Heath Ledger has been reported dead today, his body found this afternoon at his New York apartment. A police spokesman has confirmed that Ledger was pronounced dead at the scene and that, while the precise cause of death has not been officially confirmed, the body was discovered surrounded by pills and the incident is being treated as a possible overdose.
The Australian actor was reportedly discovered by his housekeeper just hours ago when she went to inform him that his masseuse had arrived for a scheduled massage appointment.
The former Home And Away star shot to stardom in 1999 with smart teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. Following this with a role opposite Mel Gibson in The Patriot and his first major lead with A Knight’s Tale, Ledger proved himself a charismatic leading man. More dramatic roles followed in Monster’s Ball and The Four Feathers, with Ledger later garnering an Oscar nomination for his role as Ennis Del Mar in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain.
The actor had most recently starred in I’m Not There and is due to appear later this year as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. He had been in the middle of shooting The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus with Terry Gilliam.
He leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, Matilda. Ledger died at the age of 28.
