50 Greatest Heath Ledger Movie Moments

Paddle Me This

The Moment: Ledger and Julia Stiles have a little paddle, and discuss why they’re so rebellious and stuff. It’s mostly good because of their fantastic chemistry, which really sparkles here.

Ledger Magic: Sure, Ledger has chemistry with a spoon, but he really works it with Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You.

Joust Off

The Moment: “I think he’s getting worse.” William trains to become a master jouster, but fails to get the hang of it in A Knight’s Tale . Cue targets in faces and being hurled off the horse more times than we care to count.

Ledger Magic: Ledger goes for gold during this physically demanding scene, proving he's up for anything.

Lets Dance

The Moment: Ledger and Kate Hudson dance together in this rather lovely little sequence from Four Feathers .

Ledger Magic: All smiles and charming glances, Ledger looks quite at home in his military togs.

More Swords

The Moment: Casanova (Ledger) engages in a duel for a woman’s heart, but discovers he’s actually duelling with Sienna Miller’s feisty author. Oo-la-la.

Ledger Magic: Most men would be cowed by the fact that they’ve almost lost to a girl. Ledger looks like he quite likes that fact.

Paintballs!

The Moment: Ledger and Julia Stiles have a little fun playing paintball together in 10 Things I Hate About You – and then collapsing into multi-coloured kisses. Ah, the romance.

Ledger Magic: He makes it look so fun we wish we were there. For the paintballing, not the kissing, of course.

First Duel

The Moment: William (Ledger) assumes the identity of a dead knight (in A Knight's Tale ) and enters into his first duelling contest. He ends up with a dented helmet, but he wins anyway.

Ledger Magic: You never see his face in the suit of armour, but the comedy line delivery is beautifully dry.

Botched Bank Job

The Moment: Ledger attempts to rob a bank in Two Hands , but it all goes a bit wrong when his accomplice trips over the counter.

Ledger Magic: Talk about foreshadowing The Dark Knight…

Gibson Giggle

The Moment: Ledger and Mel Gibson share a giggle as father and son in The Patriot . A rare light moment in a tough period drama.

Ledger Magic: Ledger played up his innate likability here, and boy does it work. We’d call him a young Mel Gibson if that wasn’t considered an insult these days.

Oh, Romeo

The Moment: “Come my sweet, taste my lips,” Ledger purrs in Aussie drama Paws , as he attempts to woo the lead lady during the rehearsal for the school play – and puckering up. Only to get caught in a fan tunnel.

Ledger Magic: Ledger does the ‘comedy jock’ thing.

Pipe Dream

The Moment: “Can I have my pipe back now please?” gruffs Tony (Ledger) in The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus , as Andrew Garfield toys with him, hiding his beloved pipe. Fun times .

Ledger Magic: Ledger excels at playing with our expectations – is this guy a goodie or a baddie?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.