Heath Ledger will be the subject of a new documentary based on his all-too-brief life.
The documentary, titled I Am: Heath Ledger, offers an inside look into Ledger’s life as told by those closest to him.
The Australian actor died at age 28 in his New York City apartment after shooting wrapped on The Dark Knight, the film that would earn him his posthumous Oscar for his performance as The Joker.
READ MORE: Heath Ledger’s father reveals the actor’s final words to his family
The actor was in the middle of filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the time of his death, and the strenuous shooting schedule left him drained. Ledger’s toxicology report revealed a cocktail multiple drugs in his system, including oxycodone, temazepam, diazepam, hydrocodone, alprazolam and doxylamine.
Ledger was very popular in his other films like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot and Brokeback M0untain.
In July, Ledger’s father, Kim, addressed his son’s accidental overdose in 2008, describing the tragedy as “totally” the actor’s fault.
“It was totally his fault. It was no one else’s,” he said in an interview with Daily Mail Australia. “He reached for them. He put them in his system. You can’t blame anyone else in that situation,” Kim said. “That’s hard to accept because I loved him so much and was so proud of him.”
Kim also said that Ledger’s sister spoke to Heath the night before his overdose and warned him not to mix drugs.
“Katie, Katie, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing,” said the actor in his last words to his sister.
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Ledger’s father is working to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse. Research carried out by ScriptWise, the not-for-profit organization Mr. Ledger leads, found that almost half of Australians would not admit to a painkiller addiction for fear of being judged.
Ledger left behind one daughter, Matilda, now 11, with actress Michelle Williams.
The new documentary is part of Spike’s original docuseries, I Am, which has previously featured John F. Kennedy Jr., Chris Farley, Bruce Lee and Dale Earnhardt.
This won’t be the first time Ledger’s life is the focus of a documentary. A 2012 episode of the German TV series Too Young to Die took a close look at the actor, and featured interviews with his father and excerpts from the diary he kept during the filming of The Dark Knight.
I Am: Heath Ledger is set to air in May 2017.
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