Hollywood lost one of its most promising young stars on Tuesday, Jan. 22, shocking the film industry elite and movie-watching fans alike. The 28-year-old Heath Ledger, who initially grabbed attention as a teenage heartthrob in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, his first American film, emerged as an Academy Award-nominated talent before his untimely death.

The mysterious involvement of sleeping pills and an Olsen twin might have piqued the public’s interest in the hours immediately following Ledger’s death, but it was his uncompromising dedication to his craft, and his ability to disappear into some of his latest roles, that will shape his legacy.

Ledger found his breakout role in 2005 when he delivered his best performance as the haunted Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar in the now iconic Brokeback Mountain.

Ledger’s bobbing Australian accent vanished into a plodding Midwestern drawl and his buoyant conversational style faded into pained silence. The performance was astonishing in its depth, and earned him an Oscar nod and heightened industry attention.

The range of Ledger’s talent had only just begun to be tested in recent years.

Two high-profile roles Ledger tackled before his death include his interpretation of one of a group of Bob Dylans in last year’s I’m Not There and a grisly reimagining of The Joker in the upcoming Batman installment The Dark Knight.

These performances seem sure to serve as worthy, if heartbreaking, tributes to one of the great young actors of his generation who seemed to be poised at the precipice of greatness.