Heath Ledger’s Australian hometown names theater after him
Officials in Heath Ledger’s Australian hometown have named a theater after him.
The $87 million, 575-seat Heath Ledger Theater in Perth will honor the late actor’s commitment to acting, Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter said at a naming ceremony Tuesday.
“Heath Ledger was totally dedicated to the craft of being an actor and that’s what made him successful,” Carpenter said, according to the Associated Press. “I think what we’re doing is continuing that support for young people who want to make a career in the arts and acting, stage and in film, whatever it happens to be.”
Kim Ledger — the actor’s father who attended Tuesday’s ceremony — said “there’s not a lot of things [Heath] would put his name to, but he’d put his name to that.”
Kim added that his family plans to attend The Dark Night premiere in NYC later this month. (A rep for Michelle Williams recently denied reports that the actress is boycotting the film’s premiere because she is feuding with Ledger’s family.)
Ledger — who died of an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28 in January — is already generating Oscar buzz for his role as the Joker.
“If there’s a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976’s Network, sign me up,” Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes.
In the film’s credits, Ledger will be acknowledged with Conway Wickliffe, a special-effects technician on the film who died in a stunt in September.
“In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe,” the credit reads, according to Warner Bros. publicity Web site.
Co-star Christian Bale recently told Details Ledger was “a good man, and I was glad to have spent time with him.”
