How Tall Was Heath Ledger?

Heath ledger (1979-2008) was a highly talented actor and starred in iconic roles such as "Ennis Del Mar" in the film Brokeback Mountain (2005) and "Joker" in the academy award-winning The Dark Knight (2008).

Regarding his height, he regularly appeared tall on screen, and equally so at premiers or in pictures standing next to other celebrities.

But how tall exactly was he, and was he the tallest actor to have ever played "The Joker"? Let's Investigate his height claims, how his height stacks up compared to other celebs, and some other interesting info to find out! 

how tall was heath ledger?

So What Was His Real Height?

I believe that at his tallest when waking out of bed, Heath Ledger stood just over 6'1" tall. Then he would dip to 6'0.75" throughout the majority of the day, and by evening time he would stand at 6'0.5". Therefore, on this page I will list his daytime height as 6'0.75" (184.8 cm) tall


Height Claims

Similar to Tom Hardy, Heath was honest about his height. In a magazine interview from 2001, Heath was both described as "six feet of intensity and high energy", and Heath also claimed his height as "6 feet 1". (1)


On Another Note...

First Casting Mugshot

On 14/07/95, aged 16, Heath had his first casting mugshot. This is not an accurate representation of his height, as the camera is looking up at him making him appear taller, and there are no measurements above 175 cm's stuck onto the wall. Still, he is still clearly taller than 180 cm's here as a teenager, and could well have been near his adult height by this age!


Ned Kelly Armoured Suit

In the film Ned Kelly (2003), Heath tried on Ned's own original suit of armour, and the results are interesting to say the least. 


On page 143 of the book Australian Film: The Pocket Essential Guide (2), it reads that Heath was "The same height as Ned, he even fitted perfectly into Ned's original armoured suit".


Heath even commented once that "Ned was 6 feet. I'm 6 feet one". 

The interesting mystery about this is that Ned has been described anywhere between 5'8"-5'10" tall, such as 5'10" on his prison records, and this is nowhere near Heath's true height!


Next to Other Celebs

Let's compare Heath's height to some other celebs he frequently stood together with, to gain a more accurate understanding of how tall he was really.


Jake Gyllenhaal 5'11 (180.3 cm)

I have Jake as an exact 5'11" tall man, and when standing next to him, Heath generally has a clear height advantage. In the film, Brokeback Mountain Heath appears on average 1.25 inches taller than Jake, and in other photos, when he holds a proper posture this can increase to near 1.5 inches.

So, when comparing Heath and Jake at movie premiers and in pics, Heath looks anywhere from 6'0.25"-6'0.5" tall.


Matt Damon 5'9.5" (176.5 cm)

Frequently pictured together, and with Damon and his wife honoring him by sporting the same loopy line tattoo as Heath, Damon and Ledger were good friends.

Height wise, Heath was considerably taller than Damon. For instance, at The Brothers Grimm premiere, and wearing similar footwear, there was a clear 3.5 inch height difference. This difference seems to carry itself over to the majority of pictures I have seen.

So when compared to Damon, Heath looks to be 6'1" tall. 


Paul Bettany 6'3.5" (191.8 cm)

Starring together in the film A Knights Tale, (2001) I am unsure what footwear was used in the movie, but Heath holds up well next to Bettany, who looks about 2.5 inches taller. However, at the UK premiere of the film, the difference is far greater, and Bettany looks a clear 3 inches taller.


So with Bettany, Heath's height look between 6'0.5"-6'1". 


So, when compared to other celebs, Heath's height ranges from 6'0.25"-6'1" tall. 


Who Was The Tallest "The Joker"?

Similar to other DC characters, from tallest to shortest, these are the actors that have physically played the "The Joker"


1: Heath Ledger - 6'0.75" (184.8 cm)

2: Jack Nicholson - 5'9.5" (176.5 cm)

3: Jared Leto - 5'9.25 (175.9 cm)

4: Joaquin Phoenix - 5'8" (172.7 cm)


As you can see, Heath was indeed the tallest actor that has played the character "Joker" on-screen, being comfortably taller than other actors who have portrayed the character throughout the years!


The Bottom Line

After taking into consideration Heath Ledger's height claims, and comparing his height to other celebrities, I believe that he woke in the mornings at 6'1", falling down to 6'.75" throughout the majority of the day, and going to bed at 6'0.5" at night

So on this page, I will list his daytime height as 6'0.75" (184.8 cm) tall.


Heights Related to Heath Ledger


  1. Michelle Williams, Girlfriend, 5'4" (162.6 cm)
  2. Matilda ledger, Daughter, 5'6" (167.6 cm)
  3. Johnny Depp, good friend and Co-star Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), 5'9" (175.3 cm)
  4. Julia Styles, Co-Star: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), 5'7.25 (170.8 cm)
  5. Christian Bale, Co-Star: The Dark Knight (2008), 5'11.75 (182.2 cm)
  6. Rufas Sewell, Co-Star: A Knights Tale (2001), 6'0" (182.9 cm)

References

1: Cosmopolitan Magazine Q&A | What gets Hollywood's new import Heath Ledger really hot

2: Australian Film: The Pocket Essential Guide


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