Heath Ledger’s family rejected any suggestion Wednesday that the actor killed himself and joined fellow Australians in mourning one of their rising stars after he was found dead in a New York apartment.
The Australian-born actor was found face-down and naked at the foot of a bed in a Manhattan apartment Tuesday. Police said there were prescription sleeping pills near Ledger’s body.
Ledger’s family members faced a throng of journalists in the actor’s hometown of Perth in western Australia and read a statement saying his death was purely accidental, though they did not say whether he died of an overdose.
“We, Heath’s family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda,” Ledger’s father Kim told reporters. “He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30 p.m. U.S. time.”
Kim Ledger remembered his 28-year-old son as a “down to earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, unselfish individual” who was “extremely inspirational” to those who knew him.
“Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him,” Kim Ledger said. “Please now respect our family’s need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately.”
Meanwhile, tributes from fellow Australians flooded in Wednesday, with Nicole Kidman calling Ledger’s death a “terrible tragedy.”
Cate Blanchett, who starred with Ledger in the Bob Dylan bio-flick, “I’m Not There,” a role that earned her an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress, said she was “shocked and saddened” at the news.
“I deeply respect Heath’s work and always admired his continuing development as an artist,” Blanchett said in a statement published by News Ltd. newspapers online. “My thoughts are with his family and close friends.”
Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed shock over losing “one of our nation’s finest actors in the prime of his life.”
Arts and Environment Minister Peter Garrett, former lead singer of the rock band Midnight Oil, called it “a terribly sad day” for Australia.
“This bloke was a great actor, a young talent and he had so much more to give,” Garrett told reporters in Canberra. “So it’s a shock that he’s gone and a moment of sadness, I think, which will last for us in Australia and also for the film community as well.”
Ledger received an Oscar nomination for his role as a troubled gay cowboy in the 2006 film “Brokeback Mountain,” where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the movie. The couple had a daughter, now 2-year-old Matilda, and lived together in New York until they split up last year.
Williams’ father, Larry, a prominent stock trader fighting extradition to the United States on tax evasion charges, remembered Ledger as “a great talent.”
“My heart goes out to everyone in his family and my family,” Williams told Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph.
Neil Armfield, who directed Ledger in his last Australian film, “Candy,” said the actor had “handled his career incredibly well,” steering himself toward more challenging roles.
“He made a decision about four years ago to stop being led by producers and managers and to forge his own way,” Armfield told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. “He started working with the most interesting directors. He was so successful at breaking out of the teen idol image.”
