Heath Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008) passed away today at the age of 28. Cause of death is unknown but rumours are saying it may have been an over dose.

Man... what a shock. I was really looking forward to his performance in the next Batman movie as the Joker.

EDIT: Story link http://www.nypost.com/seven/01222008/news/regionalnews/heath_ledger_dead_916418.htm

What?!!! Holy Crap!!! That is insane and so sad. He was a great actor and seemed like a decent guy. And just a couple weeks ago Brad Renfro died also, COD unknown but maybe overdose also...

Wow! People aren't supposed to die at 28. That's really sad. Makes me think of River Phoenix. What a waste. His poor little girl.

And he was found in Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment. WTF???

"Officials said they believed Ms. Olsen, 21, was in California and said it was not clear how long or why Mr. Ledger had been in her apartment."

(from the NY Times )

Yikes! Dead at twenty-eight! My oldest son is just a year younger than that!

My favorite roles for Heath were as the eldest son in Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" and as William in "A Knight's Tale." He was a talented actor, but if it's true that he died of an overdose, it just goes to show that nobody's bulletproof.

What a waste.

Hmm the Olsen thing is new... but apparently they have already updated the story to say that the police had initially said it was her apartment but have since confirmed it isn't.

yeah, scratch that. CNN just retracted that.

They say MK Olsen might have an apt in the same building, and that might be where the confusion came from. But even that's not confirmed. Sheesh.

I saw this just half an hour ago on teletext and was deeply shocked. What an insane waste. I guess he'll now join the ranks of all those young and talented actors who've died way too soon, like River Phoenix and Brandon Lee.

I think this early on we have to be wary of all the rampant media speculation, but the strong suggestion from police sources that it may have been suicide is - if true - even more shocking from a young man who seemed to be on the verge of ever more success. I guess you never can tell what someone's life is like from the outside and even those who appear to have it all, can surprise you.

I hadn't seen many of his movies, but I just adored him in A Knight's Tale, which has always been one of my favourite movies.

Very sad.

LabRat

As many times as I have seen the story change in the last hour since I heard about the news I think it is safe to say no one really knows what is going on.

At this point I'm just going to give it a couple of days until all the dust clears and the full details come out.

Either way it is so sad.

I'm glad that Batman had finished filming but his Terry Gilliam movie he was working on was not. Another movie I was looking forward to. He had a lot of talent and it seems a shame to see him go so early on in his life and career.

I was so surprised to hear the news. Heath was a wonderful actor and I'm really saddened that his little girl will grow up without her daddy.

I was looking forward to seeing him as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones. Dang....

TEEEEEJ

*wails* Mah may-an!

The hubby came home and looked up the news, which he'd heard about on the radio but thought it was a hoax. Very sad news. My favorite movie of his was 10 Things I Hate About You. I always did like his grin.

*is floored*

I couldn't believe it when I heard it! I was sure it was media hype, but I guess my denial should end now. I haven't seen a Knight's Tale, but it was on my list of things to do. I'm bumping it up to the top now! This was a terrible event. He was a truly talented actor and will definitely be missed.

My roommate told me about this about an hour or so ago. I thought it was a joke too at first. Then, she started ranting about it and I realized she was serious.

Game of Thrones! That is an awesome book! I didn't even know there was going to be a Game of Thrones movie, much less that Heath Ledger was going to be in it! Aw man . . .

Oh, I'm sorry, there's rumors that GoT/Ice and Fire may get turned into an HBO series and on the discussion board someone suggested Heath as a choice for Jaime. Sorry, didn't mean to mislead. It was just something I was hoping for. Not an option now I guess...

How incredibly sad! I'm shocked. My niece just called to tell me about it.

A Knight's Tale has always been one of my favorites, too. I was just thinking about that movie a few days ago. He was such an amazing actor. He will be missed.

*is also floored*

That's a shock. The only movie I have seen with Heath Ledger is, wouldn't you know it, Brokeback Mountain. I saw it because of all the hoopla surrounding that film, but mostly because of all its Oscar nominations and the glorious review it got in my local newspaper. The film critic particularly cited Heath Ledger's performance as one of the cowboys. So I saw the film, and I was moved. The way the cowboys seemed to belong to each other when they where out in the glorious wilderness looking after sheep(?), but how they couldn't fit into the world of other people in the "Wild West state" where they lived, was moving indeed. And Heath Ledger absolutely shone as one of the cowboys. In Brokeback Mountain, Heath Ledger's character is the one who survives, while Jake Gyllenhaal's cowboy dies rather young. What a sad ironic twist that in real life, Heath Ledger "became the other cowboy" and died before the age of thirty.

Like someone else said, Heath Ledger's fate is somehow reminiscent of River Phoenix'. I have in fact only seen one film with River Phoenix, Stand By Me. I saw it at home on TV, on a commercial-free channel, and I was absolutely engrossed. Particularly by River Phoenix' character, Chris. He shone indeed. Chris was a boy who seemed to be doomed by destiny to grow up bad and criminal because of his criminal family, but who had decided, nevertheless, to cheat fate and grow up a good and useful person. The way young River Phoenix portrayed this character, who seemed so full of a sad and painful wisdom beyond his years, but also so full of determination and hope and kindness, and who, on top of all this, was just a young adventurous thirteen-year-old... wow...it was fantastic. Usually, when I have seen a movie I like, I don't bother to find out what actor played which role, if I don't know the actors already. But here I patiently waited after the movie itself had ended to learn the name of the actor who had played Chris. Oh... River Phoenix. Funny name. But cute. I went to bed smiling that night, thinking of the movie and Roiver Phoenix' performance. Would you believe that the very next day I read in my local paper that River Phoenix was dead?

River Phoenix, Heath Ledger. Two brilliant young actors, both dead of overdoses much too soon. What a sad, sad waste.

Ann

I absolutely agree. Another of my favourite movies , one that is simply magical and RP's performance resonates from the screen. The scene in which he painfully describes the betrayal by his teacher shows an astonishing maturity of talent in such a young actor.

LabRat

This news shocked and saddened me, too. My husband and I just saw Brokeback Mountain a few days ago and we're looking forward to The Dark Knight, so Heath has been a topic of discussion a few times in the last week. I admired his acting very much, and and on the personal side, I feel so sad that his daughter will never know him.

I just...can't...

It's been a whole day and I still can't accept it.

I loved him ever since he played Gabrielle in The Patriot and I remember him best as Casanova. He was one of my most favourite actors ever, right up there with Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Johnny Depp.

Maybe if I refuse to believe it long enough, it will cease to be true. It breaks my heart every time I think about it.

"You don't check out in your twenties, man." My sentiments exactly, Jimmy Olsen.

I was completely shocked and still unable to believe it when I was handed a newspaper at work and still didn't really believe it because it was such a small article the bigger story in the SUN newspaper was the video of Amy Whinehouse, now I wish no harm to anyone but had it been her it wouldn't have been a shock.

The real tradegy is not the film industries loss of a great talent (There will be others) But that a little girl will never really know her father. My thoughts are with her and Heath's family.

For those of you who are curious... rumors have started to come out that Ledger's death was natural. They believe that he may have had a heart attack or something related to this as the level of drug toxicity in his system was not high enuogh to have been the cause of death.

Nothing official but that is what has apparently been leaked so far.

I for one am glad and hope this is the outcome. He was a such a great actor and person that I would hate to have his life over shadowed by the OD claim.