KEY POINTS:
Heath Ledger's first starring role - in his hometown of Perth when he was only 10 - was as Peter Pan, the young boy who would never grow old.
Now Ledger himself will never grow old. The Australian actor was not yet 29 when he was found dead this week in the New York apartment where he had been living.
Police have ruled out foul play and, so far at least, suicide, as causes of death, although the latter finding is subject to toxicology reports which will not be completed until this week. But, even if he turns out to have died from natural causes, his passing will inevitably invite comparison with the deaths of James Dean and River Phoenix: the same sense remains of great talent that had barely begun to bloom.
Unlike many movie actors, Ledger was notoriously picky about roles, refusing to take a part that was too similar to a previous character. He preferred difficult parts in controversial films, plumbing the depths of characters whose lives were bleak or benighted: in a small role as the tormented son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball he almost stole the show.
He will doubtless be remembered most as Ennis Del Mar, the heartsore and lovestruck ranchhand in 2005's multiple-Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain. The film, inadequately described as a gay western, owed much of its success to Ledger, who depicted his character's choked and doomed passion with extraordinary conviction.
Audiences will see more of Ledger soon, as the villainous Joker in the Batman sequel The Dark Knight and as one of the musicians in I'm Not There, the cinematic rumination on Bob Dylan. They - and the back catalogue - will continue to confirm that we have lost one of the very best actors of his generation.
