was born to do. He got his big break in the 1999 romantic-comedy Ten Things I Hate About You, which I never thought was a great movie, but there was something about Ledger that made him step out of the formulaic leading man role. Audiences knew there was something special about this guy.

Then came The Patriot, which gave us the perspective on who Ledger was going to become. He was an actor. He was born to do this. He held his own as Gabriel Martin, the son of French-Indian war veteran Benjamin Martin, played by Hollywood-vet Mel Gibson. Ledger took the role because he did not want to be typecast. This was the beginning of Ledger's true acting career, which was very dangerous because agencies and studios were almost feeding him money to be the hunk-leading man. Ledger went on a streak of mild success and failures. Being afraid of typecasting issues, he took on several character roles including A Knight's Tale and Monster's Ball, where the first one flopped and the second gave him critical success. Soon after, Ledger got lost in the shuffle with some forgettable films, until he found his calling in Brokeback Mountain.

Everyone knows of or has seen the film. No matter how you feel of its subject, you can't deny the courage it took for him to so effortlessly capture the vast emptiness of a soul who spends the rest of his days alone. Ledger speaks about his character Ennis Del Mar: "The challenge was to capture the stillness of him. I have kind of semi-frantic, nervous energy. Harnessing that was something I thought I'd have to work out. Shooting in the wilderness, the stillness became like this innate quality." This performance will be considered his career defying role, one that took an act of confidence and sincere sensitivity.

Heath Ledger's last two performances is I'm Not There a film chronicling Bob Dylan and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's successful Batman Begins. It will be released this summer, where Ledger's take on The Joker should be a spellbinding performance.

The first film I ever saw Heath Ledger in was The Patriot. I was 12 years old. It was a year before I began reviewing movies and during my days of performing on stage in middle school. I distinctly remember watching the film without knowing who Ledger was and only saw him as Mel Gibson's son. But as I watched his character bravely and enthusiastically pick up his musket to fight against the British, it metaphorically measured his eagerness to become an actor like no other. Heath Ledger was an important piece to Hollywood's puzzle, one whose life is forever incomplete.