The big breakthrough, though, would come with Roar. This was a US-financed mediaeval fantasy, filmed in Queensland and inspired by Braveheart, where Ledger would star as Conor, a Celtic prince who, often clad only in a loincloth, each week struggles with a new girl and a new, sometimes magical enemy as he attempts to unite the warring clans and rid Britain of Roman invaders. His chief opponent would be the fellow who speared Jesus on the cross and now cannot die, while his young wife would be played by Keri Russell, soon to find fame as the lead in the TV comedy Felicity, but she'd be quickly killed, a mistake producers Fox would vainly rack their brains to rectify.

Roar was not a success in the States, rapidly dropping down the ratings, and would be pulled before all filmed episodes were screened. Yet for Ledger it was life-changing. Not only did it give him vital extended experience in front of the cameras, plus a keen cult following among young ladies in America, it also introduced him to co-star Lisa Zane (sister of Billy) an actress 12 years his senior with whom he began a relationship. With Fox heavily hyping the series, Ledger found himself an American agent and followed Zane back to Los Angeles. But to no avail, no work could be found.

Oddly, he'd be rescued from torpor by the Australian film industry when he won the lead in Gregor Jordan's Two Hands. Here he'd play Jimmy, a low-grade hustler in suburban Sydney, dreaming of success in the criminal underworld. Asked to deliver $10,000 by Bryan Brown's big-shot Pando, he's distracted by love interest Rose Byrne and gets turned over, then having to involve himself in a bank robbery in order to pay an irate Pando back. It was clever, confident stuff, an Australian Lock Stock, with Ledger putting in a strong performance - first sassy, then fearful, but always shy and awkward in the company of Byrne.

Back in Hollywood, he now scored a part most young actors would kill for. 10 Things I Hate About You, co-starring teen-of-the-moment Julia Stiles, was a broad-stroke rewrite of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, set in High School. Stiles would play the beautiful but difficult shrew who must be persuaded to go to the prom so her younger sister can also attend. Thus the sister's boyfriend hires class maverick Ledger, a rebel with a winning smile, to steal Stiles' heart and take her to the dance. Naturally, after a series of verbal sparrings, they fall for one another, then she discovers the plot and, well, you can guess the rest. It was charming fare and a great role for Ledger who got to sing and dance as well as spar, at one point coming on like his hero Gene Kelly as he cavorts around the raised seating on the sports field, serenading Stiles with the accompaniment of the school's marching band. That 10 Things more than doubled its money at the US box office made him all the more marketable.

The big breakthrough, though, would come with Roar. This was a US-financed mediaeval fantasy, filmed in Queensland and inspired by Braveheart, where Ledger would star as Conor, a Celtic prince who, often clad only in a loincloth, each week struggles with a new girl and a new, sometimes magical enemy as he attempts to unite the warring clans and rid Britain of Roman invaders. His chief opponent would be the fellow who speared Jesus on the cross and now cannot die, while his young wife would be played by Keri Russell, soon to find fame as the lead in the TV comedy Felicity, but she'd be quickly killed, a mistake producers Fox would vainly rack their brains to rectify.

Roar was not a success in the States, rapidly dropping down the ratings, and would be pulled before all filmed episodes were screened. Yet for Ledger it was life-changing. Not only did it give him vital extended experience in front of the cameras, plus a keen cult following among young ladies in America, it also introduced him to co-star Lisa Zane (sister of Billy) an actress 12 years his senior with whom he began a relationship. With Fox heavily hyping the series, Ledger found himself an American agent and followed Zane back to Los Angeles. But to no avail, no work could be found.

Oddly, he'd be rescued from torpor by the Australian film industry when he won the lead in Gregor Jordan's Two Hands. Here he'd play Jimmy, a low-grade hustler in suburban Sydney, dreaming of success in the criminal underworld. Asked to deliver $10,000 by Bryan Brown's big-shot Pando, he's distracted by love interest Rose Byrne and gets turned over, then having to involve himself in a bank robbery in order to pay an irate Pando back. It was clever, confident stuff, an Australian Lock Stock, with Ledger putting in a strong performance - first sassy, then fearful, but always shy and awkward in the company of Byrne.