Whoa...




January 22, 2008 -- Actor Heath Ledger was found dead today in his Broome Street apartment, apparently from a drug overdose.

Ledger, 28, was well known for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," and he stars in the upcoming "The Dark Knight" Batman movie as the Joker.

He split last year from wife, Michelle Williams, with whom he has a daughter, Matilda.

His apartment was strewn with sleeping pills and it was unclear if it was an intentional or accidental death.

His housekeeper tried to wake Ledger up for a massage appointment and found him unresponsive at 3:20 p.m.

She then called paramedics at 3:26 p.m. and father of one was pronounced dead at 3:35 p.m.

Ledger's early career as an actor was marked by small roles in several independent features in his home country of Australia.

He broke onto the international movie scene in 1999 with his turn as the brooding high-school heart-throb who captures Julia Stiles' attention in "10 Things I Hate About You." After starring roles in "The Patriot," "A Knight's Tale," and "The Brothers Grimm," Ledger earned critical acclaim with his poignant performance as a gay cattle rancher in director Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2007, he appeared in the independent film "I'm Not There," as one of many incarnations of Bob Dylan. He recently wrapped filming on 'The Dark Knight,' the sequel to 'Batman Begins,' in which he plays the villainous Joker. His most recent role was in director Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' which is listed as still "in production" on imdb.com.

Ledger's love life earned him as many headlines as his acting career. He has been romantically linked to such A-list starlets as Naomi Watts and Heather Graham. He has a daughter, Matilda Rose, with actress Michelle Williams. The couple, praised for their down-to-earth lifestyle in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, announced their split earlier this year.