The actor was found dead this afternoon of a possible drug overdose.
Heath Ledger first became a blip on fandom radar in the short-lived fantasy series Roar. Ledger was able to move past that with roles in numerous films; including an Oscar-nominated turn in Brokeback Mountain.
What had fandom really geeked out was his upcoming role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Initial discussion on the news channels discussed a recent interview he gave in which he said that playing The Joker disturbed him so greatly that he was suffering from insomnia. He said that the character was a sociopath and lacked any redeeming qualities.
In what is sure to become the stuff of legend, the actor had turned to sleeping pills in an attempt to get control over the insomnia that had plagued him since filming of that movie.
Well that bites. What’s really odd is that most reports say he had pills in bed, but the NYPD is saying they don’t think it’s suicide…accidental overdose? Some reports I’ve read said that filming as the Joker disturbed him so much he’d been having trouble sleeping.
I added that in after yesterday’s news coverage. They do say to keep your sleeping pill medications in another room so that you don’t accidently half wake up and take more.
Any way it goes, that’s a sad ending for a fine actor.