NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, and police said drugs may have been a factor. The Australian-born actor was 28. Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the residence in the tony SoHo neighborhood, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.
A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers began gathering Tuesday evening outside the building on an upscale block, where several police officers guarded the door.
Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams in 2005. The two lived together in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.
Ledger most recently appeared in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan ƒƒ‚‚ as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.
Ledger was to appear as the Joker this year in "The Dark Night," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins." He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball."
Ledger grew up in Perth, and began doing amateur theater at age 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV movie roles and guest spots on Australian television.
After several independent films and a starring role in the short-lived Fox TV series "Roar," Ledger moved to Los Angeles and costarred in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."
Offers for other teen flicks came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.
"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, 'You're crazy,' my parents were like, 'Come on, you have to eat.'"
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Associated Press Sara Kugler contributed to this report.
oh jason...
I'm not trying to say it's not tragic. Suicide, accidental or intentional is, and I hate to think he felt it was his "only way out"- if indeed he did.
I just hate the way our society is so celebrity-obsessed. That's the point I was trying to make- that it shouldn't be any MORE sad just b/c he was in some movies.
Not mean, instead ignorant.
I wasn't trying to say that people should have to babysit him. But if he is like a lot of famous people he has handlers and agents and maybe even an entourage. Some times the people around you just kiss your ass and do what ever you want or what is good for them instead of saying "You want to do blow go find it in the ghetto your self I'm not going to get it for you", as an example. I agree that 6 months is way to long to talk about this. But what I would like to see happen (but it won't) is the drug topic. Like why people do them, why more people are famous need them and how people can cut down on the chances of ODs. That would be interesting but of course the News will not look at the bigger issues.
Well I don't think a 28 year old should need people to babysit him and take care of him.
And yes, it's sad, but I really hope this isn't going to be all we (as a society) can talk about for the next 6mo (like anna nicole, or britney's latest screw up).
woohoo, another hollywood OD.
Lots of worse stuff happens every day but we don't freak out b/c it's not celebrities.
Sorry, that's unnecessarily mean and I don't mean it to be. I'm sad for his family.
I like this quote though-
The two lived together in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.
makes it sound like their daughter no longer exists since they broke up.