Actor Heath Ledger – dead at the age of 28

Sad news from New York:

NEW YORK (CNN) — Actor Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday of a possible drug overdose in a Lower Manhattan apartment, the New York Police Department said.

The Academy Award nominated actor was 28.

“Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed,” police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN.

“This is being looked at as a possible overdose, but that is not confirmed yet.”

The pills appeared to be over-the-counter sleeping medication, said police spokeswoman Barbara Chen.

Ledger was unresponsive when he was found by a housekeeper who had gone to wake him for an appointment with a masseuse in the Soho apartment, Browne said.

Ledger was declared dead at about 3:30 p.m., Browne said.

Here’s a mini-Heath biography.

Ledger is most famous for his role in the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, which garnered him an Academy Award nomination. I didn’t see Brokeback Mountain (and never will) but I liked several of his other movies, including 10 Things I Hate About You (which put the Aussie-born actor on the map here in the US), The Patriot (which he starred in with Mel Gibson), and A Knight’s Tale.

When you hear/read about the death of an actor you think is really talented, it is naturally sad, and you begin to look fondly back on the movies that actor has made which you enjoyed watching. But it’s especially sad when the actor has died at such a young age, in the prime of his career – from what appears to be a overdose (authorities are not sure whether or not it was suicide). We haven’t heard from or seen the last of Ledger, though. He portrays the “Joker” character in the upcoming summer release Batman: The Dark Knight. Here’s the trailer:

He leaves behind his 2 year-old daughter Matilda.