Oscar Nominee Heath Ledger Dead at 28

January 23, 2008

(Long Island, N.Y.) Oscar Nominee Heath Ledger from Perth Australia was found by his housekeeper dead in his room on Tuesday in his upscale Manhattan apartment when she was about to inform him that his massage therapist had arrived for a 3.30 PM appointment. It was not clear if he had committed suicide or if there was some type of foul play involved, although reports indicate pills were found beside his naked body in bed. Police said they are in the process of questioning a number of people that may have an influence in the scene. They will release a statement once some clear facts come to light.

Heath Ledger saw growing popularity which began in 2001 by his starring role in the movie ‘A Knights Tale’ opposite Shannyn Sossamon and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Performance by an actor in a leading role for his part in the movie Brokeback Mountain where he starred with Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams and his partner in a controversial homosexual love scene with Jake Gyllenhaal. In the set of the movie he met Williams and the two of them started dating eventually leading to them living together until their split in 2006. They had a daughter together named Matilda.

Over the years, Ledger has gained a respectable reputation in the movie industry and starred in many box-office hits. He played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in the movie Monster’s Ball. His debut in Hollywood was in a romantic teen movie with Julia Stiles in “10 Things I hate about you”. He also just finished filming a project reprising a role as the Joker in a Batman Sequel “The Dark Knight”. “It was a very great challenge for Heath,” Director Christopher Nolan said of Heath’s playing the role of the joker. “He’s extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic.”

Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia, Australia on April 4, 1979 and was a son of a teacher and a mining engineer. He started acting at the age of 10 when he played Peter Pan in a local theatre company in Australia. He first came to the attention of the public in 1999. He will be remembered as a genuinely uplifting person greatly cared for by the people who knew him.

Posted by News LI Editor · Edited by Brianna - Filed Under Entertainment