Heath Ledger Documentary Resurfaces, Hinting the Joker Role Was His Undoing

By Dustin Rowles | Videos | August 10, 2015 |

By Dustin Rowles | Videos | August 10, 2015 |

I don’t understand the nature of the documentary Heath Ledger: Too Young to Die, which several outlets are reporting will be released soon. This is confusing only because it was actually an episode in a German documentary, Liebling der Götter, released in 2012, which investigated the deaths of several movie stars who died too young (including John Belushi and Sharon Tate).

There were hints that the episode would be released as a stand-alone documentary in 2013, but now a clip is resurfacing of Heath Ledger’s father revealing Ledger’s The Dark Knight diary, which some suggests alludes to his death. As you may recall, Ledger got really immersed into the character, spent a month locked away in a London hotel room experimenting with voices, and — as you can see below — composed a diary that also suggested his character took inspiration from hyenas, clowns and Alex DeLearge from A Clockwork Orange.

The diary even contains an ominous “BYE BYE” scrawled within it (the clip was posted in 2013, reposted in 2014, and is now making the rounds in 2015):

You could, I suppose, draw a connection between the diary and Ledger’s death, but the diary was composed before The Dark Knight went into production and Ledger didn’t die of a heroin overdose until he was working on his next film with Terry Gilliam. Gilliam, by the way, also makes an appearance in the doc, speaking about Ledger’s last ever shot.

Certainly, Ledger’s immersion into the role could’ve led to a mental state that eventually resulted in his drug overdose, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable making a direct connection, or even suggesting that the diary hinted at anything. However, I will grant that the “BYE BYE” is suitably, though coincidentally, prescient.

There is no official announcement that I have found that the doc will be released in the United States.

via Uproxx