This is a breaking news story and it is subject to change as more facts become available.

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Academy Award nominated actor Heath Ledger has been found dead, of a possible drug overdose, in his apartment Tuesday.

Ledger’s body was discovered unconscious by his housekeeper when she went to wake him for an appointment with a masseuse.

Police have reported that pills were found in the vicinity of the bed and were over the counter sleeping medication.

Of course this story will be updated as more facts become available.

Ledger’s latest film, The Dark Knight, was in post production but Ledger would have had some sort of post production involvement.

The Dark Knight is due in theaters July 18th 2008.

**UPDATE**

Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, and wasn’t expected for any call-backs. He was also shooting a key role in Terry Gilliam’s new film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Currently shooting some scenes in London, Gilliam could not be reached for comment about Ledger’s death, or how it will affect the outcome of his project.

Ledger’s family has rejected any suggestion that the actor killed himself. All Australians are in mourning as one of their rising stars has fallen.

Officially, New York police said there were prescription sleeping pills near Ledger’s body, but there was no obvious sign he had committed suicide.

The actor leaves behind his actress wife Michelle Williams, with whom he was separated, and their two year old daughter Matilda.