Aussie actor found dead in Manhattan apartment Police called to residence where Brokeback Mountain star died of
seeming drug overdose
Seven hours after the announcement of the field of nominees for the 80th annual Academy Awards, which included a number of Canadians, New York police were called to the SoHo apartment where Mr. Ledger was staying, after a housekeeper and a masseuse found him unconscious in bed next to what police reported as bottles of prescription and non-prescription pills. After the news broke, a mob of paparazzi and gawkers quickly formed outside the building at 421 Broome St., awaiting the removal of Mr. Ledger''s body, which came after darkness fell. Mr. Ledger was in the middle of production on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a Vancouver-based feature directed by Terry Gilliam. The $30-million Canada-Britain co-production had moved to Bridge Studios in Vancouver on Monday after wrapping a 20-day shoot in London over the weekend. Producer William Vince of Vancouver''s Infinity Features refused to comment on Mr. Ledger''s death or its effect on the film, but he confirmed that production was put on hold after the news yesterday.
. Ledger''s brief adult life was lived at a torrid pace amid the oppressive swirl of paparazzi, rocketing to stardom as a teen heartthrob before his 21st birthday. After a trip home to Perth in the spring of 2001 to visit his father was spoiled by the glare of news media, he told The Globe and Mail, "It makes front-page news if you eat fettuccine on Tuesday, you know? It''s very invading. All of a sudden you''re very self-aware, very self-conscious about the way you drink water. I''m not used to that."
After a series of light teen films, Mr. Ledger turned to fare that would challenge both himself and his audience, epitomized by his Oscar-nominated role as a taciturn gay ranch hand in the Academy-Award-winning drama Brokeback Mountain. Based on a novella by Annie Proulx and shot mainly in Alberta, the film established Mr. Ledger as a serious actor.
He followed up the role with the gritty 2006 drama Candy, playing a self-destructive poet addicted to heroin. He is currently in theatres with the refracted art house hit I''m Not There, shot in Montreal in 2006, playing a fictional version of the singer Bob Dylan. Yesterday his cast mate, Cate Blanchett, who also plays a version of Mr. Dylan, received a nomination as a supporting actress for her role in the film.
But if Mr. Ledger''s reputation as an artist was on the rise, his off-screen romances were often what propelled him to the public''s attention, as he dated Heather Graham, fellow Australian Naomi Watts and others.
It is very sad to lose such a great actor.