R.I.P. Heath Ledger

It’s so odd. I don’t even know this guy on any personal basis. Yet there I was having this momentary panic thinking, “This is actually happening, this isn’t a stunt or movie promotion. He really is dead.”

If you’re a movie buff or have a friend that enjoyed even one of his movies, you know by now that Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment earlier today. As of right now the cause of death hasn’t been released, but speculation has begun due to a bottle of pills found near his body. I don’t really care to speculate on the manner of his death, the thought of doing so pretty much makes me a little ill. Not because I’m caught in admiration from afar of a movie star that just died, but mostly because I really know nothing of the situation and it’s a matter of respect to those that Mr. Ledger left behind.

I believe I’m mostly shell shocked because of the impact Heath Ledger’s work and the little I’ve read about him has had on me. I honestly can’t remember many days where I haven’t had the line from his film, 10 Things I Hate About You, run through my mind as a reminder to myself: “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t have what you want.” Nor will I forget a Rolling Stone interview in which he ranted about mass marketing, using Coca-Cola as an example. Coca-Cola, as Ledger put it, tastes like shit. Yet it’s the most popular drink in all of America, maybe the world all due to mass advertising. For some reason, the way he passionately spouted on about the subject stayed with me.

To top it all off, the man seemed to have pulled off playing the greatest foe of my all-time favorite character. My second thought upon hearing of Ledger’s death was that when the sequel to Batman Begins premiere’s later this year, The Dark Knight will be made in the honor and memory of what could have been one of this generation’s most talented actors.

So, somewhat selfishly I sit here venting over someone I did not know. Maybe that makes me human, maybe something worse. Either way, I thank you Heath Ledger for the work you left that inspired me and many others in ways you likely would never know. I pray for the family you left, most of all the little girl that will never know her father. Twenty-eight is just too soon to go.