Heath Ledger Dead: Suicide or Overdose?

Heath Ledger, the young Australian actor famous for roles in “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot” was found dead in his New York apartment Today. The talking heads on the TV news are reporting that he was found “surrounded by pills”.

My first though upon hearing of his death was that this was an accidental overdose by someone who had fallen prey to the substance abuse lifestyle of the rich and famous in the entertainment industry. But the phrase “surrounded by pills” sounds as if he passed out lying in the scattered remnants of the pill bottle he emptied, just like a director had laid it all out so it was obvious to the audience he had committed suicide. This story by Fox News however, includes information from other sources that leads me to believe that maybe my first assumption was right.

But The New York Post reported that Ledger died of a possible drug overdose and his apartment was strewn with pills.

Obviously an apartment strewn with pills paints a very different picture, probably one of substance abuse. Maybe after his split with wife and daughter he, like so many people, turned to drugs cope with his grief.

Click "Read more" to continue...

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a very public romance. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. They moved to Brooklyn, but then separated last year.~ New York Times

Regardless of the circumstances I send my condolences to his friends and family. I admired his work, and have been waiting eagerly to see his performance as the Joker in this years sure-to-be blockbuster The Dark Knight Returns. But it was his role in Candy, a movie about a heroin addict that provides this whole ordeal with a bitter sense of irony. Ledger researched this role by entering a rehab and learning from actual addicts, his role is considered by many as one of the best on-screen portrayals of withdrawals. After the film, he had this to say about drugs:

"I do think that drugs and alcohol have been obviously glorified and mythologised. We've kind of connected that with what it takes to create something, which is anything from the truth. Creation comes from your mind and it's hard to create when you're phased and drugged out. I'm sure drugs and alcohol would inspire new thoughts but it's certainly not something that I use as a tool or a mechanism to create." ~ Cinemablend.com

It sounds like he really had his head screwed on straight at this time, it quotes similar to this that I try to highlight at The Discovering Alcoholic. I just wish he would have followed his own advice.