Heath Ledger: Hollywood's Dark Star

by Brian J. Robb

Heath Ledger was one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. After establishing a high-profile Hollywood career at the age of 21 with the lead in A Knight’s Tale, Ledger pursued a series of increasingly diverse, often subversive roles that belied his image as a teen idol. Edgier films such as Monster’s Ball gave tantalizing hints of his talent, but it wasn’t until Brokeback Mountain that he proved beyond question the full extent of his abilities. His sudden death rocked the film industry and threw a poignant shadow over the body of work that has now become his legacy. Here, Brian J. Robb explores Ledger’s relationships with actresses Michelle Williams, Naomi Watts, and Heather Graham, recounts the making of Brokeback Mountain and the film’s impact, and charts Ledger’s increasingly troubled state of mind. Heath Hollywood's Dark Star paints a memorable portrait of a compelling and intense young man whose loss will be felt for years to come.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Brian J. Robb is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling biographer of Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt. He has also written books on silent cinema, the films of Philip K. Dick, Wes Craven, and Laurel and Hardy, the Star Wars movies, Superheroes, Gangsters, and Walt Disney, as well as science fiction television series Doctor Who and Star Trek. His illustrated books include an Illustrated History of Steampunk and a guide to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth (Winner, Best Book, Tolkien Society Awards). He writes and edits the Chaplin: Film by Film centenary blog site and is co-editor of the Sci-Fi Bulletin website. He lives in Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Angelique · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed about this book. Heath Ledger is my favourite actor and I wanted to get to know more about his life and character - and of course his early death.
This book gave me the facts - but that was all. I had hoped for a nice read, personal and special but no matter which part of his life was described, there always remained a distance and the question in my head: 'Why does Robb suddenly think he knows Heath Ledger?'
After having read this I am quite sure that Robb never met Heath. Not a good thing for reading a biography.
The whole structure of the book is another thing that really disturbed my reading. Quotes of Heath or about him were posted in bold letters on the pages, breaking the fluent text. I hate this and I tried to ignore it - but somehow I couldn't. And even worse is that on a lot of pages the quotes don't fit to the fluent text or the pictures. The pictures were okay - nothing really special. But the notes to the pictures often didn't fit them, which really sucked when I didn't know what situation the picture was from or who was on them together with Heath.
In the middle of the book something must have gone wrong completely because there were pages full of unfinished sentences and incomplete quotations. That was really horrible to read. This confirmed my believe that the author as well as his publishers only wanted to make money with this book - as quickly as possible, as long as Heath's death was still on the minds of people. Gross.

All in all I would not recommend this book to anyone. I decided to read at least one or two other books dealing with Heath Ledger's life. Maybe I get lucky and find one that is not only facts but really worth reading.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

very sad

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a hard read, because he was such a wonderful actor, but I loved it.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't even want to spend the rest of my youth in this industry."

I remember being so sad when I learned that Heath Ledger had died because my family had just watched A Knight's Tale. For a long time I was under the impression that he had killed himself, which made me even sadder because I couldn't understand why someone so beautiful and with such a seemingly bright future ahead would want to take their life (or even put it in jeopardy). My own struggles with depression made me realize that everyone has demons they need to fight, and I'm so sorry for what happened to Heath and the fact that he never got a chance to live out the life he deserved.

[Peluche K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leider total lieblos und "entfernt" geschrieben. Man merkt, dass das Buch nur so schnell wie möglich nach seinem Tod rausgebracht werden sollte (immerhin 6 Monate nur...).
Zudem sind ein Haufen Fehler drin, es fehlen Worte, Leerzeichen, Buchstaben. Vor allem in der Mitte des Buches. Lustigerweise soll das in der Englischen Version auch so sein, da fragt man sich, was die Übersetzer und Lektoren da für einen Mist gebaut haben. Man darf regelrecht Rätselraten bei einigen Absätzen...
Schade. Absolut nicht zu empfehlen.

[Stefania Orlyz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't find this book in Italian. Anyone can help me ? Thanks

[Amanda Martins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is pretty much what I expected: A superficial bio rushed out immediately after Ledger died, trying to cash in on the lurid interest that always arises after a 'sleb dies. It's cobbled together from old interviews and his Internet Movie Database resume.

Apparerently it was rushed into print so quickly that no one bother to proofread; there are typos throughout the book. Makes you wonder how carefully the author checked his facts if he didn't even bother to check his spelling.

Ledger was a fine actor and I suspect he was a lot more interesting than you'd ever realize from reading this book. It's probably too soon to expect it just yet, but eventually he deserves a real biographer and a real biography.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book back when I was extremely obsessed with Heath Ledger lol so his death was a shock to me, and I proceeded to obsess over him all the much harder.

The book is good. Great, even. It tells the story of his life pretty well and what exactly happened on the day (or actually, night) that he died. But... that's it. If you're only interested to know more about him, go ahead and read it (though honestly, I'm sure you can find the very same information online for free lol).

I thought it would have a more personal insight on him/his life, though. Like, what the author thought of him and what not. How Heath changed his life and/or how much he admired him. But nope. Just the story of his life. Oh well.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Checked this out from the library after being hugely disappointed by John McShane's biography of Heath Ledger. Still a little superficial and reliant on material quoted from elsewhere, but at least this one was readable and grammatically correct, and had lots of pictures. I think my Heath curiosity is satisfied for now.

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. I couldn't stop reading the book. Heath's life story is really amazing to read and once more I realize what a tragedy and great loss his death was. :(
You don't need to be a huge Heath Ledger fan to read the biography.

[Christina Bergstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book as far as Biographies go. It was well written and allowed the reader to see the many sides of this person. As a teacher, I do not think that I would require this as a read, but if a student wished to read this as a choice that would be fine.

[devilioxa S. Al Nuaimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never had money, and I was very happy without it. When I die, my money's not gonna come with me. My movies will live on, for people to judge what I was as a person. I just want to stay curious.


Heath Ledger is still one Of my favorite actors! He's a legend .. RIP ..

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading, informative

Such young talent, beautiful person, a perfectionist, gone much too soon. May his daughter grow up and know her daddy was a wonderful man, The media and paparazzi cause damage to people, emotionally, mentally and some physically. Rip Heath

[Lexy Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Heath was an incredible actor, and his tragic death was heartbreaking. I almost cried during the last chapter! He will be greatly missed!

[Meredith Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

found this an interesting insight into his career and the decisions he made but was still left wanting to know more about him as a person.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peace to you, dear Heath! He is my favourite actor.

[Rangifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible talent lost way too soon.

[Marie Grassick · Rating 3 out of 5]

incredible pics and didn't get why he self-destructed