Heath Ledger - dead at 28!

One of Australia's most promising young actors, Heath Ledger, was found dead in a New York apartment yesterday.

 

The 28-year-old actor's body was found at a residence in Broome St, SoHo, by a housekeeper and a masseuse at 3.31pm local time (7.31am AEDT).

 

The housekeeper and masseuse reportedly found Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with prescription and non-prescription pills strewn on a night table next to him. 

Bottles of the anti-anxiety drugs Diazempam and Alprazolam were reportedly found at the apartment.

 

Born in Perth in 1979, Ledger left for Sydney at age 17 to pursue a career in acting. He lived very modestly for a time before landing a role in the 1997 Aussie film Blackrock.

 

Ledger got his big break as the the naive Jimmy in 1999 film Two Hands, opposite Bryan Brown and Rose Byrne.

 

Next, Ledger hit the big time internationally with teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You.

 

He paired up with fellow Aussie Mel Gibson for American Civil War film The Patriot in 2000.

 

 

Ledger returned to his roots in 2003 to play one of the most famous Australians of all — Ned Kelly.

 

 

After a hiatus from commercial films, Ledger received great critical acclaim for his turn as a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.

 

 

Not all Ledger's performances received positive responses. Despite sharing the screen with fellow A-lister Matt Damon in the 2005 fantasy film The Brothers Grimm, it was a total flop.

 

 

Ledger's last completed role was portraying the psychopathic Joker for new Batman film The Dark Knight. He told reporters that it was both the most challenging and most enjoyable role of his career.