Actor Heath Ledger found dead at 28

Heath Ledger, the star of the Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain, was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan residence, New York City police said.

A housekeeper found the actor's dead body at 3:26 p.m. Ledger, 28, was lying in bed, naked, with a bottle of sleeping pills nearby, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

The housekeeper had been looking for Ledger to let him know his masseuse had arrived.

It was not immediately clear if Ledger committed suicide, but police said his death appeared to be drug-related.

Soon after news of Ledger's death emerged, a large crowd gathered at the apartment building in the upscale Soho neighbourhood and watched as police removed his body from the home.

Had daughter with actress Michelle Williams

Ledger, a respected actor who was known for carefully choosing his roles, earned an Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe for his role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. The film went on to win three Oscars for directing, music and writing.

It was on the set of the movie that he met actress Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film and earned an Oscar nomination for her performance. The two actors got engaged and on Oct. 28, 2005, had a daughter, Matilda Rose.

However, last September, Ledger's father reported the couple had separated.

Ledger, who was born in Perth, Australia in 1979, began acting in amateur theatre at age 10, starring as Peter Pan in a production mounted by a local theatre group. The son of a mining engineer and French teacher, Ledger moved to Sydney at 16 to act on TV.

Ledger made his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie Blackrock before moving to Los Angeles at 19.

He became known as a heartthrob with 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale, but secured a reputation as a serious actor with his role as Billy Bob Thornton’s troubled son in Monster’s Ball.He also drew praise for his portrayal of a heroin addict in the 2006 movie Candy.

Throughout his career, he turned down several movie opportunities, including romantic teen comedies that were offered to him after 10 Things.

"It wasn't a hard decision for me," he told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard on everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, 'You're crazy,' my parents were like, 'Come on you have to eat.'"

He was scheduled to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, which just finished filming. It's a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.