Far Too Serious

I can't really say why, but I find myself very affected by the death of Heath Ledger.

I don't really care much about celebrities in general. And I was never really a fan of Ledger's, mostly because the movies which he acted in rarely held any interest for me. But I had begun to appreciate his talent and I was looking forward to seeing what he would produce in the future.

I had been particularly anxious to see his portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight" since he seemed to own that character so completely; I was certain that that role would finally propel him into superstardom. Now I can no longer imagine watching that film and being able to enjoy myself, possessing as I do the knowledge that Ledger was (apparently) so close to suicide while acting that role.

Maybe the thing that disturbs me so much about his death is the fact that he was so damn young. There have been other promising, young artists who have died in my lifetime (such as Kurt Cobain and River Phoenix) but the big difference this time is that Ledger was actually younger than I am. I can think back to my own life at age 28 and realize just how young that really is. In fact, my life as I know (and love) it really only began when I was 27. I would never have experienced the best that this world can offer if I had given up so early.