Heath Ledger found dead

January 22nd, 2008 at 04:06pm Will Pfeifer

Sad, shocking news: Actor Heath Ledger, who was nominated for “Brokeback Mountain” two years ago, was found dead in a New York apartment this afternoon. Apparently, he was in full cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived, and early reports (from the not-always-reliable Fox News) said pills were found at the scene. Not many other details yet, but this link at Cinematical should be updated with information as it comes in.

Ledger had starred in some big movies — “Brokeback,” “The Patriot” and “10 Things I Hate About You” — but this summer he was going to star in his biggest yet, the sequel to “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight.” And, as the Joker, Ledger was going to have a major, major role. No word on what this means for the movie, but I’d guess most (if not all) of his scenes are filmed and in the can.  The question then, isn’t how they make the movie without Ledger, it’s how they promote it. The death of a young actor is a tragic thing, and doesn’t exactly fit into the marketing plans for a big-budget super-hero summer blockbuster.

Ledger leaves behind a daughter, Matilda, he had with his former fiancee (and “Brokeback” co-star), Michelle Williams.

Entry Filed under: Deaths