Australian actor Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain , The Dark Knight) has passed away:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080122/ap_ … bit_ledger
At the time of his death, he completed filming for The Dark Knight, (his last film role) in which he plays The Joker. The sequel to Batman Begins will be released this summer. The actor is best known for his Academy Award-nomiated role in Brokeback Mountain. He was 28.
I 'm incredibly shocked by this. I can’t believe he’s gone. Rest in peace, Mr. Ledger. 
Ahh. I heard about this in the car. I am so shocked!
I, too, am extremely shocked. Other than the death itself, the saddest part is that he’s already gaining so much acclaim with his portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, based solely on the trailer. When I watch that particular movie in the summer, I’m sure I won’t be watching it with the same eyes that I expected to see it with.
May Mr. Ledger rest in peace.
This is most unexpected. I wake up, go onto Digg, and there it is on the front page, Heath Ledger dead! May he RIP. 28 is far too young.
Now this is just sad. 
He was such a great actor - always trying new roles and trying to make himself better at what he does. It’s always good to see Australians making it big in Hollywood and getting recognised for their talents, so that makes it a bit sadder for me at least. I’m sure everyone around the world is shocked at this, though.
I wonder what will happen with the next Batman movie. I kept on hearing comflicting reports as to whether he had finished filming or not. Either way, I was really looking forward to his performance.
May he rest in peace.
He had finished filming and post work on The Dark Knight but apparently The Joker was also meant to be in the third one too.
I was wondering about that as well… In that case, they’ll either change the script or look for a Ledger lookalike who acts just as well as Ledger, and has his mannerisms. Of course, they can always settle with some actor who looks nothing like Ledger, but I find that highly unlikely seeing that Christopher Nolan (a meticulous and awesome director) is in charge.
In any case, his passing remains a very sad event, and I express my sincerest condolence to his family and friends.
Oh dude, that is really tragic. Ilove the guy. May he rest in peace. I’ll miss him. I have a friend who loves his work. Man was he devestated.
Personally, I don’t think they should replace The Joker with another actor. Heath fit that role so perfectly. The Batman creators are going to have to think about what would be best for the story. I mean, they had a trilogy planned out so this would have thrown a spanner in the works. Whatever decision they make, the last movie won’t be the same.
never seen any of him movies i don’t think. But just the same, he’s too young. may he rest in peace.
I just read about it now on AOL news- I’m so shocked! I’m not a huge fan of his, but I did know of him and he was rather cute … it’s just so sad. I can’t believe this happened. Such an untimely death. Rest in peace, Heath Ledger.
I haven’t watched Brokeback Mountain since I bought it recently so I shall do so tonight in tribute to him.
I have to admit that I haven’t seen many of his films aside from Brokeback Mountain, but to hear of such a talented actor passing away, especially at such a young age, is so sad. He obviously loved his work, and the Batman Trilogy won’t be the same without him. Rest in peace, Mr. Ledger.
Today’s Ellen Degeneres Show was dedicated in Heath’s memory. She played a clip of his final appearance on her show in 2006. The two of them went bobsledding in front of a green screen, which was quite cute.
His sudden death is still unbelievable. May Heath Ledger rest in peace.
~~=oP
Ledger’s death will not affect the release of The Dark Knight :
forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144093
Thank goodness. He fits the role so well.
He was also working on his directorial debut:
variety.com/VR1117979492.htm … id=13&cs=1
Now I’m very dissapointed. He would’ve been a fantastic director.
When I first saw it online I had to double-take and look back again. It’s so shocking to hear.
Anybody have any opinions or thoughts on how he died? I mean, we’re getting quite a few reports on it being sleeping pill related. I know for a fact that playing his role in The Dark Knight (The Joker) was causing him to lose a good amount of sleep. I know that he was taking Ambien and Lunesta sleeping pills. Here’s what he said in an interview at the time:
" Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going. "
I’m guessing it was an accidental mix of sleeping pills and other medication. So far, the evidence doesn’t point to foul play or suicide but I guess we won’t know until there is further evidence, or we may never know the reason.
I want to know why the message therapist called Mary-Kate Olsen instead of calling 911 first. She should have used her own judgement instead of calling a 19 year old.
I just read an article in my newspaper that the masseuse didn’t have a license. I hope this doesn’t mean something went wrong and he died from that. That’s just terrible … They’re still doing the autopsy though …
He was such a great talent, and apparently a nice guy, too. I loved that little smile he had - so charming. He seemed to have a very sweet nature about him. It’s still shocking to think that he’s gone. Even days later, it doesn’t seem real. “Knight’s Tale” and “10 Things I Hate About You” are two of my favorite movies.
Normally, I don’t care about random celebrities’ lives… The whole thing with Anna Nicole Smith got pretty annoying really quickly. But I have to say, Heath Ledger’s death was really a shock. Nobody expected it. I still can hardly believe it. He was so young! And a genuinely talented actor. May he rest in peace.
By the way, thanks for sharing about Ellen’s show, PV, I want to see if I can find that on youtube or something.
Sheila