Heath Ledger’s tragic death at age 28 was shocking to say the least, with the excitement surrounding his role in the then upcoming The Dark Knight. He tragically passed from sleeping pills, trying to fight off the insomnia he had gained from playing both the Joker in the aforementioned film, as well as the film I’m Not There. Even now, people debate what drove him to such powerful efforts to let him sleep at night, and it is often brought up how intense his preparation for the role of the Joker was. Locking himself away in a hotel for a month and trying to get inside what he thought would be the Joker’s head was certainly something that would be classified as intense. Ledger was fine on set, but the toll from both movies lead to his incredibly bad insomnia.
Still, Ledger is fondly remembered, not just as the Joker, but as a fantastic actor and human being. A documentary was released last year, entitled Heath Ledger: Too Young To Die. Above is a clip of it showing off the infamous journal he kept during the month-long time spent preparing to become the Joker for Christopher Nolan’s film. It has been many years since his death, and yet we’re still fascinated by it. The clip above gives you a tiny look into the man that people came to know and love through the roles he preformed in movies, and a look into what made his iconic role as the Clown Prince of Crime so memorable.