The Oscar-winning Australian actor Heath Ledger, who had played leading roles in a string of Hollywood blockbusters and was one of the industry’s biggest young stars, was found dead at his Manhattan home on 22 January, 2008, aged just 28.

His film credits included 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005). The latter earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Then in 2009 after his death, his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight won him the Best supporting actor Oscar, which was accepted by his parents and sister.

Heath Andrew Ledger was born on 4 April, 1979, in Perth, to a family of Scottish descent known in the area for their ownership of the Ledger Engineering Foundry. He attended Guildford boarding school where he made his acting debut aged 10 playing Peter Pan.

Having caught the acting bug, he began performing in children’s television series such as Ship to Shore, Sweat and the soap Home and Away during his teens. Also a promising sportsman, he was forced to make a choice as a youngster between acting and playing hockey.

At the age of 20, with parts in several Australian films already under his belt (including the lead in crime thriller Two Hands , 1999), he moved to Los Angeles and within a year had got his first starring role in Hollywood, heading the cast of the unconventional teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You , based on Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew .

The role immediately gave Mr Ledger the unavoidable tag of teen heart-throb, a label he would spend the rest of his career trying to shake off by turning down numerous similar parts. "I feel like I’m wasting time if I repeat myself," he said in an interview.

This artistic prudence put him into poverty for a while until he landed a place under Mel Gibson in the billing of colonial drama The Patriot. The following year he starred in the medieval comedy, A Knight's Tale , and had a supporting role in the gritty drama, Monster's Ball.

He was known for his careful selection of parts and fearlessness in the face of acting challenges.

Continuing to pick roles which he felt would boost his credentials as a serious actor, he played a disgraced British army officer in The Four Feathers (2002) and returned to his roots playing Australian folk hero Ned Kelly in 2003. Then, the following year, he was cast in the role that would cement his reputation, playing a bisexual sheep-herder in Brokeback Mountain .

The film was one of 2005’s biggest releases, causing huge debate for its reversal of the traditional Hollywood tough man image. The film was made amid a storm of controversy in the States and many reviewers praised its makers’ courage. Mr Ledger, however, was dismissive: "I hate to call it ‘daring’ or ‘brave’; firefighters are daring and brave. I’m acting. I didn’t get hurt and I’m not mentally wounded from this experience."

The film won three Oscars, four Golden Globes and three Baftas and Mr Ledger, who was nominated for the best actor category, was unlucky to miss out on an Academy Award to Philip Seymour Hoffman ( Capote , 2005). Its success helped to boost his other films of 2005, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm and Casanova .

He went on to star in bohemian romance Candy (2006) and was one of six actors to portray Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes’ acclaimed biopic, I’m Not There (2007). Shortly before his untimely death he he had finished filming Batman movie, The Dark Knight (2008), playing The Joker and had shot some scenes for Terry Gilliam’s fantasy work The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus .

In the years before his death he had been living back in Australia but had relocated to New York following frequent run-ins with the Australian press and a split from Michelle Williams (Mr Ledger's on-screen wife in Brokeback Mountain ) his long-term girlfriend and mother to his daughter Matilda Rose.

Tributes were quick to come for a star who was popular with directors and his fellow actors. "I had such great hope for him," said Mel Gibson, "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family."

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life, but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him," his father said. "He was a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish individual, extremely inspirational to many."