It’s been just over nine years since Heath Ledger’s tragic passing from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, but the love and the fascination of the Aussie star lives on.
The Oscar-winning actor, who was 28 when he died, is the subject of a new Spike-TV documentary titled I Am: Heath Ledger and the trailer has just landed, on what what would have been his 38th birthday.
The film, described as an “intimate portrait” of the late star includes never-before-seen home videos shot by the actor himself. It also features interviews with those who knew him best including family and friends as well as actors Naomi Watts, Emile Hirsch and Ben Mendelsohn and director Ang Lee.
“Heath was the most alive human,” musician Ben Harper says in the trailer. “And if it wasn’t on the edge, it didn’t interest him.”
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“He was always a director, acting was just a way to get there,” childhood friend Trevor DiCarlo explains.
“There were always cameras around. A video camera or a Polaroid camera, or the film camera. That’s the only way I think of him, with the camera in hand,” added model Christina Cauchi.
Often called one of the most-compelling actors of his generation, the star captivated audiences on-screen but he shunned the spotlight that came with stardom off.
“He wanted fame — and then when he got it, he didn’t want it,” says filmmaker Matt Amato, one of the star’s closest friends.
Heath was best known for his roles in 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale, Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, which he went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor Oscar posthumously for, for his role as the deeply troubled Joker.
The documentary will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23 and will air in May.
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